The World Future Society’s top 20 future predictions
Robots care for patients and an Internet home-helper plans the family menu. Diseases are diagnosed in seconds from your breath alone, and with advances in medicine, 100-year-olds are treated the way 60-year-olds are now. That’s the world sketched by the World Future Society — a gathering of some 25,000 futurists from 80 countries — in its “20 Future Predictions for 2013–2025.”
From “Caregiver Robots to Become Reality in 10 Years… A 100-Year-Old Era That Feels Like 60” (Chosun Ilbo, 2013.1.29)
“Futurology” is a science aimed at prediction. Because its subject is “future society” and cannot be empirically verified, some argue it isn’t a science, but for humans who long for precise predictions, it’s always a topic of interest. Some of the things past futurists predicted turned out empty, but there are also cases where they hit the mark so well you’d say “incredible.”
The World Future Society, gathering 25,000 futurists from 80 countries, has released a report called “20 Future Predictions for 2013–2025.” It’s worth looking at for the world futurists envision and for grasping trends. Notably, there’s a lot on “robots.” Caregiver robots will become reality within 10 years; cloud technology will drop robot prices by 90%; and DNA robots will deliver drugs. As “open source” is applied to robotics too, shared technology is expected to accelerate development and lower prices.
Content about healthcare and medicine also stands out. First, “Lab on a Chip” is forecast to bring a medical revolution. A drop of blood on a chip can diagnose disease quickly and cheaply. Disease can also be diagnosed from breath alone — they’re already developing diagnostic devices where chip-coated nanowires bind only with chemical compounds emitted in breath when the body is infected or diseased. With advances in gene therapy, stem cells, and artificial organs, a “100-year-olds who feel like 60” era will open, but the enormous cost of life extension is expected to raise a new wealth-gap issue.
The arrival of the “Internet of Things” era also deserves attention. Everyday objects like home appliances will have their own Internet IP addresses and be connected to the network, collecting and processing information without human intervention. In fact, this “Internet of Things” is an area my own friend started developing more than a decade ago, which drew my attention even more.
I’d recommend reading through the World Future Society’s top 20 list once.
1. Lab on a Chip to bring a medical revolution.
2. Fuel-cell electric vehicles lead distributed power generation.
3. 3D printers trigger a production revolution.
4. Caregiver robots become reality within 10 years.
5. Cloud computers serve as everyday advisors.
6. India’s population surpasses China’s by 2028.
7. Energy-saving green-home boom.
8. Cloud tech makes robots 90% cheaper.
9. Carbon nanotube energy-production boom.
10. The “Internet of Things” era goes mainstream.
11. The rise of CEOs dedicated to SNS management.
12. Smartphones drive political reform in Africa.
13. Disease diagnosis from breath alone.
14. DNA robots deliver drugs.
15. Life extension deepens rich-poor conflict.
16. A mass extinction of ocean life by 2050.
17. Instead of stock price, Internet reputation determines company value.
18. Water production peaks then declines.
19. Growth of the Amish and Christian fundamentalists in the U.S.
20. A private-sector space era in full swing within 20 years.
