This Is How The Future Might Look Worldwide In Our Lifetime

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This is How the Future Might Look For the World

By Joe Burgett - January 27, 2021

We all know that things have changed for the better in many ways as the future presses on. While we think the tech and look of our world today is terrific, it might not hold a candle to how the future might look for us. We decided to find out what could be possible in our lifetime. Not only are some major changes expected but several are in development as you’re reading this now. There are literally hundreds of breakthroughs happening in the world of tech seemingly every month.

Each passing day, something new happens that then results in science fiction slowly becoming science reality. Yet when thinking about how the future might look, we wanted to look at things that could be on everyone’s wish list. The only stopping point for us was that it had to be possible AND it had to be something that could be relatively future-proof itself. The future can be quite scary but when you see what we’ve been able to prove possible, you’ll be wanting us to skip time immediately. To better help direct when you can expect things, we gave our best guess on the year you might see each come to pass.

This is How the Future Might Look For the World — *Virtual Assistant apps are seen on an iPhone and a MacBook Air. Photo Credit: Tada Images/Shutterstock*

Virtual Assistants Will Be Kicked Up A Notch

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2025 to 2035

We’ve already seen how virtual assistants have been helping us in many ways right now. However, this is usually through things like the Amazon Alexa or Google Home devices. Only the rich can afford smart homes where a version of AI helps with security, turning on lights, etc. That will not be the case for long, as assistants will be on us at all times. They will be so ingrained into our lives, that kids will use them as much as adults.

They will be your child’s tutor when needed, help you come up with ideas for that big project for work, and might even be an amateur therapist for you to utilize. When people think about how the future might look, they tend to think of something more flashy here. Yet virtual assistants will still be a version of Artificial Intelligence, just one that will sound and operate like a normal person. Think of it like Cortana from the Halo video games or Gideon from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.

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Nuclear Power Will Be Our Main Energy Resource

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2030 to 2050

It has been said by pretty much every single energy scientist that nuclear power would be the most powerful, cheapest, and even one of the cleanest energy source we could use. The problem? We have not figured out how to properly use it, especially in the safest ways. That will all change one day and could result in the cost of your power bill being reduced to pennies compared to what you see it as today.

The reason? Every area will have its own nuclear power grid, potentially owned by the city, state, province, or village you’re in at the time. We already utilize nuclear power in America, as we are home to 99 nuclear power units across 33 states as of 2020 data. It makes up 8.5% of our total energy, compared to Petroleum and Natural Gas at the top. Since nuclear energy is fairly new and will take time to properly improve, we expect it to be the main energy producer in the next 10 to 30 years.

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Tactical VR/AR For Use In The Military

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2025 to 2030

Not only are we already seeing virtual reality and augmented reality grow, but they are also becoming much more advanced at a faster rate than previously assumed. For those unaware, the people who tend to get revolutionary technology first are usually always the Armed Forces, particularly in the United States. When you think of how the future might look, it’s always best to see where the military fits in. As a result, they will likely get major VR/AR technology for use in tactical needs.

It might start out helping armed forces members train well for real combat situations. Yet they can also be useful for 3D mapping. Scans can be done on buildings so in-depth that it’ll almost be like a video game. You’ll be able to see the major sectors of the building, know what is in each room, and detect heat signatures. AR will give you a way to use and bring up these maps in specialized goggles or glasses that can be used even during the fight or invasion.

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Fully Automated Warehouse and Logistical Work

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2025 to 2035

We might be getting closer and closer to a fully automated system in the world of logistics. We’ve already pretty much let automation assist here a lot in the last few decades. Amazon alone has now two insanely large warehouses. Due to so much, they needed automation to help them find and keep track of things. Yet a lot of the labor is on Amazon employees. It is unlikely that this will remain the case for long.

Due to the billions the company has at its disposal, it will be among the first to fully automate. They won’t be the only ones, as robotics will become a major force here. Labor is the area where we all know robots or AI will be used sooner than most other areas. It’ll be good to see, as it will involve far fewer injuries or deaths in warehouse incidents. The automated systems can take the supplies, sort them as well as find them, and load them. This potential situation will be happening pretty soon too.

