Futurology

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/1578660

> Turns out all we may need to stop climate change is 139 billion gallons of super-duper white paint::According to one professor, we may be able to stop climate change if we used a new super white paint to cover the entire United States

Gen Zers are still in the early stages of their careers and personal finance journeys, but their financial habits are already proving to be radically different from those of their predecessors. With heightened levels of anxiety about the future grounded in very real socioeconomic and environmental issues, Gen Zers are reconfiguring their approach to money.

For those beacons of anti-capitalism and pivotal figures in the Great Resignation, financial success in the age of “late-stage capitalism” looks very different from how other generations may have defined it. Gen Z’s economic outlook is bleak

Gen Zers have encountered their own set of unique challenges entering the workforce at a time of global societal uncertainty. From graduating during a global pandemic to current fears around inflation, wage stagnation, growing inequality, and an impending recession, many feel that the cards are stacked against them. A recent study by Fidelity Investments found that 45% of people ages 18 to 35 “don’t see a point in saving until things return to normal.” In that same age group, 55% said they put retirement planning on hold during the pandemic.

The future doesn’t look much better. With growing anxiety around climate change and the deterioration of traditional safety nets like Social Security, there is a general air of unease amongst many Gen Zers.

Almost a quarter of Gen Z respondents in a McKinsey study said they do not expect to retire, and only 41% expect to own a home one day. This may be because they’re young, and such financial goals seem too far away to properly comprehend—but national statistics support the fact that traditional milestones like home ownership and retirement are increasingly unattainable. The typical first-time buyer was 36 years old in 2022, rising from 33 in 2021, an all-time high. Coupled with rising student debt, it makes the “American dream” ever less achievable for young people. Financial wellness is about more than just money

When it comes to financial wellness, Gen Zers place less emphasis on the financial than on the wellness. Unlike previous generations, they’re unwilling to stick it out at a toxic job or forgo travel and experiences in favor of padding their savings.

The traditional markers of financial success—from owning a home to snagging that corner office at work—are becoming not only less attainable but also less valuable for Gen Zers.

Mental well-being, personal growth, and fulfillment are being reprioritized ahead of financial gain: 73% of Gen Z would rather have a better quality of life than extra money in the bank, and 66% are only interested in finances as a way to support their other interests in life.

Gen Zers are increasingly looking for ways to prioritize quality of life over financial achievement at all costs. The TikTok trend of “soft life”—and its financial counterpart “soft saving”—is a stark departure from their millennial predecessors’ financial habits, which were rooted in toxic hustle culture and the “Girlboss” era. Cashing in—and checking out

Some young people have adopted a sort of financial nihilism as a response to deteriorating economic conditions, eschewing traditional capitalist norms for ones that are decidedly more self-serving and self-indulgent.

New and often controversial lifestyles are proliferating on platforms like TikTok, such as “bimbo culture” and “stay-at-home girlfriends.” The hashtag “#Bimbofication” has garnered over 275 million views on TikTok. Meanwhile “sugar daddy dating” reportedly spiked 74% on the platform SeekingArrangement during the pandemic.

Increasingly popular with Gen Z audiences, manifestation content has also spread rapidly on platforms like TikTok and Instagram­—the latest iteration of the “law of attraction” that promotes the use of “positive frequencies” and “delusional thinking” to attract wealth and prosperity into one’s life. Rather than claw their way up the corporate ladder or surreptitiously stash away money for the future, practices like project 129 and the 3-6-3 method emphasize positive thinking and visualization to achieve personal and financial goals.

Some Gen Zers are reacting to the seeming financial downfall of society by simply doing nothing. Distraction by way of living in the moment and enjoying life has become a popular coping mechanism for those looking to avoid the ills of late-stage capitalism.

Growing lifestyle practices like radical rest promote the importance of disconnection with traditional ideals of success and reconnecting with your own well-being by way of self-care and repose. The practice of doing nothing as resistance has taken hold among young people in China as well, through the simple act of tanping—or “lying flat.” Examples of this “radical” ideology include not getting married, not having children, not buying a house or a car, and refusing to work extra hours or to hold a job at all.

The new attitudes among this cohort will have a lasting impact on every industry. It’s too soon to tell what the effects of reshaping financial goalposts will be—but not too soon to start preparing.

Molly Barth is a senior cultural strategist at Omnicom’s cultural consultancy sparks & honey.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

It's not surprising Generation Z (those born in the late 90s/early 2000s) are so radically different in their outlook. All they've known is decreasing living standards, as the cost of health, education & housing balloons.

It's interesting to wonder how this will shape how society deals with robots & AI capable of doing most work becoming more and more a reality from the end of this decade onwards. It makes we wonder if they will be quicker to embrace new ideas on how to run countries and economics and dismiss ideas Boomers think are inviolate.

