How close is humanity to paradise on earth?

Closer than you might think! AI & machine learning plus a stream of advances in science will make this possible. 

Of course, there were claims or even postulates of an impending coming of a paradise several times before in history. Why would it be different this time? Well never before have humans created intelligence like this outside the human body and brain. And this is only the beginning. The progress so far is simply breathtaking. On some tasks artificial intelligence/machine learning has already demonstrated superhuman performance. Progress is accelerating!

How to define a (material) paradise on earth? The basic needs like food, housing, energy and healthcare can be provided plentiful and cheap using human supervised robots, latest advances in science & medicine etc. A leisure society (1)  will be common everyday life, one only works voluntarily and when desired. Abundance everywhere and anytime!

This definition does not cover human vices & pettiness, evil, war & aggression and so on! On top of that, humans still have the capacity to annihilate most life on this planet. These will remain unresolved issues for some time to come!

Of course, any definition of paradise will have opponents and detractors. There may not be a common or universal definition or understanding for a long time or never.

The other open question is Big Government! Will we achieve paradise on earth as voluntarily cooperating individuals based on individual consent and deliberation taking as much time as is necessary. Or will it be more of a planned top down approach of some sorts that is imposed on the citizens and may very well go terribly wrong like other such approaches before in history.

What will happen to markets, trade, and commerce? Production, distribution and money will probably not go away. Humans have accommodated new demands for thousands of years with ingenuity, tenacity, and dedication. As long as individual entrepreneurs are free to make decisions we have little to worry!

Here are some speculative forecasts/predictions over the next 20-40 years or latest before 21st century ends:

1. Most if not all major diseases and health conditions will either be eradicated or successfully treatable. Cancer is on the verge to become history. The rapid and simultaneous development of several effective Covid-19 vaccines by different entities in multiple countries was just a foretaste of what is possible!
2. Agriculture and husbandry will be very different from today. Our food supply will not depend anymore or depend much less on nature. 
3. Energy supply will be plentiful based on hydrogen, nuclear fusion, photosynthesis or other inventions.
4. Traditional human procreation will fade away. Genetics and other scientific methods (e.g. artificial womb) will make it possible that e.g. women don't have to get pregnant anymore unless it is a woman's wish (2). 
5. How much will robotics and the human body merge or combine? How much will artificial intelligence and human intelligence merge or combine? E.g. I could use a much larger and faster memory for my brain. The extent is unknown at this time, but over the next decades you can expect something like a fusion to happen. Genetics and other scientific advances etc. indicate many possibilities.

Footnotes:

1. Leisure society: An old term popular in the 1960-70s, going back to economist Thorsten Veblen, but never realized
2. The centuries old controversy over abortion will go away too