10 Bill gates' predictions that came true
- Smartphones
Bill Gates released a book called Business @ the Speed of Thought, along with Collins Hemmingway.
The book brought forward several predictions, including Gate’s quote on mobile devices: “People will carry around small devices that allow them to constantly stay in touch and do electronic business from wherever they are. They will be able to check the news, see flights they have booked, get information from financial markets, and do just about anything else on these devices.”
These days we have smartphones, smartwatches, even smart cars.
2. An Epidemic Would Kill Millions
Who really predicted Covid? Was it – A: Bill Gates or B: The Simpsons?
According to Forbs.com – it wasn’t the Simpsons. Although they did feature a mysterious illness, called Osaka flu in the episode, “Marge in Chains,” but it bore little resemblance to what we’re experiencing currently.
Bill Gates is probably closer to the truth, although he didn’t quite say when or where it would occur.
These were his thoughts, which he shared in a TED Talk, “If anything kills over 10 million people in the next few decades, it’s most likely to be a highly infectious virus rather than a war — not missiles but microbes. He continued to say, “we have invested a huge amount in nuclear deterrents, but we’ve actually invested very little in a system to stop an epidemic. We’re not ready for the next epidemic.”
3.Online Discussion Boards
Gates said, “Residents of cities and countries will be able to have internet-based discussions concerning issues that affect them, such as local politics, city planning, or safety.”
Perhaps things didn’t quite turn out how Bill Gates predicted, but he’s pretty close. Quora, Reddit, local community forums, and so on, all encourage open discussion and participation, even if it’s just to point out how you couldn’t possibly be tired compared to others.
4.Fake News
Pratchett questioned Gates on whether the internet would make it easier for people to spread misinformation, to which Bill Gates predicted that there would be scope for misinformation, but in his words, “not for long.”
He said it would be easy for people to fact check and that fake news would encourage people to do that. Gates said, “The whole way that you can check somebody’s reputation will be so much more sophisticated on the Net than it is in print today.”
And I could agree more.
5.Price-Comparison Sites
Bill Gates predicted, “Automated price comparison services will be developed, allowing people to see prices across multiple websites, making it effortless to find the cheapest product for all industries.”
Comparing things like flights, insurance, even groceries; saves us time and money.
Expedia, Shopzilla, Price Grabber or Google Shopping are all great at showing you different prices and are a good place to start if you’re looking to bag a bargain.
6.Instant Payment, Online Financing, and Better Healthcare
Your smartphone or watch is giving you hard to ignore signals that it’s time to get off your butt and start moving.
Your smartphone or watch is reminding you that you need to pay for your dental account.
Your smartphone or watch is offering advice on your current investment account.
Yep, there’s a reason they’re called smart.
So, Gates said, “People will pay their bills, take care of their finances, and communicate with their doctors over the internet…” And he was right.
We can take to heart what Bill Gates said, “I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user.”
7. Live sports discussions
Gates hit the nail on the head when he predicted, “While watching a sports competition on television, services will allow you to discuss what is going on live and enter a contest, where you vote on whom you think, will win.”
Today, there are several social media sites where you can comment on real-time sports and give your 2-sents worth on why the ref is biased, or why the coach doesn’t know what the f*CK he’s doing…
8. Internet Kiosks Would Be Everything
Some suggest that this is a prediction that Bill Gates got wrong, but we believe otherwise and here’s why. Gates predicted that there would be internet kiosks everywhere. He felt, “in much the same way that drinking fountains, restrooms, and payphones are available now.”
He believed the kiosks would replace ATM machines and payphones and people could purchase tickets and send and receive messages. These would ultimately replace your wallet if you left it at home.
So, why do I say he is correct?
Well – there may not be a physical kiosk – but there are hotspots everywhere. WiFi is available on public transport, in cafes, in hospitals – the world is your kiosk. And it can most certainly do all those things that Gates envisioned including replacing the wallet you left at home.
Pity you can’t use that excuse anymore!
9. Mobile banking will help people transform their life
In many poor countries, the banking infrastructure is just not there. It’s very difficult to come by cash yet the vast majority of people do have a mobile phone. So, what’s the alternative? Mobile banking.
Gates predicted that “by 2030, 2 billion people who don’t have a bank account today will be storing money and making a payment with their phones.”
Blockchain technology has already made that a reality. In time, people from financially unstable countries would have better access to online banking, savings accounts, access to credit and interest-bearing accounts and we’d see Gate’s vision of 2 billion people having a bank account become a reality.
10. Social Media
Gates foresaw a kind of social network where, “Private websites for your friends and family will be common, allowing you to chat and plan for events.”
In a subsequent blog to this prediction, he does add that “I didn’t anticipate how much people would choose to filter out different perspectives and harden their own views.” I guess we can’t expect him to predict everything, right Aluxers?
Today, there are private websites available plus Facebook, WhatsApp, Insta, Signal and more – all allowing for us to plan events and chat to each other privately.