January, 2030
Dear myself,
The pen has always been my greatest strength to express my voice and this forces me to write to myself. Ten long years have passed after which I am confronting to my past self to make you aware of the life ten years ahead. I know of the struggle that the world went through in 2020 but you are unaware of the world which you will be living in 2030. While 2020 posed threat to entire humanity in the name of COVID-19 and almost all hope towards life was shattered, we’re still living.
I have completed my PhD and presently working as an Earth Science professor in Jadavpur University and you know that I always wanted to contribute my knowledge for the good of society so I have involved myself with NGOs and other social works. I am a successful person today but still, I am filled with disappointment and there’s something that always chokes me. Is this the world I always dreamt of?
The Cambridge Project at Cambridge University said artificial intelligence is one of the greatest threats to humanity, and now I can feel it every moment. These ten long years weren’t easy to deal with and every moment I saw how humans were stepping towards the door of destruction. Today we are living in a world of globalization, digitalization and cashless economy.
With a rise in population, there had been a rise in high buildings, highways, high-speed cars, shopping malls, bullet trains- a world flourishing with human excellence. There had been rapid changes in technological, educational and social fields. New systems have been adopted with the changing world and new technologies have been developed to relieve resource pressure. Electric vehicles and zero-carbon technologies have been introduced to check increased pollution and drastic changes in climate. But what is the use of such advancement where humans are captivated in their own hands? Humans are lacking in a sense of humanity. Everywhere, there is competition, violence and brutality.
People are more professional these day and they have adopted “paperless work” and “work from home”. We are more involved in virtual media than real life. New technologies, cashless economy and virtual media have made life more complicated and open with less privacy. Even the education system these days are digital. Books have been replaced with laptops and tablets. Children these days do not know the fun of schools leading an unlucky childhood.
But can we find solace in material wealth? I miss my childhood days to the moon and back. All those days were full of fun and enjoyment. We had kindness and love for each other. Today’s concrete world is lifeless. It seems someone has driven all feelings from us and we are left as lifeless objects. 2030 is the decade marking the beginning of a highly developed world but at the same time it represents the decline of humanity and socialism and why should it not be if machines are dominating the world? We are too busy today that we hardly talk to the one living in the next door. In this concrete world, nature has also lost its beauty. Where is the greenery that soothes our eyes? Everyone is having a desire to conquer the world resulting in cyborgs (cybernetic organisms) and robots.
Humans have become limitless with a long life full of suffering, pain, loneliness, madness, diseases and medicines. What unwanted immortality it is!
I fear that the want of mankind to become the master of this world will pose a threat to their existence. Maybe this world is the curse of God for our desire to go beyond the extremes and the pain we gave to this planet and its species. I am not at all happy with my present world and feel that an immediate vaccine is needed to revive their lost soul. I’d thought that after the end of the world-wide crisis due to the pandemic COVID-19, a sense of solidarity might arouse in humans but I was wrong. So, I would suggest you raise your voice and try to bring a change in the world or else you will have to welcome a ten years journey into the world of machines.
Thank you.
Best wishes,
Your future self (Sohini Biswas)
By:
Sohini Biswas
