Imagine what the world would look like if we all had the data about our genetic makeup, and we could see the many multiple ways our genetics shape who we are and what we are capable of. Imagine that gender wasn't the issue it is today as we think of the classifications of sports codes - no longer would be it "male" and "female" as the only two categories, but rather many different categories based on whatever genetic characteristics were most applicable. And then imagine, we could also apply genetic enhancements to these sporting codes?

We can only imagine now. But this is our future reality.

They're coming (as you will see if you watch the video on YouTube, mine has already arrived ;-). But the clones of the near future won't actually be copies of our bodies, but rather algorithms designed to copy our thinking.

https://youtu.be/B4hwb1ELvXY

Sometime in the future, we will develop the technologies to allow us to create copies of humans. But that's probably a long time in the future. More practically, we should be able to copy the way that people think, and digitise their personas, styles, knowledge and thinking. Using Large Language Model type tech, we could make these algorithms searchable and interactive, and in that way clone their thinking.

It's September 2082, and we mark the 50th anniversary of the official start of what has become The Great 50-Year Global Drought. Cities have been emptied, country borders changed, wars fought and entire economies gutted... and there seems to be no end in sight.

This episode of ThrowForward Thursday is based on historical facts. Back in 1177BC, a 300 year drought caused the almost complete collapse of multiple civilisations in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean areas. You can listen to Dan Snow's History Hit podcast, as he interviews Eric Cline, the author of '1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed': https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-bronze-age-collapse/id1042631089?i=1000664352855

It's a sobering lesson from the past. It's an alarming possibility for our future.