Predicting the Future

Back when your ancestors, brought their first television it will have a had a tiny black and white screen with a terrible picture, but for them then this was a glimpse in to the future....

You probably wouldn’t have won an award for predicting the invention of the colour TV back then, after all this was a well worn path already trodden by the likes of printing, photography, and film. 

It may have taken someone with a little more, ahem 'vision' if you will pardon the pun to predict that larger screens would become the norm and that with an increase in screen size so an increase in picture quality would be required but we are still not exactly talking Nostradamus here.

It is relatively easy to make certain predictions based upon the trajectory of todays technology, I say relatively because there are many cases where a predictable progression ends up being derailed by a less predictable intersection, for example, remember fax machines and how simply inevitable it was that one day we would all be sending each other coloured faxes right?

I often joke that my job as a security consultant requires me to be able to look into the future, so the other day just for shiggles I sat down with a blank sheet of paper and had a crack at doing just that.  

Many of my predictions as inevitable as colour televisions were back in the 30’s, others are a bit more fanciful,  see if you can spot which is which.

2017

News articles begin to warn that children's cognitive abilities are being severely impaired by excessive use of virtual reality tech, but no one can agree on what ‘excessive’ is. The generation that was blinded by sitting too close to the TV, and the generation that was deafened by listening to walkmans too loudly team up with the generation that never slept due to  excessive screen time and demand immediate government action via an online petition.

A very large soft drink company admits that for years they suppressed knowledge about their flagship product being carcinogenic, the resulting class action bankrupts them. 

2018

Virtual Reality films and gaming is bigger than ever predicted; we begin to see the first class actions with people claiming PTSD from using VR tech. Very soon all VR tech is subject to a ridiculous EULA that you need to virtually fly over to acknowledge before commencing.

2019

3D scanning/printing is available on almost every High St.   You can walk in to the equivalent of a Kinco’s store with a broken piece of plastic or metal and walk out with a replacement within 10 minutes.  Alternatively, a popular online bookstore company will pick up broken parts and drop off replacements using delivery drones.

Print media is dead, Journalism is now simply viewed as a hobby rather than a profession and retro printed newspapers begin to emerge that are run by volunteers in a manner similar to old steam trains. 

2020

Goods that have 3d replaceable parts are increasingly popular, and there is a real drive to create less trash, many people will make a living simply by finding old broken things and repairing them using 3d printed parts, selling them online - they will be called 'Tinkerers'.  3D designs for just about every part will traded online, and copyright issues will echo those of digital music and films years earlier. 

The world's first silent firework displays will feature arrays of hundreds of cheap disposable drones with coloured led’s flying in computer controlled formations, Pretty quickly many displays begin to be dominated by messages from sponsors appearing throughout in the sky like huge rotating neon signs.

2021

First physical 3d Screen for a smartphone is announced, icons and buttons can be felt and pressed and blind users can use braille to message each other.

Researchers find that less than 0.1% of twitter users are real people which explains why companies that had been using twitter for marketing were seeing such poor results. 

2022

Sharing economy moves to the next level, 50% of the working population are freelancers who engage in part time skills for hire work, this ranges from assembling flat pack furniture in the nude to bespoke hacking engagements and even cyber bullies for hire.

Police cars now carry drones that can safely pursue cars and remotely engage the brakes on fleeing vehicles whilst locking the occupant’s inside.

2023

Bottled water is taxed heavily in an effort to encourage people to return to tap water because the decline in the use of tap water for drinking has ironically resulted in it becoming less safe for drinking. 

Activists and guerrilla marketing campaigns are increasingly using arrays of cheap drones to print dot matrix style graffiti slogans on the sides and increasingly, the glass frontages of high rise buildings, the size and quality of these attacks has increased rapidly and police are struggling to identify those responsible. 

2024

By monitoring the frequency of people printing replacement parts, manufacturers claim to be better able to see which parts of their products fail first, and promise better products moving forwards and an end to the hated practice of 'built in obsolescence'.  Unfortunately, their efforts have come too late, as people have been increasingly purchasing user serviceable goods with open source parts and improvements for years.

2025

Most locksmiths went out of business because the 3D printing of metal keys is so cheap and easy. Keys can be ordered and delivered in minutes simply by taking a photograph of the key itself.  This has driven the fact that most houses and cars are now secured instead using electronic locks relying on smart device apps.

2026

Massive civil wars will effect prominent western nations, many affluent refugees attempt to flee to other developed countries, but are prevented from doing so on the grounds that their country had historically discriminated against refugees fleeing in the other direction.

2027

A well known Canadian Rock Star dies of a suspected overdose of prescription pain medication, His funeral is streamed live on YouTube but only attracts 20 thousand viewers, and those that do tune in complain about the constant ads for pharma company responsible for the painkillers. 

2028

Relationships are no longer viewed as a permanent thing, and couples who ‘mate for life’ are increasingly seen as odd.  Transient and polygamous relationships are increasingly common including a far higher prevalence of inter-sex and inter-race relationships.

2029

Air travel has become prohibitively expensive, fewer and fewer people are able to afford to travel this way, as a result the economy sea transport business is once again booming.

A popular Ancestry and genealogy website announces it is buying a once popular, but now failing social media behemoth so that future generations can automatically import the profiles of their ancestors directly in to their family tree. 

2030

Bananas have become practically extinct, however scientists are able to create other fruits that taste like bananas,  Grandad insists they taste nothing like the real thing though. 

2031

Chocolate has become massively rare and extremely expensive, it’s use is reserved for special celebrations and rarely if ever wasted on children. 

2032

Precious gemstones are no longer be considered precious at all, very large stones change hands on online auction sites for a tiny fraction of their original value. 

2033

Driverless cars are now so common, that the site of anyone behind the wheel causes genuine panic amongst other road users.

2034

A class of society has emerged where people will travel to the country that offers them the best taxes and benefits and will move there for 12 to 24 months before reassessing and moving on again, special transient working visas have emerged to accommodate this and countries vie to be in the top 10 destinations each year.

2035

Cities have all become much much bigger, and most major cities have multiple satellite cities that have merged with the cities themselves, despite all the advances in video conferencing and prevalence of home workers and cloud based teams, face to face and in person is still considered by far the most effective way of working. 

2036

Wild fishing is viewed like hunting was in 2016, very few people will engage in any form of fishing for wild fish and 80% of seafood will be farmed and unrecognisable by today's standards due to what is described as 'selective breeding' but what conspiracy theorists will term ‘illegal genetic modification’.

If you have enjoyed this cynical glimpse into your future (or just my over imaginative mind) please like this post, or add your own predictions in the comments below.