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Free Internet Will Be Provided For All That Need It

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2035 to 2050

Due to the massive growth in artificial intelligence, virtual/augmented reality, virtual assistants, as well as much more that is yet to come – we’ll be a society reliant on its technology. Since most of this tech will need at least some connection to the internet, we cannot expect people to live their lives paying an outrageous sum for their internet. It’ll likely be in use much more as time goes on, making it a major need.

That is when national governments will choose to offer a public internet service that will be completely free. It’ll suck at first but soon will become as good as many other services. Private companies will choose to help here, making better services to choose from. Thus bringing their costs down to compete. The services might mostly be used for businesses over your random person at home, yet it could be affordable for all. That said, the internet will be free but private companies can still offer their service to help with issues the government internet does not.

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Designer Babies Via Gene Editing Technology

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2025 to 2035

Due to the power of gene editing, we will now for the first time ever, be capable of spotting and even removing major issues from a child before they are born. Say your family has a hereditary disease involving the heart. That will end as your child could have that edited from their genes entirely. As amazing as gene editing will be for people, there is also a small dark side to it. This comes in the form of “designer children.”

These are children that you choose to change specific things about so that they look a certain way. It could be a melanin change that affects skin color, eye color, and even hair color. However, as things progress, you might also be able to set a potential height that you’d like your child to be in the future. This means you could change several things about them that make them differ from you. When thinking about how the future might look, this could be a bit scary to think about.

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Our Oceans Will Be Clean Of Trash and Plastics

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2040 to 2060

We’ve all be working on a good way to help clean up the oceans, but it seems like an impossible task. For human beings, it truly is impossible. However, that is not the case for the possible technology we could use. There are a few ways we could handle this. In June 2020, it was reported that plastic-eating bacteria had been discovered. If it can be replicated, it can be a small step in the right direction. Yet you cannot assume unleashing a lot of bacteria in worldwide waters is the best decision.

Rather, many believe nanobots would be the best choice to make. They could more than likely eat up trash and then make whatever they consume into a biodegradable substance. Resulting in very few problems for sea creatures, with some areas even getting a small spike in plant growth. It will likely even be possible to use nanobots at landfills eventually, making pretty much all our trash recyclable in some form or another. It’ll take time to clean up all the trash from Earth’s oceans though.

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Perfect Insulation

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2030 to 2040

You might be surprised to learn that we do not have perfect insulation even in America. People still let in the outside air even with windows and doors closed quite a lot. Yet we’re seeing incredible advancements that can keep cool or warm air out of homes or things like food and drinks. If you’ve ever used a YETI thermos, you know it can keep your drink hot or cold for several hours. Yet this will not last for an unlimited period of time.

Advancements have been made that allow their thermoses to keep temperatures exact for much longer than ever before. Yet there is still no unlimited way, but that could change. It is expected that we’ll have proper products in place to maintain exact temperatures for numerous things, including our homes, in the next 10 to 20 years. Many believe that this type of technology could be drastically important. For many, it could save money as power bills typically rise due to heat or air conditioning usage.

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Lab Food Will Be Abundant and Will Be Healthier For You Too

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2040 to 2060

“Food” can be a relative term as many things could be considered food for many different creatures. We’ve been making formula for babies as well as a lot of baby foods out of labs for many years. However, we soon could be seeing the same concept in play. It is simply a fact that we will not have enough possible food to keep our growing population happy. Even if you could grow your own food, it might still be difficult to expect to grow enough for you to live on year-round.

But there will be a way to help. In fact, it is already happening right now. While you might go to the store and grab beef or poultry for dinner, this stuff may one day claim to be one of them but won’t be. The people behind “The Impossible Whopper” were able to make a Burger taste just like a Burger King Whopper. Except it is made from plants, not beef. This same concept will continue but you’ll also be able to get proper nutrients with lab-made foods. All without the major issues some foods come with that might cause some health issues. You might even be able to get options for those with special allergies!

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Forest Fires Stopped By Sound

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2022 to 2028

Forest Fires are a huge problem worldwide, especially in places like California in the United States. Yet the way we fight them is likely pretty primitive. We use water and fire extinguishers. Often even sand is dropped in large forms. However, when you think about how the future might look for fire fighting, expect “sound” to play a role. Researchers at George Mason University in Virginia made a sonic extinguisher.

