Pretty dark predictions, John, not that they don't have merit based on how things are going now. I hope you're wrong on most of them, but we've gotten ourselves into a mess that we may not be able to get out of.
My predictions based on wishful thinking -a utopia:
The uni-party of democrats and republicans will be obliterated by a majority of Americans who will vote in person on one designated day, with legitimate identification, returning to the founding traditions by electing the newly formed Constitution Party whose platform of small government adhering strictly to the constitution and meets only the one week of each month. No politicians will live in the capital except the President and his closest cabinet. All senators and representatives will reside in their own states. All citizens will have access by prearranged appointment to the President on a one-to-one or coalition basis to air grievances or propose new legislation. The states will rule over themselves in all regards, except a standing military and management of continent wide infrastructure.
A sizable portion of Americans, something on the order of 30%, will form a coalition to adopt a lifestyle of self-sufficiency and separation from the larger culture like or similar to the Amish.
Marriages will only be contracted between couples who want to have children, and will not be granted separation or divorce until their child or children reach the age of 21. To be granted the privilege of producing children, each couple will be vetted and pass comprehensive examination for compatibility and pass extensive courses on child rearing.
Children will not begin formal mandated education until they reach the age of 16. Prior to that parents and or/grandparents will be responsible for teaching their children to read and write and be proficient at all basic living skills. Formal education will be for the purpose of teaching technical and trade skills.
Health will return due to cleaner sources of food, and alternative medical care free of pharmaceutical poisons.
Autonomous automobiles and airplanes will be the norm. A cheap and workable alternative fuel will replace electric and fossil fuels to power them.
Robots will be used widely for repetitive and un-stimulating tasks, leaving humans free to put their minds and hearts to better use.
Computer modeling will no longer be used to make any decisions regarding laws or rules pertaining to social welfare, medicine or ecology, or anything, really. It can't be relied upon. It doesn't have a brain or cognitive ability. And it never will.
A.I. will prove to be incapable of anything other than a combo of a search engine and encyclopedia
The Federal Reserve will be abolished. Gold and/or Bitcoin will be the global reserve currency
My predictions based on reality-a dystopia:
The U.S. will come apart as the twain between left and right shall not meet. Years of hardship for both sides after the split will result, but when we become multi-planetary, the majority of white religious conservatives will opt to leave planet Earth.
Russia will seize its opportunity for hegemony in the wake of the self-induced collapse of the United States and its loss of reserve currency status. China will be Russia's competitor for this role.
Population decrease will continue and to deal with it, humans past their working age and in poor health will be warehoused at subsistence level under the supervision of robots, with no heroic medical measures to prolong life. Medical care will be scant and only enough to reduce pain but without nurture or compassion. The top 10% in wealth and status won't be affected.
Planet earth will be under the rule of a small but brutal global Kakistocracy. Most people will be serfs, with rigidly defined purpose and no freedom other than to serve at the whim of Kakistocrats.
The sheeple will ask for nothing more than to be safe. They will get what they ask for, good and hard.
So, it's time we made a choice. With a little hard work, your utopia could be realized. But without that work, the dystopia you envision would surely be the result. Thank you for taking the time to consider the outcome.
Thank you, predictor John, for this list. All seem likely, but of course not all will happen. I think China will capture Taiwan, and the US won't intervene as long as we've re-established a semiconductor industry here. Deep fakes are almost here as the porn/gaming industries will push to perfect the technology. Bee-sized drones will be here soon, I remember reading a book called "Loose Cannon" written in 2000 by Dean Ing about this very thing.
Glad I took Mother's Day off from my usual attention to email messages. My mind was swirling in a chaos of disbelief--then fear--as I continued to read. But, on reflection and considering my advanced age, I realized I won't have to worry about 90% of those predictions. However, my son and other youngsters in my extended family might be right in the middle of some of these situations. So, I'm banking on 4) taking care of 1) and a few other predictions to ease my mind. It's a shame you haven't heard predictions of true conservative/Republican-led administrations in D.C. following the current one that might alleviate some of the darkness in this listing.
Well, keep in mind that even under the worst case scenarios, humankind has survived and later thrived under similar circumstances. Nuclear weapons, terrorism, depression, civil war and the rise and fall of nations have all happened before and we're still here -- and who knows? Maybe this will turn out to be overly pessimistic -- or maybe not? Either way, the better we prepare, the less negative future possibilities can hurt us.
Pretty dark predictions, John, not that they don't have merit based on how things are going now. I hope you're wrong on most of them, but we've gotten ourselves into a mess that we may not be able to get out of.