>TOKYO -- A Japanese research team is making progress on the development of a groundbreaking medication that may allow people to grow new teeth, with clinical trials set to begin in July 2024. > >The tooth regrowth medicine is intended for people who lack a full set of adult teeth due to congenital factors. The team is aiming to have it ready for general use in 2030. > >Work is now underway to get the drug ready for human use. Once confirmed to have no ill effects on the human body, it will be aimed at treating children aged 2 to 6 who exhibit anodontia. "We hope to pave the way for the medicine's clinical use," Takahashi said.

Although this will be used for congenital defects in children in Japan, I see no reason this couldn't be used in adults as well. Regrowing all your teeth at once might be painful, but it will be worth it for many.

Summary: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the sale of cultivated chicken grown directly from animal cells in the United States. The product is produced by GOOD Meat, a division of Eat Just, Inc. and is an alternative to traditional meat derived from cells in a lab. The company has stated that this is a major moment for their company and the industry as a whole.

According to the article, scientists have created synthetic human embryos using stem cells, without the need for eggs or sperm. These embryo-like structures resemble those in the earliest stages of human development, but they do not have a beating heart or a brain. They are not considered human embryos, but rather embryo models. However, the work also raises serious ethical and legal issues, as there are no clear regulations governing the creation or use of these synthetic embryos. Some bioethics experts have expressed concern about the implications of these models for the definition and respect of human life.

(1) Synthetic human embryos created in groundbreaking advance. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jun/14/synthetic-human-embryos-created-in-groundbreaking-advance. (2) Scientists report creation of first human synthetic model embryos. https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/14/health/human-model-embryo/index.html. (3) What are synthetic embryos? - Maize. https://www.maize.io/magazine/what-are-synthetic-embryos/. (4) Scientists Create Synthetic Human Embryos | Newsmax.com. https://www.newsmax.com/health/health-news/embryos-synthetic-human/2023/06/14/id/1123609/. (5) Scientists create world’s first ‘synthetic embryos’ - The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/03/scientists-create-worlds-first-synthetic-embryos.

Osimertinib is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that binds to certain mutant forms of EGFR (T790M, L858R, and exon 19 deletion) that predominate in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumours following treatment with first-line EGFR-TKIs². It exhibits a nine-fold greater affinity for select EGFR-sensitizing and T790M-resistance mutations than to wild-type EGFR¹.

(1) . https://bing.com/search?q=osimertinib+mechanism+of+action. (2) DRUG NAME: Osimertinib - BC Cancer. http://www.bccancer.bc.ca/drug-database-site/Drug%20Index/Osimertinib_monograph.pdf. (3) Mechanism of Action – TAGRISSO® (osimertinib). https://www.tagrissohcp.com/moa.html. (4) Osimertinib: Uses, Interactions, Mechanism of Action | DrugBank Online. https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB09330. (5) Mechanisms of osimertinib resistance and emerging treatment ... - PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32693293/.

The article talks about the possibility of creating artificial wombs capable of supporting humans across the full nine months of development. It also mentions that even if scientists are able to overcome the scientific hurdles and create artificial wombs capable of supporting humans across the full nine months of development, society might reject them. It also discusses how artificial wombs will alter the relationship between men, women, and fetuses such that reproduction is effectively ‘degendered’.

>The goal is to quickly develop a pilot power plant.

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So, I've been thinking for a long time what automation means for society in general, and the economy in particular, especially since the recent advances in Artificial Intelligence. All in all, I'm pretty sure this ongoing transition could be understood as a series of phases, at each of which the economy can either move more towards socialism or capitalism. Please tell me what you think about this :)

1. First phase: production increases quickly; this sharp increase in the amount of product manufactured drives automation forward, and results in a higher wage to price ratio and/or a higher profit margin. This phase started at the First Industrial Revolution.
2. Second phase: production grows more slowly, but innovation begins a feedback process that quickly brings products that are technologically more advanced and require higher automation to be produced. This can be coupled to higher prices or not. We are in this phase.
3. Third phase: automation starts advancing at a pace that technological requirements for manufacture can't keep up with. The demand for labor thus decreases significantly, either improving the overall working conditions or increasing unemployment. We're at the verge of entering this phase.
4. Fourth phase: if the previous phases take place in a socialist context, communism is achieved now. If they take place in a capitalist context, living conditions may deteriorate to a point wherein a socialist revolution can be carried out. Or, countries could manage to temporarily contain this deterioration via social measures. If all fails, however, the cost of manufacture will simply keep going down until the economic system partially collapses due to most products essentially becoming free (think of what open source software brought about). This will also realize "communism", but possibly a different form of it that we maybe don't want.

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