At the time of its 2176 quadricentennial, what will American society and technology look like?

Submitted by artofterm t3_11jnnhx in Futurology

For temporal context, we are talking about the equivalent of asking young Jules Verne what he thought 2023 would look like. I feel like we'd be at least a generation beyond the mainstream finding balances between online/offline life. Also, as there seems to be a major pandemic every century around the '20s-'40s, I think the next (interceding) pandemic will open up adults by 2176 to having full-face masks that are flexible and will double as your smartphone--and everyone will claim that MCU's ironman "predicted" it.

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Wipperwill1 t1_jb3ko8j wrote

To see how wrong any prediction would be for 50 years into the future, do the following :

Look back 50 years and see how accurate they were predicting now. I want my damn transporters, flying cars and jet packs. You can keep your 1984 though.

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katholique_boi69 t1_jb3nwmp wrote

Much more interested to imagine the US in 2076. I (and/or we) may be alive for that.

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No-Wallaby-5568 t1_jb6z49s wrote

Extrapolate the existing trends. More partisan division leading to violence. More environmental degradation. More homelessness. More deaths from drugs. More wealth inequality. More war.

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rippierippo t1_jb3pbxs wrote

Life will be fantastic. People will have everything at their disposal. They will live long lives, may be 150-200 years due to medical advancements. Most of everything will have been automated. It is like you are taken care of by the society cradle to grave.

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OnerousSorcerer t1_jb4elbu wrote

Bold of you to assume anyone will be around at that point.

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onenifty t1_jb5vzkl wrote

Realistically, the contiguous states will probably have separated into a small number of self governing units and the US as a country won't exist. The deep south up to Virginia and west to Arizona will probably be sparsely populated due to the ravages of climate change, and the remaining areas will be split between being hyper protectionist against climate refugees and more culturally permissive like the western seaboard and north eastern states are today.

As for technology, we will likely have it in abundance and the benefits of this will more greatly favor those at the top end of the increased social stratification, while the great majority of the population live at or near the poverty line. For most, this would result in a greater focus on the immediate community due to a lack of mobility, and this would also lead to much less cultural blending and increased tension between communities and regions.

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DescriptionWise6715 t1_jb3lda9 wrote

Probably a lot fewer of us due to climate change. Technology, well it will probably slow down as well. Lots of war destruction due to resource shortages, less arable land, and higher ocean levels. Pretty bleak. Of course I could be wrong and we invent something that can reverse climate change and save the planet, just like in a movie. Doubtful, but that's what we have going for us.

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TheCh0rt t1_jb3qoob wrote

So, pretty much the first act of Interstellar.

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