The Mechanical Mirror

Anonymous

March 19, 2025

This image was generated with Dream Studio AI.

Life in 2040 is unimaginably different to what I remember it being like 20 years ago! When I wake up every morning, my mechanical assistant delivers my breakfast and vitamins to my bedside locker, while informing me of today's news headlines. The robot declares in a monotone voice: 'Fatal accident occurred in the early hours of the morning when assistant driving machine malfunctions while driving a family at night, with no survivors. Man given a fine of €500 for using slur in social media groupnchat, that was detected by the well-acredited AI anti-hate software that was introduced by our Government nearly 5 years ago.' I sit up, staring at the wall in front of me, and then back at my wee robot. Both headlines moved me, even more so due to their succession of one another. These vessels of human perception and knowledge can be fantastical yet ominous. My mind will never be made up on whether these machines are "good" or "bad", because there simply isnt good or bad, which we learned long ago from our own species. Also, I don't want to get a fine.

Memoiren

related stories

Zaļā un inovatīvā kopiena

I imagine that by 2040 Europe will have become a model of sustainable development, where technology and nature coexist harmoniously. Cities will be green and energy efficient, every building will have solar panels and vertical gardens. Public transport will be fully electric and emission-free, and citizens will travel by autonomous vehicles or bicycles. People will be actively involved in decision-making through smart city technologies and e-democracy tools.

Notre planète, une priorité absolue

In 2040, the world will finally have realized that our earth is the priority and that it must be protected, but after all these years of political and economic amnesia about protecting our planet, biodiversity and water, I really hope that in 2040, we'll get there. For this future, I want an awareness that man is not the king of the universe and that all forms of life have the right to exist and be protected. I want: beautiful forests with diverse species, large mammals that are no longer on endangered species lists, clean rivers that are no longer channeled, agriculture that respects the soil, insects and therefore people.

EU der offen Zukunft

Europe a common country that stands for progress and freedom. Where people, regardless of their ethnic origin, can live and develop freely and where there are no more dictatorships and autocracies that continue to restrict life here. The former right-wing populism has become history and there is now only a Europe without borders and without individual states with open borders to the outside. The EU with Russia and Ukraine is one of the most important players in the world and there are no more trade wars with the USA and China. Climate protection is on track, the economy is booming and everyone is very happy to live in the European Union of the future. That would be my chosen future

So könnte eine vernünftige Zukunft aussehen

The focus must remain on migration, economic and social policy, and the voice of the citizen must be heard, possibly through referendums. The gap between rich and poor must close again and utopian salaries, whether in sport or politics, must be abolished. We need to return to our values, become less demanding and include the weaker members of society, because everyone is needed. School education needs to be completely overhauled, it can't go on like this. Cell phones do not belong in the classroom. People who look after people in a private atmosphere, be it children, the sick or the elderly, must be given credit for their time. The same applies to voluntary work in clubs, the fire department, etc. Everything must be distributed more fairly, then neither greed nor envy will arise. We should also pay more attention to the fact that the food industry is pushing food that makes us ill, which is really impossible. All in all, we should work more again, then we won't have bad thoughts. All problems are self-made.

#OurFutures

The Mechanical Mirror

Join #OurFutures now!