Futurologist predicts the trends that will shape the next 50 years



What's going out and what's coming in?

2010 Going out: • Letter writing • The idea of 'normal' weather • Personal privacy • Ashtrays • Milkmen

  • Future trends: Futurologist Richard Watson on what's coming next
  • Coming in: •Truth sensors • Wearable computers • Dream machines


    2015

    Going out: • Getting lost • Thank-you letters • Landline telephones

    Coming in: • A human settlement on the moon • Disposable mobile phones • Intelligent cosmetics • Hotels just for sleeping

    2020


    Paris Hilton
    Going out: Paris Hilton

    Going out: • Post offices • Free parking • Survivors of the First World War • Unfenced beaches • Secretaries • DVDs • Democracy in Russia • Telephone directories • The idea of a proper retirement • An independent Taiwan • State pensions •

    Coming in: • Surgery carried out by robots • Artificial eyes

    2025

    Going out: • Proper spelling • Driving on the road for free • Desktop computers • Work-free weekends • The Maldives • Paris Hilton

    Coming in: • Hydrogen-based fuel stations • Offshore prisons • 'Mindwipes' to remove the memory of a bad day at the office • Sensory internet

    2030

    Going out • Reality TV • The Great Barrier Reef • Trade unions • Inheritance tax • Taking a proper lunch • Wrinkles, thanks to cosmetic surgery


    A ladder into space
    Coming in: A ladder into space

    Coming in • Robots to take care of young children • Virtual holidays • A ladder into space • Artificial memory enhancers • Self-driving cars • Artificial bacteria

    2035

    Going out: • Children playing without supervision • Coins • Oil • Microsoft • The middle class • Low-cost travel • Bangladesh

    Coming in: • Self-repairing roads • Diets based on your individual genome • 3-D printers • Virtual reality windows

    2040

    Going out: • Banknotes and wallets • Petrol engines • Addiction and deafness - both will be cured • National currencies • Free public spaces • The idea of saying 'sorry' • The European Union


    British monarchy
    Going out: British monarchy

    Coming in: • Factories in space • A single global currency • Wallpaper that plays videos • Countries used entirely as prisons

    2045

    Going out: • Any remaining monopolies • Ties • The British monarchy • Natural childbirth

    Coming in: • Individual taxes based on the amount you pollute • Invisibility cloaks • A man on Mars

    2050

    Going out: • Household chores • Belgium as a unified country • Incurable blindness • Google • Any survivors of the Second World War


    Death
    Going out: Death

    Coming in:

    • Tiny robots for pest control • Brain transplants • Downloading of memories • Global ID cards, elections and taxes • Warp drive • Robot policemen

    and beyond...

    Going out: • The idea of ugliness • Nation states • Death - unless you want it

    Coming in: • Artificial brains • Mining asteroids • Web 4.0 • Clothing that monitors and controls your stress levels


    Found this Post interesting? Discover more Curious Reads.
    [via telegraph]

    More Post From The Web