Dubai’s crazy, apocalyptic vision for the future

Food could be produced by robotic “auto-farms” housed in disused car garages, and people might live in bio-engineered 3D printer cities which have to be repeatedly “grown” and rebuilt after adverse weather conditions due to climate change.

The post-apocalyptic vision of the future was unveiled at the World Government Summit in Dubai this week, which has seen leaders and speakers from 139 countries gather in the United Arab Emirates.

Using research and cutting edge technology, the region predicts that by 2050 cities will have been destroyed, and the human race will have teetered on the brink of extinction.

In a bid to combat the threat to humanity, Dubai is already researching and working on plans for “bio-desalination plants” which combine the genes of a jellyfish and mangrove roots, one of the best plant desalinators on the planet.

And as well as using the oceans to provide drinking water for the global population, the region is also creating 3D printer “city kits”, which use bio-engineering to combat the inevitable destruction of human habitation and solutions to mass farming which it believes will be unacceptable to humanity and no longer possible.

Dr Noah Raford, chief operating officer of the Dubai Future Foundation, says although it may seem far-fetched, the region sees issues of water scarcity, food supply and sea level rises as a very real threat to millions of people.

“We are not preparing these as the end all answer. They are a series of products and services, which would solve the challenges in a way which could become exportable.”

Dubai is already dealing with these issues on a daily basis — almost 90 percent of the water supply is desalinated.

Much of the coastal infrastructure is under threat from inundation from sea level rises.

“These three challenges, including water supply and urban infrastructure re-development — they are the core impact that we are experiencing in climate change,” Dr Raford added.

“Water is the riskiest — it’s the thing you can’t fake. You can grow different kinds of food and different types of crops to respond to different types of environments, you can deal with local droughts and monsoons, by importing things from different parts of the world.

“But it is very difficult to put water on a boat and ship it from one place to another.

“Water is the fundamental thing which underlies all of these real risks.”

The plan is for the desalination plant to provide salt for batteries, another export.

Dr Raford said the solutions they are working on are hypothetical, but the threats and end results are very real.

Dubai has been spearheading research into the field after the planet crossing the threshold of the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere passing 400 parts per million (ppm) in 2016, the point at which irreversible climate change is inevitable.

The region showcased its solutions to the challenges to be faced by the human race at the “Reimagining Climate Change” exhibition, part of the Museum of the Future, which explores challenges in the three key areas of food, water, and shelter.

Dubai also proposes “auto-farms” created in people’s garages, which will no longer be needed as self-driven cars will be seen as a luxury which are too toxic to the atmosphere.

The vision is communities will grow their own food, and robots will harvest and create personalised shopping lists of fruit and vegetables for each household.

Meat and fish will also be off the menu, due to mass production of farming no longer being deemed acceptable, with the human race most likely getting its protein from crickets.

Dr Raford said: “The average apple which is bought from the supermarket is around a year old. This way the ‘auto-farm’ will produce food tailored to a family’s needs.”

The 3D printer city kits will combat the issues of displacement, with coastal communities being swallowed up by rising sea levels.

Dr Raford said research is being done into using bio-engineering which will use organisms which use sand to create the buildings in a matter of weeks.

For Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, finding solutions like these to the challenges of the future are paramount.

“It is a catalyst for future forecasting and study efforts, and plays a pivotal role in setting policies and strategies that allow the world’s governments to benefit from the technologies of the future and their potential,” he says.