The future ain’t what it used to be. What’s more, it never was.
For one, it’s coming at us so fast that some of it has already become past. Such is the nature of 21st century change, and while I don’t make predictions, I am constantly asked to do so. But I will offer 30 expectations for what your job, work, workplace, career, and life are likely to look like just six short years from now. Some of these are still in concept or early development stages; others are in late gestation, but for what it’s worth, here’s my “30 for 30” list.
The future, we see, is coming faster than it used to.
- The first person to live to 150 has already been born. There’s even a chance we may be able to identify that person long beforehand.
- AI will have either taken over or infused nearly everything. Those who get with it early will prosper; those Luddites who refuse or resist…well…sorry.
- Nanorobots will navigate your bloodstream to spot problems no other imaging technology could ever before detect.
- Genome sequencing and gene splicing will predict and prevent diseases before they happen, wipe out others, combat epidemics, and – overall – lead to much longer, healthier lives.
- All four quadrillion connections in the human brain will be mapped. This project has been under way for more than a decade.
- “Super lenses” will ensure perfect vision forever. No human hands will be needed to implant them, either.
- Your annual physical will be done remotely.
- “Organ chips” will render obsolete such things as animal trials and human trials. ThenAI will render the chips obsolete before they’re institutionalized.
- MRIs – or an improved technology – will be done in seconds, not 20 minutes, and they’ll be done by a collapsable device the size of a current-day laptop.
- Scientists will discover direct evidence of dark matter. It may reveal the origins of the universe, yet we haven’t confirmed that dark matter exists. Dark energy? This, it is estimated, could be only a decade or so away.
- We will find life beyond earth and establish a colony on Mars. We will also see a military battle fought entirely in space. Why not? We haven’t yet learned to prevent war here on earth.
- Fusion energy, although still 25 years from popular usage, will be in development stages.
- The science of propulsion will be critical. Instead of 165 days to get to Mars, how’s a week? Instead of burning fuel, how about shooting photons around? To its extreme, deceleration will become more important than acceleration.
- Drones will be more common than cars and will have far more diversified applications.
- Vertical farming will be, of all things, an urban occupation – and will actually increase the percentage of Americans engaged in farming – for the first time since our country began. And we might find ourselves doing it at sea – this is an idea called “Ecopolis” which is where we might have to seek refuge when the seas rise.
- Undersea mining of vast amounts of minerals will wield untold wealth and power sooner than you think.
- Robots will be absolutely everywhere and within the financial reach of most of us.
- Bridges, built of organic concrete will repair themselves.
- We could find ourselves importing or exporting huge amounts of garbage in order to generate power (Some European nations are already doing it).
- You’ll fly from New York to London in two hours. Leave New York for an NBA game in London and be back in New York for a late supper and regular bedtime. Back at work next day, no jet lag.
- Graphene, the strongest material on earth made from the most common substance on earth (carbon), will begin to dominate manufacturing, construction – everything we do.
- Scrolls will replace laptops, tablets, and other not-so-flat devices.
- Additive printing – we know it as 3D printing – will change manufacturing like nothing since the Industrial Revolution.
- Digital “ants” will protect the U.S. power grid from cyber-attacks.
- You’ll live in smart homes – really smart homes – that will you what needs to be done, not the other way around.
- We’ll all work four-day weeks (eventually), spending more time in pursuit of leisure than work.
- And data will be measured in Zettabytes. What’s a zettabyte? 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
- Hybrid workplaces will mean so much more than working off site two days a week. Through AI and avatars, you’ll all sit and interact in the same room, no matter where in the world you are.
- We’re a lot closer than most people think to seeing the resurrection of extinct species and to rebalancing the ecosystem. Here are some critical species that have gone extinct since 1950: Passenger Pigeon, Caribbean Monk Seal, Baiji River Dolphin, Spix’s Macaw, Javan Tiger, Samoan Clouded Leopard. We could bring those and other beauties back. Not to mention life-critical insects. If all humans ceased to exist, life on earth would continue; if all insects disappeared, all life would end within a hundred years.
- And finally, umpires and referees will no longer be seen on the sportsSkeptical? Save my number and call me in six years.playing fields. laying fields. Think about it. This one’s easy.
Skeptical? Save my number and call me in six years. Meanwhile 2030 is almost here.