My predictions based on wishful thinking -a utopia:
The uni-party of democrats and republicans will be obliterated by a majority of Americans who will vote in person on one designated day, with legitimate identification, returning to the founding traditions by electing the newly formed Constitution Party whose platform of small government adhering strictly to the constitution and meets only the one week of each month. No politicians will live in the capital except the President and his closest cabinet. All senators and representatives will reside in their own states. All citizens will have access by prearranged appointment to the President on a one-to-one or coalition basis to air grievances or propose new legislation. The states will rule over themselves in all regards, except a standing military and management of continent wide infrastructure.
A sizable portion of Americans, something on the order of 30%, will form a coalition to adopt a lifestyle of self-sufficiency and separation from the larger culture like or similar to the Amish.
Marriages will only be contracted between couples who want to have children, and will not be granted separation or divorce until their child or children reach the age of 21. To be granted the privilege of producing children, each couple will be vetted and pass comprehensive examination for compatibility and pass extensive courses on child rearing.
Children will not begin formal mandated education until they reach the age of 16. Prior to that parents and or/grandparents will be responsible for teaching their children to read and write and be proficient at all basic living skills. Formal education will be for the purpose of teaching technical and trade skills.
Health will return due to cleaner sources of food, and alternative medical care free of pharmaceutical poisons.
Autonomous automobiles and airplanes will be the norm. A cheap and workable alternative fuel will replace electric and fossil fuels to power them.
Robots will be used widely for repetitive and un-stimulating tasks, leaving humans free to put their minds and hearts to better use.
Computer modeling will no longer be used to make any decisions regarding laws or rules pertaining to social welfare, medicine or ecology, or anything, really. It can't be relied upon. It doesn't have a brain or cognitive ability. And it never will.
A.I. will prove to be incapable of anything other than a combo of a search engine and encyclopedia
The Federal Reserve will be abolished. Gold and/or Bitcoin will be the global reserve currency
My predictions based on reality-a dystopia:
The U.S. will come apart as the twain between left and right shall not meet. Years of hardship for both sides after the split will result, but when we become multi-planetary, the majority of white religious conservatives will opt to leave planet Earth.
Russia will seize its opportunity for hegemony in the wake of the self-induced collapse of the United States and its loss of reserve currency status. China will be Russia's competitor for this role.
Population decrease will continue and to deal with it, humans past their working age and in poor health will be warehoused at subsistence level under the supervision of robots, with no heroic medical measures to prolong life. Medical care will be scant and only enough to reduce pain but without nurture or compassion. The top 10% in wealth and status won't be affected.
Planet earth will be under the rule of a small but brutal global Kakistocracy. Most people will be serfs, with rigidly defined purpose and no freedom other than to serve at the whim of Kakistocrats.
The sheeple will ask for nothing more than to be safe. They will get what they ask for, good and hard.
So, it's time we made a choice. With a little hard work, your utopia could be realized. But without that work, the dystopia you envision would surely be the result. Thank you for taking the time to consider the outcome.
I absolutely agree with you. We have to do the work to save ourselves. I'm not a leader, but I'm a loyal and willing helper toward that end.
Thank you, predictor John, for this list. All seem likely, but of course not all will happen. I think China will capture Taiwan, and the US won't intervene as long as we've re-established a semiconductor industry here. Deep fakes are almost here as the porn/gaming industries will push to perfect the technology. Bee-sized drones will be here soon, I remember reading a book called "Loose Cannon" written in 2000 by Dean Ing about this very thing.
1) The United States will not exist in its current form in fifty years. There will be a revolution, secession, civil war, or descent into tyranny.
Also we will have annexed both "West Canada" (51st state) and Greenland...
Glad I took Mother's Day off from my usual attention to email messages. My mind was swirling in a chaos of disbelief--then fear--as I continued to read. But, on reflection and considering my advanced age, I realized I won't have to worry about 90% of those predictions. However, my son and other youngsters in my extended family might be right in the middle of some of these situations. So, I'm banking on 4) taking care of 1) and a few other predictions to ease my mind. It's a shame you haven't heard predictions of true conservative/Republican-led administrations in D.C. following the current one that might alleviate some of the darkness in this listing.
Well, keep in mind that even under the worst case scenarios, humankind has survived and later thrived under similar circumstances. Nuclear weapons, terrorism, depression, civil war and the rise and fall of nations have all happened before and we're still here -- and who knows? Maybe this will turn out to be overly pessimistic -- or maybe not? Either way, the better we prepare, the less negative future possibilities can hurt us.
Can't help but think of Huxly's ' Brave New World' when reading this.