The next billion dollar industry will not be a service or product – it will be upgrading humans, an expert has revealed.

It has been suggested that humans will have access to technology that will allow them to 'upgrade themselves into gods'.

Bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari has also warned that because not everyone will be able to experience the upgrade, due to costs, there will be a divide that could spark ‘old racist ideologies’ - but this time, differences will be ‘engineered and manufactured’.

The next billion dollar industry will not be a service or product – it will be upgrading humans, an expert has revealed. It has been suggested that technology will let humans 'upgrade themselves into gods', but since the process will be costly, not everyone will have the ability to do so

‘The greatest industry of the 21st century will probably be to upgrade human beings,’ Harari, who explores bleak future of humanity and ‘the rise of the useless class’ in his novel Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow, told Jeremy Olshan with MarketWatch.

Humans have been running on the same hardware and software for some 200,000 years, leaving us to be the ultimate project - and that is where Harari's prediction comes into play.

‘When we think about the future we generally think about a world in which people who are identical to us in every important way enjoy better technology: laser guns, intelligent robots, and spaceships that travel at the speed of light,’ Harari shared on his website.

‘Yet the revolutionary potential of future technologies is to change Homo sapiens itself, including our bodies and our minds, and not merely our vehicles and weapons.’

‘The most amazing thing about the future won’t be the spaceships, but the beings flying them.’

THE RICH WILL BECOME 'GOD-LIKE CYBORGS,' HISTORIAN PREDICTS Last year Harari argued that the world will experience a radical shift in the next 200 years. Using biotechnology and genetic engineering, Professor Harari claimed the wealthy will transform into a new type of divine, immortal human with complete power over life and death. He argued that the rich are set to become God-like cyborgs in what could be the 'biggest evolution in biology' since life emerged. During a recent speech at the Hay Literary Festival in Wales, Professor Harari said, 'We are programmed to be dissatisfied,' The Telegraph reported. 'Even when humans gain pleasure and achievements it is not enough. They want more and more. 'I think it is likely in the next 200 years or so homo sapiens will upgrade themselves into some idea of a divine being, either through biological manipulation or genetic engineering of by the creation of cyborgs, part organic part non-organic. The technology to do this, however, will be restricted to the very wealthy, claims Professor Harari. Up until now, he says society has been held together by inventing 'fictions', such as religion, money and the idea of fundamental human rights. As long as humans believed they relied more and more on these gods they were controllable, he said 'But what we see in the last few centuries is humans becoming more powerful and they no longer need the crutches of the Gods.' Advertisement

Bestselling author Yuval Noah Harari (pictured) has also warned that there will be a divide which could spark ‘old racist ideologies’ - but this time, differences will be ‘engineered and manufactured’

‘Humans are going to upgrade themselves into gods.'

‘That is, humans will acquire abilities that in the past were considered divine, such as eternal youth, mind reading, and the ability to engineer life.’

And although these ideas may sound far fetched or something from a science fiction film, tech giants of the world are already working towards making it a reality.

Google has a division that focuses solely ‘overcoming death’, Harari noted.

But, just because an upgrade boom is predicted, it doesn't mean everyone will experience it.

Harari also believes that the advances beings will have less things to do during the day, as a majority of the tasks will be done by robots and artificial intelligence – leaving them to play computer games and spend their lives immersed in virtual reality

Just as advancing from a flip phone to an iPhone was costly, so will becoming a more advanced being.

The improvements are believed to ‘lead to greater income inequality than ever before,’ Harari said.

And the economic inequality could actually be deemed biological inequality.

The divide may also bring back old world racists ideologists, but instead of it being because of biological reasons, it will be for things that have been engineered or manufactured.

Harari also believes that the advances beings will have less things to do during the day, as a majority of the tasks will be done by robots and artificial intelligence – leaving them to play computer games and spend their lives immersed in virtual reality.

In addition to human beings upgrading, Harari also foresees a world where humankind may become 'eternally useless' due to the increasing capabilities of AI.

In addition to human beings upgrading, Harari also foresees a world where humankind may become 'eternally useless' due to the increasing capabilities of AI.’ A scene from Terminator Genisys is pictured above

FIVE JOBS AT RISK FROM ROBOTS According to recent studies, certain jobs are already at risk of being replaced by automated workers. Accountants are 99 per cent likely to lose their jobs to machines. Umpires and referees have a 98.3 per cent chance of being automated. Waiters and waitress are 93.7 per cent likely to be replaced by machines. Legal assistants and paralegals have a 94.5 per cent chance of being automated. Fashion models are 97.6 per cent likely to lose the lime light because of robots. Advertisement

The historian and lecturer at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem likens the fate of humans to that of the doomed protagonist in the fable of the boy who cried wolf, according to The Guardian.

While humans have long predicted that machines will take over much of our society, many such forecasts have not yet come true.

But in the end, like the wolf, Harari says AI will finally come to achieve what many have feared.

The resulting shift could leave humans both jobless and aimless, The Guardian explains.

‘As the self-made gods of planet earth, which projects should we undertake, and how will we protect this fragile planet and humankind itself from our own destructive powers?’ Homo Deus questions.

These ‘destructive powers’ have already begun to take hold, according to Harari.

AI have begun to outperform humans in many areas, and there’s no guarantee we will be able to keep up as this continues.

‘Children alive today will face the consequences,’ Harari told The Guardian.

‘Most of what people learn in school or in college will probably be irrelevant by the time they are 40 or 50.

‘If they want to continue to have a job, and to understand the world, and be relevant to what is happening, people will have to reinvent themselves again and again and faster and faster.’

As humans become functionally ‘useless’ in comparison to AI, we may no longer have value in the eyes of political and economic systems. This could in turn result in humans losing their sense of purpose. In a post-work world, human emotions may be controlled by drugs and virtual reality rather than real-life experiences

As humans become functionally ‘useless’ in comparison, we may no longer have value in the eyes of political and economic systems.

This could in turn result in humans losing their sense of purpose.

In a post-work world, human emotions may be controlled by drugs and virtual reality rather than real-life experiences, The Guardian explains.

To prevent this dreary outcome, the author suggests humans take the issue very seriously.