The Horror Show Continues : Ramesh Shrestha

by Ramesh Shrestha

Towards the beginning of the fourth decade of 21st century the United Nations will have some 210 member states as a result of fragmentation of several multi-ethnic countries. Many children in most countries will be able to speak multiple unrelated languages. Children born between 2021 and 2025 would be in their prime age of youth in 2046. They will be among the 9.5 billion people inhabiting the planet Earth. As the global population growth is slowing, the number of children in 2046 will be proportionately small but in absolute terms the number will still be higher compared to the early 21stcentury. They will be largely concentrated in Africa, Middle East and Asia. Here is a typical client of UNICEF in 2046.

Considering the positive secular trend in cognitive development, children and youth in 2046 would be a lot smarter than the children born during the early 21st century. Their cognitive skills will be much better than at any time in history. As a result of inter-generational change children in the 2040s will also be taller than their peers of the 2000s. Their life will be dictated by artificial intelligence (AI), not by parents or families. Here is a soccer game for children taught with AI in 2046.

Children born during the 2040s will be largely weaned with super fortified energy foods marketed by hyper-speed internet marketers owned and managed by the succeeding prodigy of current media barons and the industrialists of the early 21stcentury. Exclusive breastfeeding will still be practiced by a small minority of mothers largely outside the urban centers. Essential meals such as lunch and dinners will be mostly synthetic and laboratory grown, fortified with essential vitamins and minerals, prepacked and delivered during fixed hours by small drones. For many children fresh meat and fish will be a luxury. Most children will be allergic to naturally grown foods as children’s guts and brains will not be able to recognise natural foods.

At the end of infancy children will be enrolled in kindergarten with robotic teachers. There will be no in-person classes for primary school children. There will be no books and notebooks. All reading materials will be on-line and so are periodic assessments and grade examinations. Majority of children will have terrible handwriting as everything will be communicated through a keyboard and a monitor. Some children may never learn how to write. Children will not be able to spell big words because of the autocorrect feature in the software.

Youth in the 2040s will be much smarter and intelligent than any time in history but extremely self-centered – no family values and social skills. Their intellectual capacity will automatically identify a suitable partner for them effortlessly aided by AI.

Here is a pair of youth on a date.

The show must go on: COP51

In 2046 youth and children born after 2025 will be demonstrating against the global climate crisis outside the COP51 venue. Politicians and industrialists would have coined several new climate jargons added to the ones used during COP26 conferences in Glasgow such as climate leadership, carbon footprint, environmental justice, carbon pricing, carbon tax, climate smart agriculture, nature-based agriculture, nature-based climate solutions, etc. The Presidents and Prime Ministers from G7 countries will continue to portray themselves as Climate leaders, eloquently telling the global audience what to do in COP51 drama. They will continue to keep their eyes closed on the burning atmosphere. Billionaires will have their residences in cocoons fully airconditioned 24/7.

Here are some play cards used by youth demonstrating against climate change in COP51 venue.

An abandoned island

Super warming Earth

Desertification

Flooding a coastal town

Public health issues

Many infectious diseases have been eradicated. As a result, people tend to live longer assisted by artificial organs. But the human population is periodically invaded by viruses by jumping between species for which scientists have not found any solutions. Some politicians are suggesting that all wildlife be exterminated to keep humans safe. Vaccine development in the laboratories of the industrialised world will continue. Negotiations for waiving of copyright for COVID-19 that started in 2021 is at a final stage. However, due to the spread of new viruses the COVID-19 vaccine technology may have become useless. The talks for sharing technology for new vaccines is yet to start, possibly in 2060.

On a broader context

A new shipping route connecting Europe, North America and Asia through the Arctic region has reduced shipping costs considerably for multinational businesses with much shorter distances. It saves shipping cost but destroys the arctic climate for good, but who cares!

Big mining companies based in rich countries started exploring deep sea mining in several seabeds in international waters with the promise not to harm coral reefs and marine lives. The supply chain will continue to strengthen interconnectedness between the highly industrialised countries and the major industrial production hubs in mid-income countries. It will help to maintain low emission in developed countries. Meanwhile mid-income countries will be under pressure to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The minerals and other natural resources in least developed countries will continue to be exported to industrialised countries. Price of rare earth minerals will continue to rise but it will not benefit the labourers in countries where the minerals are excavated.

The mid-income countries will not be allowed nuclear technology for security reasons. Many of these countries have limited potential for hydropower due to shrinking water sources. The components of wind, and solar energy generators have short shelf life of maximum 25 years and are too expensive to replace regularly for many developing countries. For the 44 landlocked countries there are no potentials for tidal energy and for arid countries there are no potentials for hydropower. These countries will continue to rely on fossil fuel at a prohibitive cost imposed by the governments producing them as part of discouraging their use. The richest individuals of the early 21st century including oil barons have become hyper rich with some of them becoming trillionaires.

Political leaders and international statesmen continue to promote democracy and human rights but will not make much difference in the lives of economically marginalised children and youth, including in rich countries. The leaders will continue to ask what kind of future people wish for their children similar to the questions raised by empty headed world leaders during 20th and 21st century while everything remains business as usual. The shit show will continue!

Children will be taught about democracy and human rights from a very early age as a result, children will always say what they want for themselves and what they want to do and will do what they want and will never understand the meaning of other’s misery. Children will only understand their entitlement but not obligations. As a result, children will not pay much attention to the fact that rights come with responsibilities.

Many children will have limited contact with the outside world as everything they need is available virtually at the click of a mouse. They will also not have many real friends but only virtual friends. Children will be using virtual money, not bank notes.

The ideological division between the East and West will have serious negative impacts on bilateral assistance for less well-off countries. The access and quality of care and education will be very different between less well-off countries and the rest of the world but the world leaders will continue to talk about equity and equality and the rule of law in every international jamboree.

Energy will be the biggest global commodity followed by the weapons traded internationally. The United Nations will continue to issue binding regulations to secure peace and prevent conflicts but in absence of enforcing mechanisms member states will blatantly ignore them at will. The global community will continue to talk about the need to reform the United Nations, especially the Security Council. Similarly, the World Trade Organisation will continue to be bent and twisted for the benefit of powerful countries and multinational businesses. The blame game will continue at a much larger scale than during the early 21st century.

UNHCR will be the largest UN agency as it will be assisting refugees emanating out of the climate crisis and armed conflicts and severe economic crisis. Most of the refugees will be children, women and unemployed youth. The UN Environmental Organisation will be the second largest UN organisation with regional bureaus in all continents providing technical assistance to developing countries in adapting to extreme climate.

Amidst all this, UNICEF’s centenary will be celebrated with great fanfare with the Secretary General as the Chief Guest, who hails from one of the P5 countries. It was made possible with recent amendment on UN’s rule that now allows P5 member state to head the UN system.

This article is part of the XUNICEF News and Views Quarterly Newsletter, December 2021.

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