Future of medicine in the coming decades: "Dialogues about the Future" discussion held at the National Centre RUSSIA
As part of the preparations for the II International Symposium "Inventing the Future," the National Centre RUSSIA has launched a series of discussions where science meets futurology and bold predictions are grounded in real technological achievements.
The second meeting of the new educational project "Dialogues about the Future" took place on June 27. The event focused on the future of medicine, exploring the potential and limitations of introducing advanced technologies into healthcare, as well as the social and ethical implications of new approaches to treating various diseases.
The discussion was moderated by Valery Fedorov, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation and Director General of the VCIOM Analytical Centre. The speakers were Danila Medvedev, PhD in Economics, futurist, and Director General of the NeuroCode Group, and Dmitry Telyshev, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences, Director of the Institute of Bionic Technologies and Engineering, and Scientific Director of the Advanced Engineering School "Intelligent Systems of Theranostics" at Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.
The experts discussed revolutionary changes in medicine — how nanorobots will transform the principles of diagnostics and treatment, what ethical dilemmas may emerge with life-extension technologies, and where the boundary lies between therapeutic intervention and artificial human enhancement.
"Today, we must set an urgent priority — to prepare bionic technologies for mass application, so that we can replace or grow organs, build tissue structures, reprogramme cells, and substitute parts of the human body. If something goes wrong, it should be repairable in a routine way — just like we now fix smartphones," said Danila Medvedev.
Dmitry Telyshev expressed the view that over the next 25 years, medicine should primarily focus on understanding the development of the human brain.
"If we know how our brain works, believe me, we’ll be able to answer many questions. The better we understand the brain, the better we can stimulate it. And after some time, people will become more enlightened, more educated, and most importantly — more in control of their inner states," Dmitry Telyshev emphasised.
Valery Fedorov raised the issue of access to new technologies, which can be quite expensive.
"Many may wonder: is the medicine of the future only for the wealthy? Today it was stated that this is not the case. New drugs and technologies are expensive, but after a certain period — not too long one — they become much more accessible. It could take ten years, maybe a little more, but the timeframe, as we can see, is within reach. So the medicine of the future is for everyone," concluded the moderator of the discussion.
The project by the National Centre RUSSIA reflects the central theme of the II International Symposium "Inventing the Future" — bringing together the world’s leading minds to jointly design positive scenarios for the future.
Event photobank
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