Almost 30 years ago, the personal computer was first widely used, transforming society and our way of life. Inspired by this milestone, Kaspersky Lab wanted to examine what the future will look like, how information technology will evolve, and what changes will occur in our lives in the new digital reality of 2045, 30 years from now.
As stated by Alexander Gostev, Chief Security Expert at Kaspersky Lab,
“With the current pace of IT development, it is quite difficult to predict exactly what the landscape will be like in a few decades. However, it is clear that every year our technologies will become even smarter and people will have to be able to keep up with them. In any case, we can be sure that digital criminals will continue to make every effort to exploit every new advance in IT for their own malicious purposes. But whatever our world looks like in 30 years, we should start improving our comfort, security and well-being now. Technology is just a tool and it is entirely up to us whether we use it for good or evil.”
Robots will be everywhere
It is possible that the world's population will include billions of humans and billions of robots, with the latter doing almost all the routine or heavy lifting. Humans will work to improve the robots' software, and the IT industry will be the "home" of the companies that develop programs for robots, much as companies that develop applications that users "download" and install today.
"Mechanical people"
To some extent, the boundaries between humans and robots will become blurred. Transplants will begin to use electronically controlled artificial organs, and prosthetic limbs will become a routine surgical procedure. Nanorobots will “travel” deep inside the human body to inject drugs into diseased cells or perform microsurgical procedures. Specially installed sensors will monitor people’s health and transfer their findings to cloud “repositories” that doctors will have access to. All of this, logically, can lead to a significant increase in life expectancy.
"Smart" homes
In addition, people will live in “smart” homes, where most amenities will be fully automated. The software that will “run” the home will take care of the consumption and replenishment of energy, water, food and supplies. The only concern of the residents will be to ensure that they have enough money in the bank to pay their bills.
The new era of Hyper-information
Our digital alter egos will take full form, within a single global infrastructure, capable of self-regulation and which will deal with the management of life on the planet. The system will work approximately like today's TOR. The most active and efficient users will gain moderator rights. The system will be oriented towards the distribution of resources among people, the prevention of armed conflicts and other humanitarian actions.
3D Printing – Fast and Economical
It won't just be routine jobs that will become a thing of the past, as the production of specific items will no longer be necessary. On the contrary, 3D printers will enable us to design and create everything we need, from household items like dishes and clothes to building materials for the home of the future.
No other computers
The explosion of IT may be due to computers, but in 2045, we will probably only see them in museums. To be more precise, we will no longer need a tool for data processing – that is, for what a computer essentially does. There will be an even wider range of “smart” devices, which will gradually take over the functions of today's computers. For example, financial analysis can be done by a server using electronic documents rather than by an accountant using a personal computer.
Technophobia
However, not everyone will be enthusiastic about the new “robotic” world. It is possible that a new type of “Luddites” will emerge, who will oppose the development of “smart” homes, automated lifestyles and robots. Opposition to IT developments will lead some to avoid using smart systems, devices and robots for certain types of tasks, and they will have no digital identity.
