Within a decade, statements like above, will be a true reflection of the latest happenings in the life style of human beings. While Biotechnology, space research, information technology and the internet are changing the human lives to an unprecedented extent, human greed is also causing devastation to the biggest natural gift to us, our well balanced environment.Like never before in the history of mankind, is the human race facing rapid changes, especially the American society.
The changes are occurring very fast in the American society as compared to other societies, because it is a society of a highly developed nation and an economic super power. People are relatively rich here, and most important of all, they have an open mind to accept and experiment new ideas. Here, they also have the facilities and the resources to experiment with new ideas.Bio- technology and genetics is the area which is going to affect the American society to the greatest extent in the next decade. Days are not far when manufacturing synthetic blood will be technically possible, and the same will be sold as a product in a medical store.Human blood will be one more source for the pharmaceutical companies to earn huge profits.
To purchase blood, one will be required to know his or her DNA configuration only, and genetic research will provide the methods to produce blood suitable to each unique DNA configuration. Impossible it may seem today, but it is bound to be a reality in near future. This research will, result into widespread effects on the society.The first likely effect could be that non-curable blood related diseases, would be curable. Moreover, deficiencies resulting out of insufficient count of various blood parameters like hemoglobin, RBC count and WBC count can also be reduced or completely wiped off.
Artificial blood may be a determining factor in the improvement of public health in general. Biotech research is also likely to be successful in replacing agricultural produce as our food. Tablets representing a certain amount of calories, or equivalent to certain nutritive elements will be freely available in the market.First, the necessity of preparing food and its related activities will show a decline.
Pressure cookers and dining dishes will be obsolete. In a long run, such successful research may eliminate the very need of agriculture. Currently all trade, commerce and manufacturing activities are based on agriculture, and all that will come to a standstill. If that happens, the social impact will be beyond anybody’s wildest speculations. The human race will survive on factory made, synthetic ‘food tablets’, according to his taste, desires and needs!!!Space research is another aspect which has great potential to change our society. Very, soon, human settlement will not be limited to Earth only.
If it does not extend to other planets, it will surely extend to man made space stations, where a new world is created in a human designed and controlled environment. The beginning of this trend will be with companies offering various packages for tourists to spend few days holidays at their space stations.Space tourism will be a giant industry, requiring equally giant investment and promising returns in multiples of investment. One of the biggest social impact of such a development will be the inequality it will create within the society. The division between the haves and the have-nots will be more strengthened.
Such tourism will be the privilege of a few very rich persons only, creating a feeling of insecurity amongst the poorer or the not so rich people.Internet and information technology have changed the way we communicate, and made our globe a village, so far as communication is concerned. It is still going to develop further to change the way we live. One of the most important change will be in the business and economy.
For example, a manufacturing set up in a far away place, will be easily managed by means of a computer program, which can be accessed through the internet.While physical barriers like distance are already reduced by the internet, in future, it will also succeed in reducing the human intervention. Artificial intelligence will produce machines which can think and computers which can frame their own logic. All these developments are aimed at maximizing the human comfort. While importance of comfort cannot be denied, blind development of such tools and its non judicious use, may have a drastic impact also.
For example, before calculators came into our lives, faultless addition of say, 40 numbers or multiplication of 3 to 4 numbers was a joke for our ancestors, but we are not able to do it. The present generation is a slave of calculators. Similarly, with the rise of machine taking up the formulation of logic, human beings will tend to stop thinking also!!The mental capacities, instead of being brushed and sharpened, will rust and decay. Only judicious use will save us from such a catastrophe.