They proved that it could put out fires quite effectively, especially when set on bass frequencies. Sound is made up of what we call “pressure waves.” These waves can be used to disrupt the air around us, including the air surrounding a fire. It accomplishes this by cutting off the supply of oxygen the fire uses to keep it fueled. At a proper frequency, the fire simply dies out. We very well could send drones into major forest fires and have them use sonic noise to put away fires quickly.

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Emission-Free Vehicles

Hypothetical Timeline: Between 2030 to 2040

When you seek to change a major issue in the climate crisis, a large factor in this will be changing out gas-fueled vehicles for those that operate on other sources. We already have cars that run on electric and solar energy, yet when you think about how the future might look in this area, you’ll likely see a drastic change. The real problem with these vehicles is usually that they look terrible. Yet places like Ford are changing that in an effort to push the electric market.

From here, energy use must be improved in them and we’ll need to have places where rapid charges can be employed. Just as we have gas stations today. The first step in the right direction will be for companies to produce emission-free buses, trains, and other public transportation. This will cut down on a lot of emission issues. From here, reduced rates and a movement to move completely away from new gas-fueled cars will need to be done. By 2050, it is likely we will have done just that.

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Knowledge Of Your Possible Death and Cause From The Moment You’re Born

Hypothetical Timeline: 2040 to 2070

We are already capable of looking at the human body via radiation through things like X-Rays, CT Scans, and MRI machines today. They have literally been lifesavers and all occurred between your grandparent’s and/or parents’ lives. Imagine what will come in your lifetime. One day, we will be able to see everything potentially wrong with a child in its future within minutes of its birth. It is expected that a machine will be made that can look at possible signs that health problems could develop.

It’ll likely do this via knowledge of the time. Such as what we know of specific signs or numbers, and what they typically mean. It will not be 100% accurate but will likely be just under that. One reason this is important for how the future might look is that it can allow us to change. It’ll be a warning sign rather than a defined sentence for most of us. On top of that, doctors could likely give the child a shot to rid it of some diseases that we suffer from today. Such as diabetes, all from the data collected minutes after the child’s birth.

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Commercial Space Travel

Hypothetical Timeline: 2030 to 2040

People like Elon Musk have been stating that commercial space travel is going to happen, the only question is “when” it will occur. Musk’s team at SpaceX has already figured out incredible things that even NASA had yet to accomplish, such as putting the first liquid-fueled rocket into space. They even made headlines in 2010 for being the first to launch a payload into orbit and return it to Earth completely intact. The United States and Russian governments cannot even say they did that.

They also sent a rocket into space in 2015 that landed upright and recovered a previously sent rocket, the first to do this. A lot of what SpaceX has proven is that space travel can be done at an inexpensive level, as long as the tech can be used multiple times and not just once. Now that we know it can, it is only a matter of knowing how we can take people up to space without it being a major issue. This will take time, but in 10 to 20 years, it’ll likely be happening regularly.

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The Smart Needle Tech

Hypothetical Timeline: 2022 to 2030

Something has just been invented that happens to be unique, yet absolutely incredible. It is called the “smart needle,” and was developed by scientists from the University of Exeter. It is able to speed up cancer detection and diagnosis periods. The researchers who developed it believe it will specifically help with diagnosing lymphoma. It’ll also reduce anxiety patients might have as they wait on results. Quite frankly, if you don’t have to wait long at all, how could you become anxious, right?

That said, the way lymphoma is tested for now is that one provides a sample of their cells. This will also involve a biopsy of the node, which will be carried out to fully diagnose someone. As you can assume, this is quite time-consuming. The Smart Needle utilizes something referred to as Raman Spectroscopy. It merely shines a low-power laser into the part of the body that is being inspected. It takes mere seconds to spot any potential concerns. This could heavily change how the future might look in how we test for other cancers too! That could take a few years, however.

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Babies Will Be To Fully Develop In A Lab

Hypothetical Timeline: 2030 to 2050

In DC Comics, the story of Superman follows a man named Clark Kent who comes from the planet Krypton. His true name is Kal-El, and he was the first and only naturally born Kryptonian child of his generation. Reading this or hearing about it as children, you might have assumed it was pretty cool. Babies could fully grow in labs or pods on Krypton? No woman was having children naturally except for Superman’s mom? That had to be science fiction, right?

