A Potential Future: The Glass Half Empty

A hypothetical look at AI and technology's effects on society.

Photography & Writing by Vic Rincon
Editing by Jorge Delgado-Ureña & Mei Seva

I have had a fascination with technology and AI since a young age. Perhaps cultivated by a heavy diet of science fiction, there was something about the changing world around me that caught my attention. Growing up in such a pivotal time in the 90s and 2000s, technology accelerated and infiltrated daily life at breakneck speed, and I was fascinated by futurist predictions.

“One day, everything a desktop computer can do will be on our phones,” I said to my dad in 2006. He was skeptical. But it became true.

By the time I was in my late 20s, I watched self-driving cars being tested in my home city of Phoenix, while delivery robots roamed around the local college town of Tempe as a sign of what was to come.

Now I live in California, a state with cities on the edge of the future. San Francisco and Los Angeles are hotbeds for the latest technological changes, providing us with a glimpse into where the world is going, and what life may be like in the next decade.

Los Angeles, California | 2035

The world has just reached the point of no return regarding climate change. The Earth’s temperature has permanently risen 2 degrees Celsius, kickstarting massive global change.

In 2023, Google cut 12,000 jobs—6% of its workforce. By 2035, 30% of all jobs worldwide became automated.

The year is 2035.

Between 2022 and 2023, homelessness rose 7.5% in Los Angeles. In the years to follow, without proper protocol in place and with the increase in AI and other tech-replacing jobs, many lower and middle-class individuals fell victim to housing displacement and were out of jobs.

In 2035, while most jobs still require human counterparts, many are now shared with robots and AI. In previous years, multiple security guards would be staffed to guard businesses. Now robots have replaced all but one or two in many places.

Self-driving cars have become more popular in 2035; 4.5 million self-driving cars roam the streets in the US. But they still haven’t fully replaced human drivers.

Taxis driven by humans are now a thing of the past, and catching a ride to the airport, bar, or neighboring city is now an autonomous venture.

In addition to self-driving cars, long haul trucks are now partially replaced with autonomous vehicles, but still require a human driver to manage and take over manually if needed.

Despite the dominance of AI in everyday life, some people still choose creativity and freedom of expression over automation. Doing so is an act of defiance against late-stage capitalism.

Kal Spelletich is a robot artist in San Francisco, CA. Someone with a love for technology, but adamantly against its exploitation. After turning down NASA twice and Google once for positions, he finds joy in adding a human touch to his creations and supporting humanitarian causes in a world where they are dwindling.

“[It’s a] mystical time and how we understand our place in the cosmos, hence how we understand ourselves. At the same time I’m very skeptical of the way capital exploits technology and exploits [us]. This will definitely lead to disaster.” - Kal Spelletich

Kal Spelletich, Robot Artist

In 2024, nearly 4 million people were employed as fast food workers. By 2035, an average staff of 15 has been cut down to three human workers, with robots picking up the slack.

CaliExpress was the first automated burger joint; it opened in 2023, in Pasadena, California.

Fries are now cooked to perfection using a robot arm. The bot can make about 100 patties an hour.

Once food is made, it is no longer delivered by the contract food delivery couriers that were so commonplace in the 2010s and 2020s. All food is handed over via roaming robots, which are usually autonomous, but piloted by humans on the other side in times of difficult predicaments on their routes.

The world has changed immensely from a decade ago—AI is king, and the most lucrative jobs are those training artificial intelligence systems by feeding them information. None of these jobs existed in 2020. Now, they are the most sought-after for stability.

In 2024, we're at a crossroads. The technology exists, is utilized, and is beginning to boom. These are all things that can easily come to pass in 2035. There is the common saying, "Don't worry about what you can't control," but what do you do when it controls your life? The question then becomes not just about how to adapt to these changes, but how to retain our individuality in a future where technology may govern our very existence.


By Vic Rincon

www.vicrincon.com
https://www.instagram.com/victusvisuals/

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Sources

Study Says 2035 Is Climate Change Point of No Return (How Stuff Works)

Google Trims Hundreds of Jobs as It Marshals Resources for AI (Wall Street Journal)

Generative AI and the future of work in America (McKinsey Global Institute)

An Update on Homelessness in California (Public Policy Institute of California)

The Evolution of Self-Driving Cars & Their Policing (Kustom Signals, Inc.)

Self-Driving Trucks: Are Truck Drivers Out of a Job? (ATBS)