It’s interesting having an indirect frame of reference to a 100-year difference in decades that have past. The 1920s are the first documented decade that we refer to as having a “theme.” For that reason, I wanted to combine my predictions of our future during the next 10 years with a theme of its own.
And since I think both technology and the literal flight of machinery (drones), space travel, and other modes of transportation (Uber’s flying vehicles) are going to become more in the forefront than ever, I’m dubbing the forthcoming decade as the “Soaring ‘20s.”
Here are some of the things I’m expecting to see happen, albeit mentioned generally and categorically:
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Decentralization of the Internet: We will see privacy and security continue to elevate as the most important variables to a quality life. All of the big tech companies will continue to face scrutiny, and at some point within the next 7-8 years, we’ll see a turning point in the web browsing experience that will open up the opportunity for more people to opt-out of tracking, opt into alternative currency options, and engage in an internet that they can control and better personalize to match their desires.
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Food: Maybe it’s top of my mind because of my own new year resolutions, but I think we’ll see more and more data released suggesting that animal proteins aren’t the best sustainable long-term food option for the human body to consume. With this newfound knowledge, companies like Beyond Meat, and other lab-based startups will come up with unique ways to package tastier and more affordable plant-based solutions. Then we’ll see a major opportunity for chefs to specialize in making this style of eating as routine and enjoyable as what we typically see on menus today.
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Space Travel: Traveling in space will finally become an attainable trip for thrill-seekers that want to experience something incredibly unique. But much like skydiving, I think space travel will become more of an adventure than it will be a way for us to leave our planet.
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Retail and Drones: By the end of the decade, more than 50% of everything ordered online globally will be delivered through some form of automated technology. This will extend to retail shops that will offer universal free shipping that comes along with their partnerships with tech and fulfillment companies that figure the numbers out first. This will mean retail will remain intact, but the shopping experience will be more like what Toys R Us is now doing with outsourcing, drop shopping, and accessing products that may not be in on the premises physically at the time.
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Wealth: I’d like to see the wealth distribution balance out through equal parts natural processes and forced regulation. I believe we will make minor strides here…. somehow.
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Climate: Wishful thinking perhaps, but I think we’ll finally see nations across the globe band together to come up with ways to reduce carbon and apply best practices that will allow humanity to govern how we’re treating our planet. This can and should include more taxes applied to misuse and more forceful guidance toward sustainable solutions that will continue to pop up throughout the decade.
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Surveillance: A convergence of technology and government will equal a “nowhere to hide” mentality around crime and documentation. Technology and automation will make it easier to be productive but much harder to not tell the truth.
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Medicine: People much smarter than me will make major advances in curing diseases. At the same time, gene editing will become an even hotter topic of which I can’t predict where it will end up.
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VC and Business Funding: The days of raising more money than you need to thwart competitors away and own a market will quickly disappear. Ridesharing isn’t profitable. We Work didn’t work. And the list goes on. We’ll start seeing more focus on profitability as smart investors realize that the economy will not allow valuations to continue to spike simply because the company is well-funded.
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Robotics: All of those incredible robot videos will finally lead to direct interaction. I’m sure we’ll see these things provide value to police forces, factories, fulfillment, and many others, which will lead to less humans doing routine tasks, but will undoubtedly create more jobs on the creation and maintenance side of handling how robots will be embedded into our society.
That’s it for now. I may come back to this post and add more categories if I think of anything else worth noting.