The Optimist’s Guide to the Next 10 Years

There are asteroids heading our way — metaphorical ones, fortunately. They’re the big transformations in our technologies, in our cultures, in our planet that promise to upend how we work, how we live, and even how we see ourselves. To some, these asteroids as threats, forcing the extinction of our place in the world… but to others, they’re catalysts for evolution and adaptation. Remember, that big asteroid didn’t wipe out the dinosaurs — they’re still here in the shape of every bird in the world.

These transformations will force us to reconsider many of our basic economic and social assumptions. Advanced 3D Printing — evolving into atomically-precise manufacturing — and Autonomous Algorithmic Systems (including, but not limited to, robots) have the potential to shatter 19th and 20th century models of employment and trade, but may be a catalyst for the creation of a society of abundance. Synthetic Biology and Geoengineering could reshape our ecosystems at a fundamental level, but may end up a necessary step in fighting the impacts of global climate disruption. Whether it’s Stranded Assets or the Blockchain, Basic Income or Engineered Longevity, changes are coming that will make our lives over the next few decades almost unrecognizable… even as millennia-old motives, drives, and desires continue to shape our behavior.

What kind of future will we choose? Are we ready to be hit by asteroids?