What will people look like in 1,000 years? Scientists' predictions may surprise you (photos included).
If we look at our primate ancestors, one might conclude that human evolution has come to an end. However, some scientists believe this is not the case, and in 1000 years, humans will look quite different. They assert that due to changes in our planet and advancements in technology, humanity will also transform. Using artificial intelligence (AI), the publication Daily Mail has created images of what people might look like in the future based on scientific predictions.
Scientists predict that by the year 3025, people will appear more uniform, with the average individual having darker skin, and interestingly, people may be more attractive than we are today.
People in 1000 years will be shorter
Historically, the primary driving force behind evolution has been the death of individuals who did not reproduce and pass on their genes. Thanks to modern medicine, more people are living long enough to have children. This indicates that a different force will determine which genes become more prevalent.
Mark Thomas from University College London states that individuals who have more children are more likely to pass on their genes to future generations. This could lead to a future where humans are shorter.
Thomas explains that this hypothesis is based on the correlation between early puberty and reduced height. Early sexual maturity allows organisms to have more offspring throughout their lives, but this appears to be offset by a decrease in size.
If those who reach sexual maturity earlier ultimately have more children, the genes that cause both early maturation and shorter stature may increase in the population, the scientist believes.
People in 1000 years will be more attractive
As fewer people die, a crucial factor determining evolution will be how many children an individual can have. One potential consequence of this may be that it could make men more attractive.
1 According to Thomas, in all mammals, females choose the best partners. In the case of humanity, the increasing liberalization of society will lead to more and more women being particularly selective among the men they prefer. This consideration encompasses not only physical appearance, although that plays an important role.
Thus, over the next thousand years, as more attractive men pass on their genes, humanity might become somewhat more beautiful, the scientist posits.
People in 1000 years will have darker skin and a more homogeneous appearance
One of the most significant changes predicted by scientists is that humanity will become much more uniform in appearance. For a considerable part of human history, individual populations remained relatively isolated from one another. However, compared to the past, people from different ethnic groups are now mixing much more frequently.
2 Jason Hodgson from Anglia Ruskin University believes that on an individual level, the average person in the future will become more genetically diverse as they inherit traits from a greater number of populations. Yet, at the population level, this may lead to a decrease in the variability of human appearance. It is expected that most people will also have darker skin.
Enhanced humans of the future
3 New technologies may enable humans to shape their own evolution, Hodgson argues. People may be able to edit genes as they wish. Consequently, in the future, parents might choose the specific traits they want for their child, including height, appearance, and intelligence level.
On the other hand, individuals might use new technologies to acquire features typical of animals rather than humans. As a result, humans could become more advanced beings through the modification of their bodies. Moreover, people may be able to integrate various technologies into their bodies in the future, the scientist believes.
People in 1000 years will have smaller brains
Robert Brooks from the University of New South Wales thinks that the human brain may shrink over the next thousand years. The scientist believes that as computers take on more functions, the need for a large brain will diminish. This could lead to humans becoming less intellectually developed. Why think deeply if computers can do it for you?
4 Future humans will be better adapted to space conditions
In the future, some humans will venture to conquer other worlds in the Solar System and even other star systems, predicts John Hawks from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Long-term space travel could create the potential for small human populations that differ from Earth’s inhabitants. Thus, evolution may lead to humans in space adapting to new conditions over several generations.
Humans might become taller and develop longer arms to operate better in low-gravity environments. Human eyes could become larger and more sensitive to light to better see in new conditions.
5 At the same time, the scientist believes that such adaptations to space could also occur through the integration of various technologies into the human body.