I did some looking-forward in the last Looking Glass post in order to guess what the coming six months will look like. But this is the first post to go full-forward in that regard. Being the amateur futurist that I am I can see lots of changes during this fourteen-year period. Since I am also an optimist most of my predictions will be progressive and for the good of us all and the world, not of the Mad Max variety.🥴

No, I don’t think we will solve all our problems in the coming 14 years, but hopefully we will fix more of them than we create. I leave it to the final post of the series to really just put down my wishlist of what living in the future will be like.

I am not going to even attempt to say when I specifically think the achievement below will occur, but I do think they are very doable during this period. The sooner progressives can take charge the sooner they will happen.

Now on to the list for 2021 to 2035:

Universal Healthcare

Yeah, we will finally join the rest of the world and make healthcare a right rather than a privilege. People will not have to choose between food and the table and going to the doctor. With this change it is likely that the costs of healthcare will also be reduced to more manageble levels.

Controlling Access to Weapons

It will be difficult to accomplish reasonable gun control given our US culture, but it will finally be done. More of us than not will finally be fed up with all the mass killings that will surely continue until we get control of the weapons causing them. We will finally learn from the rest of the world the best way to accomplish that.

The Acceleration of Change Will Not Slow Down

As the cartoon above indicates things will likely change more in the next fourteen years than they have in my entire lifetime. I call that progress but many of us Baby Boomers call it hell. But I kinda think the Millennials and beyond will look at change as a way to improve their lives via constant transformation.

I’m a techie by nature, but I can’t even dream what technology will be like in 2035. I’m pretty sure cell phones and even laptops will be on the trash heap of history by then, to be replaced by something better.

By the end of this period I predict that more than 60% of the current jobs will be done by robotics. The boring and repetitive stuff will become a thing of the past for humans. This change will likely drive most of the rest of the things on my list.

Guaranteed Income Driven By Robotics

Guaranteed income might not actually be money sent to families as much as it will provide subsidized goods and services. As robots take over current jobs we will find a different paradigm on how to provide funds for the common good. I expect that will be done by moving from personal income taxes to taxes on the profit makers. A guaranteed income will allow us to do things that are not particularly profitable but need to be provided for the common good.

Recognizing our persona is not determined by where we are employed

From what I have read and seen this change is already taking place among a small group of Millennials. The job to them is just get the funds to live the life they care to live. For some that will be artistic endeavors, for others it might mean community service. The possibilities are endless.

Moving Beyond Self toward Community Purpose

Part of this will likely be done via a mandatory one-year of community service. It will allow those who have lead a sheltered life to get a feel for the the rest of the world.

Next week is the last post of this series. In that one I will cover 2035 and beyond. I have high hopes for humanity so it too will be looking with a positive view of the somewhat distant future that is really impossible to predict.