2020: ? 2030: ?? 2040: ??? IN the Year 2525... if Man is still alive, if woman can survive.... they May find.
Depends on whether or not you think society will remain stable and 'advance,' or whether our collective stupidity about the impact of what we are doing makes progress go backwards—which it seems to be on the point of doing at the moment. Me? I'm wondering if people in 2040 will be able to grow their own food (without access to packaged seeds), start fires without matches, etc. All these skills we've lost to technology? Hmmm.... Better hoard those printed how-to books.
Ah yes. And some pretty great regrets afterwards, I reckon. Mind you, will people still know how to read? Dunno. Damn glad I won't be around.... Even the 'inventions' people are talking about leave me cold, really. 3-D printing? Okay, what will happen to the jobs lost because people will 'print their own' rather than buying stuff manufactured by real people who get paid to make the stuff? And without jobs, who can afford to buy 3-D printers (and the constant upgrades which will undoubtedly be required) or the materials needed, or be able to pay for the 'designs' which I assume people aren't going to offer online for nothing. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. I'm sorry. I see so many possibilities for technology, but.... Unless we get economic maturity in place beforehand—maturity that recognises that if only a few people can afford to use technology the whole idea falls apart—I'm not optimistic about the future. I know people right now who can't afford an up-to-date computer, and can't afford to 'go online.' And that's now. I don't see this situation getting any better soon, with numpties in charge of government on both sides of the Pond. Economic maturity and social responsibility. If those two components are lacking, we're not going to prosper, are we?
Actually, this is kinda weird, but there's a growing community of people who like to do just that. There's a website called "thingiverse" (I haven't used it, no endorsement here) where people just create and share 3d plans that can be fed into printers. That, coupled with UBI funded by a productivity tax on automation in the workplace (Bill Gates favors one) could lead to a very different (in a positive way) society indeed. But then I look at the news and realize that we (Americans) are far more likely to be heading towards the North Korean model of good government than the Culture, and I thank my lucky stars that I've got permanent residency here.
Yeah. They've probably got another job, at present. Wait till that goes. They'll be charging, believe me.
Not spot on, but seeing how people predicted the future 25 years ago might give you some ideas about how to predict the next 25:
