What Will Civilization Look Like In 10,000 Years? | Unveiled - video Dailymotion

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00:00 Close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself in the distant future.

00:04 You stand surrounded by a new world - a world that bears little resemblance to the one you

00:08 know today.

00:09 It could be for the better or for the worse.

00:12 The air is different.

00:13 Perhaps it's clean and invigorating, free of pollutants.

00:16 Or perhaps it's not so fresh, and your breathing has had to adapt.

00:20 The landscape is an amalgamation of nature and technology, where either lush greenery

00:25 seamlessly blends with towering structures that seem to defy gravity… or rather shiny

00:30 machines dwarf a shred of wildlife that's still barely clinging on.

00:35 Maybe you hear the harmonious chatter of unknown, not-yet-evolved birdsong… or your ears ring

00:40 with the hum of heavy industry.

00:42 Clearly, the future is unknown.

00:45 It could be incredible, it could be incredibly bad.

00:48 While the question of "fulfillment" is another with multiple answers.

00:51 Is the future a utopia or dystopia?

00:55 Are you happy in this far-off world?

00:57 Or is there something missing?

00:59 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question; what will civilization

01:03 look like in ten thousand years?

01:07 Do you need the big questions answered?

01:09 Are you constantly curious?

01:10 Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one?

01:13 And ring the bell for more thought-provoking content!

01:17 Through the lens of time, ten thousand years is both long and short.

01:21 Long in the sense that it's almost double the whole of recorded human history up until

01:25 now… and short in the sense that it's a minuscule fraction of the timeline of humans

01:29 as a whole.

01:30 And certainly in comparison to the age of Earth itself.

01:33 So, to understand what civilization will look like that far into the future, we must first

01:38 appreciate just how much time will have passed.

01:41 For example, how far have we come in the last ten thousand years?

01:45 Yes, it's just a blink of the eye in geological time, a mere speck in the vastness of the

01:50 universe… but this relatively short period has witnessed some astonishing transformations.

01:55 Ten millennia ago, humans were still predominantly hunter-gatherers, reliant on the bounty of

02:00 the land.

02:01 The wheel was a novel invention, the smartphone of its time, and the concept of writing was

02:06 in its infancy.

02:07 Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves in an era of rapid technological advancement,

02:12 global connectivity, and scientific breakthroughs.

02:15 But all of that was still so far away for our ancient ancestors.

02:19 The rise of agriculture was in full swing around ten thousand years ago… but since

02:23 then, and relatively recently, we've had the Industrial Revolution and the Internet

02:28 Age - both major milestones that have redefined what it means to be human and to live on Earth.

02:34 At the current rate of development, it's a sure bet that similarly significant revolutions

02:39 will happen in the next ten millennia as well.

02:41 So, say you're present at the ticking over of the year 12,000.

02:46 There are infinite ways in which life might be different, but some factors appear more

02:50 probable than others.

02:52 Technology no doubt will have progressed… and massively.

02:55 While we can't predict the exact forms it will take, we can anticipate that AI, nanotechnology,

03:01 and biotechnology will have reached unprecedented levels.

03:04 Our understanding of genetics, and our ability to manipulate it, will again change what it

03:09 means to be human.

03:10 The line between biology and machinery will well and truly have been blurred.

03:15 We may have achieved feats like mind uploading, enabling us to exist in a purely digital form.

03:21 We likely will have harnessed fusion power for clean and virtually limitless energy.

03:25 We may even be enjoying a high of consciousness… although some predictions argue that it'll

03:31 actually take more than ten thousand years to get to that level.

03:34 Either way, such advancements will completely change how we live.

03:38 Perhaps even the concepts of industry and the economy will have disappeared.

03:42 In a world that's run by machines, but still populated by organic beings.

03:48 Those beings would likely still live in cities… but cities that are a far cry from the ones

03:52 we have today.

03:54 All projections are that the human population will have continued to rise, maybe to between

03:59 fifty to one hundred billion people on Earth.

04:02 But that wouldn't necessarily mean that everyone would have less.

04:05 By the year 12,000, if we are still here to tell the tale, we should have solved many

04:10 of the challenges that plague our relatively small urban areas today.

04:14 Things like congestion and pollution might even be forgotten about.

04:18 Instead, smart cities will be the norm.

04:20 Built around automated transport systems, vertical farming that stretches into the skies

04:25 above, and a generally ultra-energy-efficient infrastructure.

