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2025-2050
Technological unemployment is rising rapidly
The second quarter of the 21st century is marked by a rapid rise in technological unemployment around much of the world.* This results in considerable economic, political and cultural upheaval. For most of the 200 years since the Industrial Revolution, new advances in technology and automation had tended to create more jobs than they destroyed. By the 21st century, however, this was no longer true. A fundamental change had begun to occur.**
Median wages, already falling in recent decades, had continued to stagnate – particularly in the West.*** Globalisation and the outsourcing of jobs to overseas markets with lower international labour rates had, of course, been partly responsible in the past. But a growing and rapidly accelerating trend was the impact of machines and intelligent software programs. Not only were their physical abilities becoming more humanlike;******** in many ways their analytical and cognitive skills were beginning to match those of people too.******
Blue collar workers had traditionally borne the brunt of layoffs from technological unemployment. This time, white collar jobs were no longer safe either.* Advanced robotics, increasingly sophisticated algorithms, deep learning networks, exponential growth in computer processing power and bandwidth, voice/facial recognition and other tech – all were paving the way towards a highly automated society. Furthermore, of the (few) new jobs being created, most were in highly skilled roles, making it hard or impossible for those made redundant to adapt. Many workers now faced permanent unemployment.
By 2025, transport was among the sectors feeling the biggest impacts.* The idea of self-driving vehicles had once been science fiction, but money was being poured into research and development. In 2015, the first licenced autonomous truck was announced. These hi-tech vehicles saw rapid adoption. Initially they required a driver to be present, who could take over in case of emergencies, but later versions were fully autonomous.* In the US alone, there were 3.5 million truck drivers, with a further 5.2 million people in non-driving jobs that were dependent on the truck-driving industry, such as highway cafes and motels where drivers would stop to eat, drink, rest and sleep. A similar trend would follow with other vehicle types,* such as taxis, alongside public transport including trains – notably the London Underground.* With humans totalling 1/3rd of operating costs from their salaries alone, the business case was strong. Self-driving vehicles would never require a salary, training, sleep, pension payments, health insurance, holidays or other associated costs/time, would never drink alcohol, and never be distracted by mobile phones or tempted by road rage.
Manufacturing was another area seeing rapid change. This sector had already witnessed heavy automation in earlier decades, in the form of robots capable of constructing cars. In general, however, these machines were limited to a fixed set of pre-defined movements – repetitive actions performed over and over again. Robots with far more adaptability and dynamism would emerge during the early 21st century. Just one example was "Baxter", developed by Rethink Robotics.* Baxter could understand its environment and was safe enough to work shoulder-to-shoulder with people while offering a broad range of skills. Priced at only $22,000 this model was aimed at midsize and small manufacturers, companies that had never been able to afford robots before. It was fast and easy to configure, going from delivery to the factory floor in under an hour, unlike traditional robots that required manufacturers to develop custom software and make additional capital investments.
Robots were increasingly used in aerospace,* agriculture,*** cleaning,* delivery services (via drone),** elderly care homes, hospitals,* hotels,** kitchens,** military operations,**** mining,* retail environments,* security patrols** and warehouses.* In the scientific arena, some machines were now performing the equivalent of 12 years' worth of human research in a week.* Rapid growth in solar PV installations led some analysts to believe that a new era of green jobs was about to explode,* but robots were capable of this task with greater speed and efficiency than human engineers.*
Holographic representations of people were also being deployed in various public assistant/receptionist roles. While the first generation lacked the ability to hold a two-way conversation, later versions became more interactive and intelligent.**
Other examples of automation included self-service checkouts,* later followed by more advanced checkout-free payments via a combination of sensors and machine vision* (which also enabled stock levels to be monitored and audited without humans). Cafes and restaurants had begun using a system of touchscreen displays, tablets and mobile apps to improve the speed and accuracy of the order process,* with many establishments also providing machines to rapidly create and dispense meals/drinks,* particularly in fast food chains like McDonalds.
AI software, algorithms and mobile apps had exploded in use during the 2010s and this trend continued in subsequent decades. Some bots were now capable of writing and publishing their own articles online.* Virtual lawyers were being developed to predict the likely outcome and impact of law suits; there were virtual doctors and medical bots (such as Watson), with increasingly computerised analysis and reporting of big data (able to find the proverbial "needle in a haystack" with hyper-accuracy and speed);* virtual teachers and other virtual professions.
