predict how the world might change and look like in 2042, just 20 years from now
- the majority of cars on the road will be self-driving, with a human override
- consequently many people, rather than owning their own car, will be a subscribing member of a dynamic car pool
- in many households, smart-fridges etc. will semi-automate most of the supermarket shopping
- teenagers (and some adults) will spend half their waking day without a visor and half in VR / AR
- virtual holidays to periods in history will be possible
- virtual avatars of deceased friends and relatives will, for some, be treasured companions
- Russia, after a decade and a half of economic flatline, will begin to grow again as a competent STEM-based economy
- many women will be substantially relieved of unwanted male advances / attention
- energy-efficient living accommodation will be fast and cheap to construct and abundant
- airljne travel will have fallen to an unprecedented low
- alternatives to farmed meat (both meat-free substitutes and lab-grown meat) will have soared past farmed meat
- schools will make substantial use of VR / AR visors in lessons
- Hollywood will be experimenting with beyond-3D films in which the viewer finds themselves actually within the scene
- many cities will have built substantial cycleway infrastructure and embraced the bicycle as the primary means of transport
- a vast international project will be in progress, rebuilding the north pole with artificial ice
- nuclear fusion will be a small but established source of energy
- drones of all sizes will be everywhere from delivery drones to the first generation of human transport drones
- consequently, establishment will be underway of the first skylanes
I'll stop before I get too carried away... :-D
