Everything will change the day we develop the "Thinking Machine". What is the Thinking Machine, you ask? Throughout our technological advances, we see a direction that all of our computing power is headed. One can see from the 8-bit technology from the 1980's to today's ultra-realistic video games that the direction we are taking our technology will eventually culminate with the development of indistinguishable-from-reality graphics.
Video games are one thing, but imagine running a simulation with indistinguishable graphics from real life. Now, artificial intelligence is within our grasp. Imagine coding a simulation to watch human development from the big bang to now. Imagine running that same sim on a quantum computer capable of realizing every possible outcome. Are you starting to see the value of the information you could gather if you let humans advance in every way possible?
The Thinking Machine will advance us in every aspect of life. We will conquer the cosmos, and gain immortality as all of these concepts are realized within the infinite sims that would be run congruently. Data over data, all culminating in the collection point for the simulated existence. 7,000 years will allow us to realize and learn new sciences, new concepts, and really, the imagination is the only limit to the amount of useful information that could be gathered through the creation of this machine.
Now, ask yourself.... If you can foresee us building one of these Thinking Machines in the future, how can you tell if we are not already in one of these machines already? Life could literally be a dream, in a virtual space, being captured and studied by our future selves....