For now, this will not be the case for very long. Right now, premature babies born at the 6-month mark can develop fully outside the mother’s womb, under hospital care. We can already have sperm link up with an egg in a lab before putting it inside a woman. These steps are proving that we’re getting close to the capacity of full child development in a lab. For some, this is how the future might look for family development. Taking an egg and sperm cells from two parents and having the child form for 9 months in a lab. We’re so close that experts feel we’re about a decade or two away.

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Smart Floating Farm

Hypothetical Timeline: 2030 to 2050

There are many who feel it is only a matter of time before the Earth will see its land overrun by the consistent build-up of water. Of course, this is not a crazy assumption. Water has been moving inward for centuries, even before we had a climate crisis. That said, we’ll need to be prepared for if and when this happens. This is why the Smart Floating Farm has been getting a lot of attention. Keep in mind, by 2050 we’ll be over 9 billion people worldwide.

This means food production will need to increase by up to 70% the rate it is at now. Without land to plant on, we’ll have a global food hunger crisis. The Smart Floating Farm concept comes from a company that uses that exact name. They have proposed a 2.2 million square feet fish farm, hydroponic garden, and more. Complete with solar panels on the roof to power it all. It could then be anchored to sea beds in oceans, lakes, and rivers. With the right funding, this is how the future might look for food production!

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Artificially Intelligent, Realistic Sex Robots

Hypothetical Timeline: 2040 to 2060

One thing people have been discussing for a long time is the progression of Artificial Intelligence. Heck, we’ve even mentioned it a few times here! The expectation is that AI will one day be so good that it will be hard to distinguish a robot from a human being. We’ve already seen how impressive Sophia the Robot has been when it comes to random conversation. There are even robots that can write stories or operate as tremendous personal assistants.

However, it’ll take time before we reach the Detroit: Become Human stage. The moment we do, the first two places these robots will end up is the military and the world of sex. Due to human trafficking being a major issue, especially for young women, the problem with this could be reduced. Sex Robots designed to look like what a person wants will reduce the need for humans to fit that fantasy. When you think of how the future might look, this may seem creepy. In reality, it could save lives.

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Carbon Dioxide Removal Technology

Hypothetical Timeline: 2050 to 2070

Right now, the world is overheating causing a global climate crisis. In large part, this is due to all the excess carbon dioxide in the environment. People assume whenever that gas comes out of your car’s tailpipe, it goes into the air and is no longer a problem for anyone. Yet it does not leave the environment and head into space or anything. If it could do this, oxygen also would do so and we, therefore, could not breathe. Yet once we go green, even slightly before, there are ways to help.

Technology is currently in development that, if successful, could find carbon dioxide in the environment and hopefully remove excess amounts of it. Tech for this might even be installed near or right in factories or areas where CO2 is much higher. It could then be gathered and taken into space for proper removal. While it will surely take time to accomplish this, this is how the future might look. Where we make the planet healthier by partially removing its biggest frienemy.

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Programmable Clothing

Hypothetical Timeline: 2030 to 2045

When you see the term “programmable clothing,” what do you think? Perhaps, you assume the type of clothing you can wear can change color, maybe even style. However, many developers have even obsessed with the clothing we saw in Back to the Future II. Remember when Marty goes into the future and is given a jacket and some shoes that were too big for him? They ended up recognizing his size and adjusted to him accordingly.

Many feel this kind of tech would be awesome for clothing, as it would ensure a proper fit. Unlike what some stuff might say when they claim it’s “one size fits all,” this literally could make such a statement. While you might see some clothing proclaiming it is programmable, they tend to only reference LED attachments. The size change tech is not something we can expect to see immediately, but it is part of how the future might look. We’d expect it sometime within the next 20 years or less.

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Gene Editing Will Bring Back Extinct Animals

Hypothetical Timeline: 2030 to 2040

Gene Editing has managed to make some massive breakthroughs in just the last 5 to 10 years alone. Many expect that it’ll only improve. CRISPR happens to be the leading gene-editing tech, but this won’t be long-term. Only until someone develops something even better. Right now, however, we can actually do a lot of impressive editing for humans as well as animals. That is why many expect gene editing to lead to the return of some specific extinct animals.

Dinosaurs are often referenced, but no one wants to see a “Jurassic Park” issue. On top of that, even if we managed to get everything 100% correct about them, it is unlikely they’d be as large. During their era, we had a really high level of oxygen, allowing all animals to be quite large. That level won’t exist in their comeback, but this is how the future might look. An era of extinction reversals. The question is, would we want gene editing to develop mythological creatures like the unicorn too?

