The history of humanity 2010-2050

Juliette Axelrod, paleo-history cadet, Spring assignment: Personal Humanities projectFaux Mesa High School, Pavonis Mons District.

Method• I have analyzed ~10 billion media artifacts &

social media profiles from the Page/Zuckerberg Mass Observation Archive to measure societal and cultural change.

• I use:– clustering algorithms to identify separate macro

stages, longitudinal analysis of micro behavior to infer evolutionary drivers (see technical appendix)

– Machine learning selection of music output for gestalt immersion

• Presenting results with an obsolete technology to ‘set the mood’

Stage 1: 2010-2020 “towards a scale-free humanity”

References: http://phys.org/news95074548.html

Globalisation + Digitisation:• Concentration of wealth. Exhibitionistic consumption.• Pseudo-cultural acceleration through social media; mass envy

dynamics; fear for the children.

Stage 2(a): 2020-2030 “bio-obsolescence & the troubles”

References: http://www.bostondynamics.com/

Them Robots• Unemployment & pseudo-

employment in bullshit jobs.• Global warming, climate

change refugees, resource scarcity.

• Rhetoric of neo-feudalism becomes mainstream

• Episodes of urban warfare & sabotage = The Battle of Belgravia, White Plague (luxury apparel contaminated w/ sarcophage virus kills/maims ~ 500 high net worth individuals)

Stage 2(b): 2020-2030 “Exodus”

References: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nicole_Stenger_Virtual_Reality.jpg

First generation of VR natives grows up.• Mass migration to virtual worlds• Formation of pan-national communities of developers/users.

Characters classes replace social classes.• Hands-on engagement with software tools.• Ownership of ‘physical property’ increasingly seen as quaint.

Stage 3: 2030-2050 “The new new new deal”

A Keynes M. Banks world• Last ditch attempt to avert

intra-societal war, mankind speciation.

• Bretton Mumbai mega-conference (2028). Global agreements on tax, climate change, Intellectual Property reform, drug legalization.

• Living wage, copyright commons, advanced health services for all.

Stage 4: 2050 onwards “Lift off”• Mass leisure -> Mass hedonism

-> mass research.• Users become creators become

savants• Authentic mass knowledge

society delivers two sci-fi scenarios: True AI First-generation FTL

drive.

The next stage of our evolution begins here.

References: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lifecycle-Software-Objects-Chiang/dp/1596063173

Coda: Gestalt match

Mankind has adapted to realize the potential of technology, and (arguably) become more enlightened. I have algorithmically identified two pieces of music that communicate our collective feeling, as we prepare for the next stage of the journey.References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Giraud

Gestalt Match (1): MoanUtopian drone duo feat. Shinji Masuko (Boredoms)

Conveys the placid effervescence with which we slide out of our chrysalis and slip into the cosmos.

Go here to listen to "Summer Camp 79"

More information & physical artifact from Data Garden.

Gestalt Match (2): Ben WarfieldBen Warfield researches the biological effect of light on humans.

His music is itself a simulation of those effects – it induces a tropic tendency into the night sky & beyond. There we go.

Go here to listen to "the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"

More information & physical artifact from Data Garden.