The Chinese internet is alight with debate over predictions for the future, following an online claim from a so-called time traveller who has arrived in our era from the year 2060.
On 22 June, a post on Chinese social portal, Douban, brought the big debate about, having the title, “I come from 2060, any questions accepted”. The netizen responsible for the claim, “KFK”, announced that, “This is my first day in 2019. To some extent, I am a poor time traveller”.
Once this post was released, and ever since, thousands of netizens have swarmed to ask questions about the future, on topics ranging from politics to astronomy, and KFK answered most of them, apart from some relating to personal issues. KFK claims that 2019 is a turning point in human history, especially the latter half of the year, when, for example, more earthquakes shall occur.
KFK’s predictions cover the period from 2019 to 2060, and the content therein all comes from the historical record of 2060, needless to say. Mostly, they predict that AI technology will become synonymous, and that, for example, holographic games and tourism will be invented by a Chinese technology company in 2035.
Also according to KFK, by 2030 the mobile phone will be history; instead, smart contact lenses will be implanted into our eyes. In 2038, robots will be as widely used as smart phones are nowadays.
Perhaps most exciting of all, after 2050, supernatural phenomena, the secret of death, the existence of god and parallel universes will no longer be unsolved mysteries.
Apart from the revolution of technology, KFK also states that the technological revolution shall bring about big changes in political and societal issues. In 2048, some highly developed counties will enact laws that approve marriage between robots, while in the same year, China will legalise gay marriage.
More pragmatic news for many is the prediction that property prices will decline continuously; it no longer being struggle by 2060. This publication also notes that, with data taking the place of all documentation, as a result, paper will become a luxury. Hang on to those old copies of The Nanjinger…
Needless to say, the online debate is partly driven by those dubious as to KFK’s claims and attempts to dig out their identity. Netizen, “Yikeruanmei”, posts on Douban, “KFK might be short for KaFuKa [a transliteration of Franz Kafka]; as imaginative as Kafka”.
Also arising public interest is the fact that KFK has chosen to use Traditional Chinese as their language of choice online. As a result, some speculate their origin might be Taiwan or Hong Kong, while one netizen found an account showing KFK’s current address to be in Jing’an District of Shanghai, with them originally from Taiwan.
While the social media storm has immersed netizens into a world of science fiction, more people have stopped arguing as to the authenticity of KFK’s predictions, and have begun to realise the importance of considering a world without the limitations of today’s schools of thought. “Before the future approaches, we should discuss and think humbly and openly. No one has the qualification to attack other people’s ideas”, said netizen, “Phillips”.
