Navigating the Uncharted Future: Ten Predictions for 2030
In a world pulsating with exponential technological advancement, the famous saying rings true: "Predicting is always difficult, especially when it is about the future." But aren't we all captivated by what the horizon holds? Buckle up, as I guide you through a bold and thrilling journey into the next seven years. Expect disruption, then triple it! Here's what awaits us:
1️⃣ The Billion-Dollar Digital Blockbuster: Small movie startups, harnessing generative AI and powerful game engines, will turn a $1 million investment into $1 billion profits with entirely digital blockbusters - no real actors or movie sets required.
2️⃣ The Double-Edged Sword of Technology: Tragically, the same breakthroughs will be harnessed to unleash hyper-realistic misinformation campaigns, causing a financial crisis, swaying multiple elections, and victimizing millions through digital scams such as voice-cloning fraud.
3️⃣ Quantum Computing's Big Crunch: Brace for quantum computing to shatter standard encryption. While quantum-resistant encryption will be widely available towards the end of this decade, many companies will have failed to implement it and be in danger of advanced hackers.
4️⃣ Smart AR Glasses Take Over: In 1995, people mocked the idea of using a phone in public; towards the end of this decade, we will see the first people replacing their smartphones with advanced smart AR glasses. Doom-scrolling will take on an entirely new meaning when people seem to be staring into nothingness while flicking through their social media feeds.
5️⃣ Personalized Healthcare: Personalised healthcare will start to become a reality. Full-body scans using advanced tools in combination with machine learning will become affordable to more people allowing us to make the transition from treating sick people to preventing healthy people from becoming sick.
6️⃣ A Tectonic Shift in Jobs: Disruption will reshape the job landscape, with hundreds of millions of new roles created and lost. Unfortunately, in many societies, there will be a mismatch between those who lose their jobs and the new jobs available. The human touch in the metaverse will become a luxury: people will start to pay extra for being serviced by real people in the metaverse instead of by AI, though who knows if those real people are actually real people?
7️⃣ ClimateTech Innovation: Advanced AI and quantum computing will drive innovative solutions to combat climate change, from CO2 recycling to ubiquitous solar panels, thanks to nanotechnology.
8️⃣ Hyper-Personalization: Personalisation will achieve a new meaning as every message you receive, whether via text, audio or video, will be personalised based on your preferences, browsing history and even persona. While this hyper-personalisation will create more engagement, it will also drive filter bubbles, causing more polarisation in society.
9️⃣ Unleashing the AGI Genie: The fear of missing out will have driven AI research to the extreme. As a result, the first AGI will have been released too soon, predominantly benefiting those who created it and those who understand how to deal with it. The race to unleash the first AGI will accentuate inequality, placing even more power in the hands of a select few.
🔟 AI-Led Education: Forward-thinking schools will usher in an AI-first, teacher-second model, democratizing high-quality education. Teachers will take on the role of coach or mentor, guiding students in their exploration of the world, while a hyper-personalised teaching AI will create the best learning program for each child. The price of education will drop, making high-quality education affordable to all. This will drive innovation in the long run.
What lies ahead is a delicate dance between opportunity and peril. Technology remains neutral, but its applications will disrupt, redefine, and reshape our world. The ability to navigate this change will become a defining factor in the new world order. From AI to quantum computing to the metaverse, the possibilities are endless, the stakes high, and the landscape thrillingly uncertain.
Image: Midjourney
Dr Mark van Rijmenam
Dr. Mark van Rijmenam is a strategic futurist known as The Digital Speaker. He stands at the forefront of the digital age and lives and breathes cutting-edge technologies to inspire Fortune 500 companies and governments worldwide. As an optimistic dystopian, he has a deep understanding of AI, blockchain, the metaverse, and other emerging technologies, and he blends academic rigour with technological innovation.
His pioneering efforts include the world’s first TEDx Talk in VR in 2020. In 2023, he further pushed boundaries when he delivered a TEDx talk in Athens with his digital twin , delving into the complex interplay of AI and our perception of reality. In 2024, he launched a digital twin of himself offering interactive, on-demand conversations via text, audio or video in 29 languages, thereby bridging the gap between the digital and physical worlds – another world’s first.
As a distinguished 5-time author and corporate educator, Dr Van Rijmenam is celebrated for his candid, independent, and balanced insights. He is also the founder of Futurwise , which focuses on elevating global digital awareness for a responsible and thriving digital future.