3D printing was another emerging trend, and by the mid-2020s had more than tripled in market size compared to 2018.* It found mainstream consumer uses in the home and was increasingly used in large-scale formats and industrial settings; even for vehicle and building constructions. By 2040, traditional manufacturing jobs had been largely eliminated in the US* and many other Western societies.
The tide of change was undeniable.* All of these developments led to a growing unemployment crisis; not immediately and not everywhere, but enough to become a major issue for society. Unions in the past had attempted to protect their workers from such impacts, but memberships were at record lows – and in any case, they had never been particularly effective in slowing the march of technology and economics.
Sources: World Bank* and the Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology*
Governments were now facing profound questions about the nature and future direction of their economies. If more and more people were being made permanently unemployed, how could they afford to buy goods and services needed to stimulate growth? Where would tax revenues come from? Confronted by increasingly angry and desperate voters, now protesting on scales dwarfing Occupy Wall Street, many leaders between 2025 and 2050 began formulating a welfare system to handle these extraordinary circumstances. This had gone by several names in the past – such as basic income, basic income guarantee, universal basic income, universal demogrant and citizen's income – but was most commonly referred to as the unconditional basic income (UBI).
The concept of UBI was not new. A minimum income for the poor had been discussed as far back as the early 16th century; unconditional grants were proposed in the 18th century; the two were combined for the first time in the 19th century to form the idea of unconditional basic income.* This theory received further attention during the 20th century. The economist Milton Friedman in 1962 advocated a guaranteed income via a "negative income tax". Martin Luther King Jr. in his final book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, wrote: "I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective – the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: guaranteed income." US President Richard Nixon supported the idea and tried (unsuccessfully) to pass a version of Friedman's plan. His opponent in the 1972 election, George McGovern, also suggested a guaranteed annual income.
Traditional welfare payments, such as housing benefit and jobseeker's allowance, were heavily means-tested. In general, they provided only the bare minimum for survival and well-being of a household. By contrast, UBI would be more generous. Unconditional and automatic, it could be paid to each and every individual, regardless of other income sources and with no requirement for a person to work or even be looking for work. The amount paid would make a citizen "economically active", rather than idle, in turn stimulating growth. Some would use the UBI to return to education and improve their skills. Those with jobs would continue to earn more than those who did not work.
In most countries, UBI would be funded, in part, by increased taxation on the very rich.* At first glance, this appeared to be a radical left-wing concept involving massive wealth redistribution. For this reason, opposition was initially strong, particularly in the US. As time went by, however, the arguments in favour began to make sense to both sides of the political spectrum. For example, UBI could also be funded by cutting dozens of entitlement programs and replacing them with a single unified solution, reducing the size of government and giving citizens more freedom over their personal finances. Demographics in the US were also shifting in ways that made it very difficult for Republicans to maintain their traditional viewpoints.* With pressure mounting from mass social protests – and few other plausible alternatives to stimulate consumer spending – bipartisan support was gradually achieved. Nevertheless, its adoption in the United States (as with universal healthcare) occurred later than most other countries. Switzerland, for example, conducted a popular referendum on UBI as early as 2016,* with a proposed amount of $2,800/month. Meanwhile, a small-scale pilot project in Namibia during 2004 cut poverty from 76% to 37%, boosted education and health, increased non-subsidised incomes, and cut crime.* An experiment involving 6,000 people in India had similar success.*
In the short to medium term, rising unemployment was highly disruptive and triggered an unprecedented crisis.* For the US, in particular, it led to some of the biggest economic reforms in modern history.* In the longer term, however, it was arguably a positive development for humanity.* UBI acted as a temporary bridge or stepping stone to a post-scarcity world, with even greater advances in robotics and automation occurring in the late 21st century and beyond.**
2025-2035
All television is becoming Internet-based
During this period, cable TV and other traditional modes of television are beginning to disappear in favour of Internet-based streaming. The inflexibility of scheduled programmes had made them increasingly unattractive, with users shifting instead towards on-demand services providing greater choice, convenience and value for money. By the late 2010s, more people were streaming video online each day than watching scheduled linear TV.* This trend continued into the following two decades,* resulting in a huge loss of subscribers for older traditional media companies,* which were forced to either evolve or die.