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Body Scan Healthcare

Hypothetical Timeline: 2050 to 2070

You might be surprised to learn that one day, we might not have as much need for doctors as we do today. While the field of nurses will likely not reduce by much, medical doctors overall won’t be as needed. Technology is currently underway that will allow a person’s body to be completely scanned. It will then show specific health issues, which will tell the person what’s potentially wrong with them. Yes, this is how the future might look for the world of medicine, people!

The only issue is that you do not want it to be like an MRI or X-Ray. We’d need it to be radiation-free. That makes things a bit harder, but not impossible. These scans can be done from your birth all the way into adulthood. It’ll keep up with your development, health issues, and much more. A system could likely tell you what is wrong with you, or doctors could be given enhanced images to tell them. You can then be given improved, accurate counsel on what to do next and medications to use.

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Self-Driving Vehicles Will Completely Replace Cabs/UBER

Hypothetical Timeline: 2035 to 2050

You’ve likely heard a lot about self-driving cars by now. They are a staple in science fiction yet they are important to how the future might look too. Places like Google have been developing them and even have one on campus to drive people around right now! The issue is that this would need to be something you could use anywhere. Funny enough, it’s actually quite easy to do, but it’ll take a long time. The way to do it is by putting microchips on the roads, obviously in a protected box of some sort.

The self-driving car would then be able to know where it is going based on the chips. It is likely that we’ll see these in major cities first. Then, they will slowly go into smaller towns. Since Google also owns Google Maps, it will likely be the industry leader here. By the way, putting chips on the road is cheap. They cost about a penny each and can be replaced with ease. It’s also likely self-driving cars will put cabs as well as UBER and other ride-sharing companies out of business eventually.

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Robotic Enhancements Will Be A Reality

Hypothetical Timeline: 2030 to 2040

While you should not expect the type of robotic enhancements that of those in Cyberpunk 2077, you can expect robotic enhancement in other forms. Moreover, “robotic” might not even be the best term. Some scientists are trying to utilize nanobots as a potential asset to the body that can replace hands, feet, and even entire arms and legs. So far, people have been able to use robotics in this territory but nowhere near as much as they could.

Nanobots can form around to fit the exact sizing a person happens to be. They might also be capable of even forming to look almost like the real thing. They’d also be enhanced enough to connect to the body and brain to work exactly like a lost limb, or even better. On top of this, if the look is still too obvious, your own body tissue could be used to cover them. If that’s not enough, nanobots alone are no risk to the body. Therefore, healthy enough to not cause any problems long-term.

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Organs Will Be Grown In Labs, Rather Than Taken From Other Humans

Hypothetical Timeline: 2040 to 2060

Years ago, a group of scientists made the first-ever lab-formed bladder. It was then used to replace a problematic one in a patient, which turned out to be successful. Lab-made organs like this are a huge part of how the future might look. As everyone knows by now, every nation has a “Transplant List.” This will one day be a thing of the past, as people will need to remove perhaps a cancerous lung and can then replace it with a lab-made lung.

This lung will be formed using their exact tissue, blood type, etc. That ensures the body will not reject it, which sadly happens more than we’d like. This won’t occur with lab-made organs, however. The big organ that will make all others possible is the Kidney. Once scientists can form a full healthy kidney in a lab that lasts long-term, every other needed organ will be a breeze to form. Plus, the organ needed the most on transplant lists is always the kidney anyway. This would save millions of lives!

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Your DNA Will Be Used To Store Data

Hypothetical Timeline: 2023 to 2030

You read that right, your DNA will be capable of storing data. Researchers were able to electronically write data into the DNA of living bacteria in January 2021. This was a huge concept, as the idea they had was that it would be completely future-proof. You would no longer need a hard disc, flash drive, or even a memory card. Plus, your DNA happens to be a very useful storage sector. First, you can actually keep information safer and it would even be hard to hack since it’s not on a server.

If that was not enough to convince you, your DNA is 1,000 times denser than any known hard drive man has ever created. You could store the equivalent of 10 full-length digital movies within the volume of a grain of salt using your DNA. Imagine how much the rest of your DNA could store! Since your DNA is clearly central to human biology, readers and DNA writers will become cheaper as time goes on, and even more powerful along with it. We could see this as soon as a few years from now!

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