Back in 1995, the BBC show Tomorrow’s World took a stab at what the world might look like 30 years in the future. Some predictions turned out to be spot on, others laughably wrong. Let’s take a look at how well the programme did.
One prediction that didn’t come to fruition was the notion of a supernet controlled by a handful of business barons and banks, leading to internet hacks, viruses, and even riots. While the internet is more centralized than it used to be, it remains mostly open. Plus, there have been no internet riots, but the actions of hackers have certainly caused problems for many people.
Some of the biggest themes of the last 30 years missing from Tomorrow’s World were the rise of big tech and social media. One futurist predicts that by 2055, many people will be cognitively connected, functioning as a hive mind that connects humans and technology via servers to facilitate sharing of ideas. Another says the most exciting prospects for the next 30 years lie in materials science and bioengineering.
Whatever the future holds, the late Prof. Stephen Hawking’s words of three decades ago still ring true: “Some of these changes are very exciting, and some are alarming. The one thing that we can be sure of is that it will be very different, and probably not what we expect.
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