04:30 If all goes well, then the world will be designed to foster human wellbeing and environmental

04:35 sustainability.

04:36 Although, of course, if it all goes badly, then perhaps none of that will be possible,

04:41 and instead we'll have seen the population boom burst.

04:45 And despite all our improved knowledge, our cities could descend into troubled hubs of

04:50 scarcity.

04:51 And, as so many sci-fi dystopias imagine, the humans that remain may be so outnumbered

04:57 by the machines that they created… and so the cities, in particular, become wildly dangerous

05:03 places.

05:04 Nevertheless, in the meantime, the human body will have changed.

05:08 With advances in biotech, we may have dramatically extended our lifespan, perhaps even to the

05:13 point of functional immortality.

05:15 This means that even if there were dangers afoot, then they needn't kill us off.

05:20 Unlike today, future humans will be well-equipped to play the long game, no matter what level

05:25 of struggle is thrown their way.

05:27 Genetic modifications may allow us to tailor and heighten our physical and mental skills,

05:32 while regenerative medicine should have long eradicated all the diseases and conditions

05:36 that we encounter in the modern world.

05:38 However, these advances will have also given rise to various ethical questions about the

05:43 nature of humanity, individuality, and about our role on Earth and in the universe.

05:49 What would you do if you were a biologically enhanced human of the time?

05:53 Do you think you will have evolved enough to outrun anything that could have gone wrong?

05:57 By then we should also be a comfortably space-faring species, colonising other planets and moons

06:03 and mining asteroids, all to our heart's content.

06:06 Many predict that we will have discovered alien life by this point, and if it's intelligent,

06:11 then we might have struck up a relationship with it.

06:13 Although, again, the potential problems of this future epoch might have made that difficult.

06:18 In one especially concerning scenario, we could see the machines of here team up with

06:23 the aliens from afar, all while the lowly humans live under the gaze of both.

06:28 So, if that happens, or if any of the other circumstances unfold, then the question remains…

06:34 are we happy?

06:35 Is in and around the year 12,000 an era of hope, or a time of despair?

06:40 A vision of success, or a picture of doom?

06:43 Here we can look to philosophy for some answers.

06:46 The hedonistic view, for example, argues that happiness is derived from pleasure and the

06:50 avoidance of pain, and in the future, advanced technology may offer unparalleled opportunities

06:56 for pleasure and comfort, enhanced sensory experiences, limitless entertainment options,

07:02 and a world free from disease and poverty.

07:05 However, the counter-argument says that the pursuit of pleasure alone may lead to a shallow

07:10 existence devoid of meaning or purpose.

07:13 Eudaimonia, championed by Aristotle, among others, asserts that happiness is found in

07:18 living a virtuous and fulfilling life… but that might not be possible if even all the

07:23 more positive applications of future tech come to pass.

07:26 Instead, the humans of 12,000 may face profound existential questions about the meaning of

07:32 life.

07:33 For example, are they even needed anymore?

07:36 And if not, then where do they go from there?

07:38 A Buddhist perspective posits that happiness is closely tied to the alleviation of suffering.

07:43 Now, a future marked by advanced medicine and AI-driven mental health solutions, for

07:48 instance, could potentially reduce or even remove the burden of being alive.

07:53 But again, there's a trade-off, as we may instead grapple with new forms of suffering,

07:58 such as with the perceived loss of individuality.

08:01 Finally, happiness is also intrinsically tied to the relationships we have with others.

08:06 In a future defined by shiny tech and digital living, the maintaining of meaningful friendships

08:11 and social connections could become challenging… and the happiness and general psychology of

08:16 the future may depend entirely on how we navigate this hurdle.

08:20 On the one hand, there might be more people to meet than ever, and all of us living the

08:25 most comfortable lives we've ever known.

08:27 On the other, and even if the population does soar, could we be heading for a time of isolation

08:32 and loneliness?

08:34 As with so many of the considerations that need to be made, it's a thin line and a

08:38 delicate balance.

08:39 But the future is coming for us all, so it's surely best to try to ensure that it's somewhere

08:44 that we'll still want to be, and somewhere that will still want us there.

08:49 Because that's what civilization will look like in ten thousand years.

08:53 What do you think?

08:54 Is there anything we missed?

08:55 Let us know in the comments, check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you

08:59 subscribe and ring the bell for our latest content.

What Will Civilization Look Like In 10,000 Years? | Unveiled

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