The New Concept Of Futocracy And It's Consequences.

What is Futocracy ? Well it is a concept born of the consequences of a Time Machine.

Two or three years ago I remember watching a TV program in which a respected scientist was working on a Time Machine. This was not a machine which allowed people to travel backwards and forwards through time but a machine which allowed information to be passed back through time to anyone in possession of such a machine (perhaps someone might know what I'm talking about and have a link to this scientists work).

This machine would act like a one way telephone, allowing messages from the future to be passed back but only to those who have a machine capable of receiving such information. The concept of this machine was founded on the theories of Einstein. The machine, about the size of a telephone box, created and area surrounded by bent light using extreme gravity (I may have some details wrong, I only saw this program once and briefly).

This raised a very interesting concept which was not raised by the program makers, that of Futocracy. A world governed or guided by future generations for the social betterment and technical exceleration of their ancestors (us).

Most natural disasters would in theory be predictable, especially those which are the consequence of seismic activity, as they are unaffected by human intervention. With such a machine we could be forewarned.

We would go through a phase of extreme technical and scientific exceleration as hard earned research and innovation could be passed back which would benefit not only ourselves but create new even more technically advanced futures. Our scientific advancement would be exponential. Each change would create a new future with new lessons and technical revelations.

And we could be forewarned of social mistakes with wise words from those who would have the benefit of hindesite and who would have a vested interested in making sure that those mistakes were not repeated.

This would in effect be a futocracy.

But with all this good there is a very interesting consequence. Whoever had the first machine would control our destiny. If such a machine were made how could we ensure that whoever possessed it or controled it had the best interests of the entire human race at heart ?

Once such a machine were invented it would be too late to contemplate it's consequences.

Consider if you had such a machine. You would be driven by beneficial personal and national motives to intervene in history and not necessarily the security of all mankind.

One would hope that under such circumstances those in control would become more enlightened.

Regardless of the viability of such a machine the philisophical question are worth loking at.

Would you, could you trust those as yet unborn to guide us along a path toward a brighter future ?

For that is the consequence of a Futocracy.

[edit on 8-10-2005 by John bull 1]

Very interesting theoretical discussion JB.

If you've seen the new USA series The 4400, the concept of a futocracy should be very familiar. Where abductees are returned from the future with implanted guidance for "fixing" things (assuming you trust them).

I eagerly await the first e-mail from myself. Just not sure if I trust me.

Not too sure how this would work out. I guess in theory I could see it working, however, each change brings about a completely new timeline. The person in the future that sends the message will not recieve any benefit from it, they will still be living in a world where society has fallen, or where Hitler the 3rd nuked africa etc etc. It's not like they send the message and instantaneously Hitler the 3rd never got into power and they are a millionaire surrounded by bodacious babes.

What motivation would someone in the future have to pass knowledge and advice back to a past generation? The only one to gain out of that is the people you are sending the information to. I just don't see a future prime minister/president/grand overlord devoting his time to helping people he will never see, with no direct benefit to him or his empire. Even if he did, how would we possibly know if the information is biased towards the sender, or will truely help mankind?

There's just too many unknowns there for me to feel comfortable with the prospect of taking advice from our future selves.

Correct, every change would create a new timeline thus those sending back a message would not directly benefit from any changes but they would benefit from messages passed down from future generations on their own timeline.

But any timeline with such a machine would automatically be in possession of all information. History in different timelines would converge.

LordGoofus, you've also grasped straight away the great dilemma of futocracy which is trust and agenda.

He who invents such a machine would have absolute control over destiny.

This raises the question of mankinds deeper motives.