Growth: Growth is by far the most common of the four alternative futures. It's a favorite subject of politicians, central bankers and businesspeople far and wide.
Collapse: Moving in the opposite direction is a subject many avoid. But that doesn't mean "collapse" and what it might entail shouldn't be seriously considered.
Discipline: Discipline may conjure images of dystopian or authoritarian controls. Like George Orwell's 1984 or Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. Yet taming society's excesses or simply limiting energy use could help preserve finite resources. A disciplined future may be guided by values that are spiritual, natural, religious, political and/or cultural.
Transformation: The transformation scenario is the most disruptive of the four. Since it anticipates and welcomes the transformation of all life. Including humanity from its present form into a new posthuman form on an entirely artificial Earth. As part of the extension of intelligent life from Earth into the solar system and eventually beyond.
POLITICAL: Will democracy exist? With majority rule? Have any individual or collective rights been suppressed? Have any been expanded? How are international relations between nations faring? Does the concept of private property still exist?
ECONOMIC: Which sectors of the economy are most important? Do banks exist? Which are the principal measures of growth or progress? Are we in crisis or has growth continued?
SOCIAL: What demographic changes will we see? More old people, more young people, higher birthrates, higher mortality rates? What will the primary social structures be? Will we identify primarily as families, couples, individuals, communities or tribes?
TECHNOLOGICAL: What will be the principal advances in technology in this future? What types of devices will be used each day at home, at work and in leisure time? Will Big Tech like Google and Facebook continue to exist? What role will technology play in teaching and learning?
ENVIRONMENTAL: How will we get around? Will we live on Planet Earth? How will cities be? Will people continue to live in them? Will there be access to basic resources, such as water, food, energy and housing?
LEGAL: What judicial systems exist? What is the regulatory role of the governments and states around the world? What about the United Nations and NATO? Do large multinationals face more or fewer restrictions? Does the death penalty exist?
Nobody Will Drive Cars Anymore?
White-Collar Workers Will Become Digital Nomads?
Blue-Collar Jobs Will Become More Lucrative Than Ever?
Breakthrough in Battery Tech Will Kickstart the Next Era of Wearables?
VR & AR Experiences Will Become Our Favorite Pastime?
Traditional Smartphone Form Factor Will Go Extinct?
AI Will Make Full-Length Movies, Music and all sort of content?
Movie Theaters Will Go Extinct?
GMOs and AI Will Help Supercharge the Food Industry?
We Will Witness of the inception and unstoppable dominance of Artificial General Intelligence?
Yeah, human beings are linear thinkers, so it's no surprise that the exponential growth of technology can be so difficult to comprehend. Concepts like self-driving cars, digital nomadism, wearable technology and virtual reality were science fiction just 20 years ago. But today, they are not only real but also being adopted by an increasing number of people.
And if we also include in the formula of options the advances and trends in blockchain technology, the independent gamification and tokenization of the global monetary and financial system and the consolidation of Web3 with its tokens and cryptocurrencies as an instrument and method of exchange in our daily activities and operations to generate value among peers. Yep, no wonder The World Will Never Be the Same!
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