The technological advances of the twentieth century, especially during its last quarter, were without historical precedent. Many technological instruments that were unknown just 100 years ago have become integral parts of our lives. The gap between the technology of the previous century and of today has reached unimaginable dimensions. Current developments provide important signs regarding the technological advances from which people will benefit in the Golden Age.
That age's technological advances will provide great comfort and ease to people's lives. The time spent at home, at one's job, and in school will be comfortable, enjoyable, and pleasant. Housework, shopping, security systems, heating, ventilation, electricity are just a few of the things that will be monitored by computers. Robots will replace human labor in many areas. In their comfortable armchairs, watching television, people will be able to handle their work through remote-controlled robots. Scientists predict that housework, instrument maintenance, removing of dust at home will be done by robots, some as small as nanochips. By Allah's Will, all of these predictions will come true, and the majority of time-consuming tasks will be accomplished by technological instruments.
Technology will present the beauties of the world to people. Through high-tech television, people will have the privilege to see and enjoy three-dimensional environments and even to participate in recreational activities and games. Virtual reality technology will enhance learning and provide people with valuable life skills.
The extensive use of computers and Internet technologies will bring radical changes to education. Home-schooling will be easier and more involved with the developing virtual reality technologies. More efficient learning systems, which will rely on gaining personal experience through virtual reality technologies or the Internet, will replace the classical education methods, which are based on memorization. Virtual reality is used extensively today in training. For example, environments that may be hazardous in the real world can be simulated quite easily by using virtual reality technology. Thanks to this technology, pilot training, for instance, has become safe. In the Golden Age, these technologies will be applied from business and planning to manufacturing and entertainment, and to many diverse business domains.
The radical changes due to appear in education and training in the Golden Age will benefit entire nations. As is the case with all other times, those people of the Golden Age who live according to the real spirit of the Qur'an's moral teachings will attain all of the beauty, comfort, and ease that they deserve. They will live amidst abundance.
Advances in Transportation
Advances in transportation will offer comfort and security and minimize time loss. New highways and high-tech vehicles will be instrumental in preventing accidents.
The extensive use of underground transportation will eliminate traffic congestion. Electricity, solar energy, or wind power will replace the air polluting fuel oils used in vehicles and thus make cities more livable places.
Supersonic planes, trains, and other high-tech vehicles will offer all the comforts one may need. More importantly, this technology will serve everyone, and not just a particular part of the world's population. All people will have access to the same technology, and discrimination will end.
Advances in Communication
Great advances in communication will provide very rapid communication and information exchange among all people, regardless of location. Satellite-based telecommunication networking, in particular, will provide tremendously rapid communication, and holographic telephones will introduce a new dimension to communication by projecting a life-size holographic image of the person being called.
Computer and Internet Technology
in Humanity's Service
Computer technologies will surely play a great role in the abundance of blessings. Today, computers are improving life quality in houses, workplaces, medicine, communication, the arts, and so on. In the Golden Age, these developments will accelerate in the socioeconomic domain on a global basis and bring more comfort to humanity.
In the twentieth century, Internet technology opened a new era by making communication and information sharing almost instantaneous. Learning, reading an international organization's reports, researching in a library, getting news, learning about technological developments and relevant comments now takes only a few minutes. As a result, comprehensive information collection that used to take long years of research can now be done with a minimum of effort.
As the Internet has overcome all obstacles to sharing accumulated information, all people and nations can have access to it. The ever-developing Internet technologies will have more to offer in the future.
One point deserves a special mention here. At no time in human history has the world witnessed such rapid development. In particular, the twentieth century's technological developments have been unprecedented. Only 100 years ago, no one could have imagined the world in which we live today. Only 15 or 20 years ago, people would have seen the Internet as a very advanced technology that could only be attained maybe after 100 years. Each of these developments indicates that humanity is approaching a very important time. It appears that the Golden Age will be a glorious time when people will benefit from all sorts of technology and thousands of blessings.
Technological Revolution in Energy
The energy age that began with the Industrial Revolution, usually considered to designate the period of 1750-1830 in Britain, reached a defining point with the technological developments of the twentieth century. In the coming 50 years, the world's population is expected to double and energy consumption to triple. Meanwhile, according to the best estimations, available oil reserves will meet humanity's needs for no longer than a century. Natural gas reserves, on the other hand, will be exhausted within a few decades. These facts have led scientists to turn their attention to cheaper and readily available energy sources, such as the sun, wind, and water.
Energy production from non-polluting sources is the major development of the foreseeable future. For instance, wind power will make coastal cities, in particular, less dependent on customary energy supplies and promote economic development by lessening dependency on foreign supplies and thereby increasing the general welfare. Wind power's non-abating nature and easy-accessibility have encouraged scientists to focus on producing renewable energy from wind.
Solar energy is another potential energy source. On an annual basis, Earth receives an amount of solar energy that amounts to 15,000 times our total current energy consumption. The solar energy received over a 20-day period equals the world's total energy reserves. Therefore, the efficient use of these resources will end our oil dependency.
