5 . Life will probably be very different in 2050. First of all, it seems that TV channels will have vanished by 2050. Instead, people will choose a programme from a “menu” and a computer will send the programme directly to the television. By 2050, music, films, programmes, newspapers and books will come to us in the similar way.

In many places, agriculture is developing quickly and people are growing fruit and vegetables for export. This uses a lot of water. Therefore, there could be serious shortages of water. Some scientist predict that water could be the cause of wars if we don’t act now.

In the future, cars will run on new, clean fuels (燃料) and they will go very fast. Cars will have computers to control the speed and there won’t be any accidents. Today, many cars have computers that tell drivers exactly where they are. By 2050, the computer will control the car and drive it to your destination. Also, by 2050, space planes will fly people from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours.

Some big companies now prefer to use robots that do not ask for pay rises or go on strike, and work 24 hours a day. They are also easy to control. And they never argue with people. They can be easily used in a variety of places — factories, schools, offices, hospitals, shops and homes.

Scientists will have discovered how to control genes (基因). Scientists have already produced clones (克隆) of animals. By 2050, scientists will be able to produce clones of people and decide how they look and how they behave. Scientists will be able to do these things, but should they?

6 . “We are running out of space and the only places to go to are other worlds... Spreading out may be the only thing that saves us from ourselves. I’m convinced that humans need to leave the earth.” These are the words of the famous scientist Stephen Hawking, spoken at a science festival in Norway in 2017, a year before his death.

Hawking was not alone in this view. Many experts feel that the only way for humanity to last far into the future is to colonise (移民于) other planets. That way, if a terrible disease, nuclear war or some other disasters strike the earth, civilisation as we know it would still have a chance. Mars is one of the most attractive destinations. NASA, the United Arab Emirates, the private company SpaceX, and the organisation Mars One all have plans to send humans there. “Either we spread the earth to other planets, or we risk going extinct,” SpaceX founder Elon Musk said at a conference in 2013.

But not everyone agrees that colonising Mars or any other planet is such a great plan. The most common argument against going is that it’s just too expensive or dangerous. It will take huge amounts of money and other resources just to get people there,let alone set up a place for them to live. It’s not even clear if humans could survive on Mars. One of the biggest dangers is its deadly radiation that ruins the planet.

Maybe all the time and money people would pour into a Mars mission would be better spent on more urgent projects here on Earth, like dealing with poverty or climate change. Some experts argue that handling a problem like an asteroid (小行星) strike or a disease outbreak while staying here on Earth would be much easier and less expensive than surviving on a new planet.

In addition, moving to a new planet could harm or destroy anything that already lives there. Mars seems uninhabitable, but micro-organisms could exist on Mars. Human visitors may destroy these lives or permanently change or damage the Martian environment. Some feel that’s too much of a risk to take.

My Dream Career

I’m 50-year-old Li Hua, your future self.

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Yours,

Future Li Hua

10 . What is the future of AI (人工智能)? Will it be a good thing? We asked four students what they think.