It’s trite but true: we live in a time of miracles. Modern medicine prevents entire classes of illness, modern entertainment is so good it routinely makes people deranged, and the internet is a vector of learning and connection so powerful that it’s hard to believe it’s real.
On the one hand, I want to be happy with what we have. Even if there are no new technological breakthroughs in my lifetime, the gadgetry and convenience at my disposal is enough for a thousand years of gratitude. But on the other, it seems silly to declare “mission accomplished” at this arbitrary point. In fact, I hope that we see continued progress, and that the conveniences of the 2050s shock and delight me even more. This is one reason I get excited about AI: if nothing goes catastrophically wrong, unleashing more human (or even near-human) level intelligence on the world could help make so many things better.
To prime my imagination, and maybe yours, I’m going to list things that could be major improvements, that I think should be possible. None individually would be mind-blowing in the way that electricity is, but also none would be easy.
Transportation
Universally self-driving cars, which would take a lot of stress out of driving, save many lives, and make transit more efficient.
Better performing planes that are faster, (even) safer, and can avoid or absorb turbulence better. Bonus points if they cause less sinus pressure somehow.
Better safety gear for bikes, motorcycles, etc. Better helmets for starters, but maybe also something like a small, unobtrusive pad you can wear on your elbows or knees, that explodes out into a huge airbag in the event of a crash.
Health
The for real, not a scam this time holy grail wearable, that constantly and painlessly keeps tabs on all the things that lab testing could track for your body. Think an insulin pump, but that would also catch most cancers when they were brand new, and give early warnings for heart attacks, stroke, etc.
A perfect weight loss drug. GLP-agonists are getting warmer, but ideally one so good that nobody has to worry about managing their weight if they don’t want to.
Better targeted painkillers, with lower addiction potential, to provide relief for the sorts of aches and pains that everyone gets sometimes, where existing drugs only help a little.
More enriched staple foods, such that even the cheapest, fastest foods are healthier than they are today.
Lab-grown meat, free from both the literal and ethical impurities of regular meat, removing the need for factory farming.
Entertainment
Really good VR, especially integrated with treadmills, or playable in large outdoor areas. My wife had an excellent VR experience in a mall in Malaysia once; ideally this could be commonplace and cheap.
Relatedly, screens that strain your eyes less. Maybe something that isn’t quite a screen at all, that emits significantly less light and yet projects a clear image. This would allow spending a lot more time consuming entertainment or information without pointless headaches.
More sprawling, multimedia works like Homestuck, where a single auteur can use technology to create a dramatically deeper and broader story that was possible in the past.
More communal narrative projects like glowfic, where treasure troves of high-quality prose are out there, with millions of words to enjoy or contribute to.
Social Progress
A continuation of the trend where automation removes the need for the most demanding jobs, so that more people can do jobs that are relatively easy and fun. Ideally most current jobs would be seen like we see “subsistence farmer” today - a bummer that anyone, much less most people, ever had to labor so hard and in such damaging ways.
Continued reduction in the burdens of disease, hunger, and poverty, such that an ever-smaller percentage of humanity has to go hungry, die of easily preventable disease, or miss out on good opportunities due to where they were born.
Better gender transition tech, ideally including conveying childbearing ability.
Better plastic surgery, ideally so good it’s usually undetectable in someone you’re meeting for the first time. And also, if it’s good enough, and reversible, once everyone can be conventionally pretty we might get a really fun world where people make their appearances more festive to keep competing on looks.
I could go on, but I have things to do. Things that, perhaps, the glorious future might automate. Leaving me time to speedrun Metroid Prime games, or work on another novel, or binge-watch a season of excellent TV without hurting my eyes, or eat a future meal kit that’s both easier to prepare and more nutritious than existing offerings.