What will the future look like? Here’s a minimal-effort (read: no research) attempt to summarize the different trends discussed by popular media that I have reason to believe will be true.
Digitalization
Computers will replace most repetitive jobs
Factories began automating manual labor, and future technology will automate service jobs too. Expect everything from truck-driving to elder-care to be replaced by robots and artificial intelligence paired with “big data.”
The languages that matter will be programming ones
Native languages will exist, but few people will need to learn languages other than their mother tongue; computers can do the translation for you.
All money will be digital
Goodbye physical currency.
People will have to worry about cybersecurity
Today, cybersecurity as we hear about it is primarily focused on governments and companies. Tomorrow, people will have to worry about cybersecurity of their data in the same way that they worry about the physical security of their homes.
Science
Global warming will screw us over
Yeah that’s a thing.
People will live longer
Disease will become much more rare because of genetically targeted medications + cure for cancer. As for how much longer, I don’t know.
Designer babies will be better than normal people
Social justice
Wealth inequality will increase
Urban centralization will increase
Educated people will centralize in the ~20 alpha cities where global innovators live and work. Only cities have the scale and infrastructure so that ideas, labor, and capital can move around fluidly enough to make things happen.
Less participation in government
People will find privatized ways of disseminating information and enacting change; e.g. blogs & private companies (respectively).
Stereotyping (e.g. racism) will continue
At its core, stereotypes are about noticing something different and attributing it to some reason that you can identify. Opposition to immigration will continue to pervade wealthy countries.
Female working roles will grow
Despite the fact that stereotyping will continue, women will continue to have increasingly important roles. Smart countries will take advantage of this massive potential workforce and capitalize on the economic gains.
Mind and society
Awareness of flaws will increase
As information becomes increasingly available, people will be more aware of flaws, both in other people and in products and systems that they interact with. Another consequence is that people will spend more time highly curating product/brand image and personal image for others, so that others do not perceive those flaws. On the other hand, information considered fatal to one’s image today will be less damning tomorrow. Finally, people who are able to come to terms with their own flaws and each other’s flaws will be happier.
Opportunities:
- help people process large quantities of information for further use
- help people curate or spend less time curating a public image/persona
- help people build mindfulness and come to terms with flaws
Traditional marriage will decline
Many will still be married for life, but it will become more societally acceptable to have multiple relationships throughout one’s life, and to have multiple relationships at the same time.
Less participation in religion
People will rely more on mindfulness/meditation and non-deity philosophies
Life will get lonelier
People will communicate more and more through digital means and short-form communication. (Think Snapchat.) Long-distance friendships, family relationships, and romantic relationships will increase. When in need, people will rely more often on paid services. Without as much physical connection and communication context, people will more easily feel sad and get hurt.
Opportunities:
- create living communities in cities more similar to college dorms for people to stay connected
- give people ways to cope with sadness and loneliness
Attention spans will decrease
People will find it hard to focus on any one thing for an extended period of time.
Thank you to Raymond for inspiring the exercise behind this post.
