"If we stick to the same path we do today the world will become a massive dystopia, everyone will live in shantytowns, and the wealthy will be insanely powerful."

I don't like that attitude and never have. You can see it in the global warming nuts, the people who see china taking over the world, and hundreds of others.

People adapt, people change, and people improve things. Rates of emissions increasing has gone down. People will notice when the system grows stale and begin to vote for more changes in the systems. New jobs or industries can pop up that employ millions and bring back a middle class. (pipe dream, but imagine if space mining/colonies becomes a thing and requires people to be up there to fix and maintain things)

We can't predict the future. It could go horribly, the world could be crippled by global warming, food prices could go up, and modern society could collapse. It is entirely possible, but so is the alternative.

The most we can do is take the best course of action, and vote on the best course of action. Keep a keen eye on the possibilities and chose where we are headed accordingly.

Of course, things like this are important to show us what is possible, and that we need to change, but I never believe the doomsayers.