Thursday, June 10, 2010

THE FUTURIST Magazine's Top 10 Forecasts for 2010 and Beyond.


Each year since 1985, the editors of THE FUTURIST have selected the most thought-provoking ideas and forecasts appearing in the magazine to go into our annual Outlook report. Over the years, Outlook has spotlighted the emergence of such epochal developments as the Internet, virtual reality, and the end of the Cold War. Here are the top ten forecasts for 2010 and beyond.

1. Your phone will tell you when you’re in love.

2. In the design economy of the future, people will download and print their own products, including auto parts, jewelry, and even the kitchen sink.

3. The era of brain-to-brain telepathy dawns.

4. Tomorrow’s inventors will spend their days writing descriptions of the problems they want to solve, and then letting computers find the solutions.

5. Micronations built on artificial islands will dramatically shift the face of global politics.

6. Young people will read more, and the old will play more video games.

7. Ammonia may become the fuel of choice for cars by 2020.

8. Algae may become the new oil.

9. Radical methods of altering the planet may be the only way to prevent the worst effects of climate change.

10. The existence of extraterrestrial life will be confirmed or conclusively denied within a generation.


All of these forecasts plus dozens more are included in the annual report that scans the best writing and research from THE FUTURIST magazine over the course of the previous year. The Society hopes this report, covering developments in business and economics, demography, energy, the environment, health and medicine, resources, society and values, and technology, will assist its readers in preparing for the challenges and opportunities in 2010 and beyond

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