The Industrial Revolution started a little over 150 years ago. For centuries before that time 80% of the world’s population were farmers. A hundred years later it was 3% and now it is around 1%. We can safely conclude that that major era in world history is over.

But, what comes next?

We are on the cusp of another major upheaval. With the exponential growth of technology it seems pretty obvious that robots are taking over jobs as quickly as Industrial Revolution took over farmers. So, I think we can safely say “We are living in a time between times.

Sadly, we are exposed to too many futuristic movies about how bleak the future will be. Those movies likely taint too many of us into believing our future is dim. But would you rather have lived 100 years ago when one out of five children died before the age of five years, and average life expectancy was a little over 50? Because of technology, child mortality rates are 100 times less and generally people will soon be living twice as long.

If we believe some of the most prominent futurists, the average work week will likely be less than half what it is now. That will change the family/work ratio dramatically. For years now, I have said that I was born 20 years too early, as I was in my 40s when my most valued work life began. I’m sure many Gen Z’s will tell the grandkids about the time people spent many hours a week doing some of the most mundane work. Those kids won’t believe them.

I am just beginning to read what futurists say the coming age will be about, but I think some of the creative Sci Fi authors today have given us a pretty good idea. Don’t get hung up on all the gloom-and-doom stuff that we have been bombarded with lately.