In Britain, the traditional TV licence fee (£157 annually, as of 2020) had been called into question, with many believing it should no longer be mandatory for all television owners. A Royal Charter guaranteed the licence fee funding until 2026, but the Conservative government proposed alternative methods of financing the BBC in the future.* Among the moves suggested for implementing a new system were the use of advertising revenue, a new broadcasting levy and the switch to a subscription-based system. This had been expected to reduce the power and influence of the BBC. However, the next Royal Charter extended the licence fee's use from 2026 until 2038.*
The visual quality of TV sets, tablets and other devices has markedly improved compared to previous generations, with 8K resolutions now relatively cheap and common in most countries. Connection speeds are increasing too, able to handle the exponential growth in web data. In the 2030s, the global average broadband speed exceeds 1 Gbit/s, with early adopters and high-end users having access to even faster downloads.
Furthermore, access and coverage have been made easier via expanded rural and remote networks, greater use of public Wi-Fi spots, and the rapid growth of satellite constellations. With nearly all of the world now coming online, the resulting flow of knowledge is contributing to greater awareness of political issues, corruption, and injustice. Citizens in even the poorest countries can document and disseminate their experiences on video, using mobile apps to capture footage of war crimes and human rights abuses, for example.*
Mouse revival from cryopreservation
Cryopreservation – a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to sub-zero temperatures – witnesses major advances during this period. By far the most notable achievement is a mouse being revived from storage at −196°C.
In the past, among the most serious challenges to overcome had been damage from crystallisation as a result of the freezing process. During the first decade of the 21st century, this problem was comprehensively solved by the development of cryoprotectants offering complete vitrification. In other words, the body being preserved was turned into a glass, rather than crystalline solid. A number of issues remained, however – such as the toxicity of these cryoprotectants, as well as the fracturing that occurred due to simple thermal stress. In subsequent decades, new research led to progressively more successful techniques, culminating in the mouse revival.*
Although a human revival is still many years away (and fraught with ethical, legal and social hurdles), such a feat now appears to be a more realistic prospect. Once considered the stuff of science fiction, cryopreservation becomes an increasingly regular feature in mainstream scientific literature. A number of new startups are formed around this time, promising to "resurrect" people at some future date.
2025-2030
Many cities are banning fossil fuel-powered vehicles
During this period,* many cities and regions around the world enforce outright bans on the use of traditional petrol and diesel-powered vehicles. This is primarily to meet climate targets under international agreements such as the Kyoto Accord and the Paris Agreement, but is also for reasons of energy independence and improved air quality.
Among the first places to announce bans were Athens, Madrid, Paris and Mexico City. In December 2016, the mayors of each city pledged to take diesel cars and vans off their roads by 2025. Over the next few years, many more plans were announced for partial (diesel only) or complete bans (both gasoline and diesel) in more than 20 countries. The vast majority would cover the 2025-2030 timeframe, with some being implemented sooner (e.g. 2020 for Oxford, UK) and a few others later (e.g. 2040 for China, France and the UK). For these 'outliers' in 2040, it was subsequently suggested that these timelines were not ambitious enough and should be brought forward.
By the early 2020s, a flood of additional countries had joined this planned phase out. With zero-emission vehicles now cheaper than ever, their numbers were growing exponentially, regardless of any bans or regulations. Batteries had been the main reason why electric cars were more expensive than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts, but these prices have declined at such a rate that the overall price balance has flipped by the late 2020s. The relative cost difference continues to widen each year, making them the preferred option from now on. Many cities are beginning to see a noticeable improvement in air quality.
Human brain-scale simulations are becoming possible
The first complete simulation of a single neuron was perfected in 2005. This was followed by a neocortical column with 10,000 neurons in 2008; then a cortical mesocircuit with 1,000,000 neurons in 2011. Mouse brain simulations, containing tens of millions of neurons, were later achieved.
From 2000 to 2025, computing power increased one million-fold, while scanning resolution and bandwidth also improved. By 2025–30, exponential hardware and software improvements are making it possible to model every part of the human brain within a single system.* In other words, 100 billion neurons and up to a quadrillion synapses.*
Although simulating a complete human brain down to the level of individual neurons and synapses is now possible, analysing the gigantic volumes of data contained within, in order to fully understand the intricacies and interactions, will take much longer. Nonetheless, this represents a major milestone in neurology and leads to increased funding towards brain-related ailments.
2025-2028
The United States is becoming more authoritarian
On 6th November 2024, Donald Trump defeated the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the US presidential election. Trump became the first Republican nominee since 2004 to win the popular vote, and the first president to be elected to a non-consecutive second term in 132 years, when Grover Cleveland won the 1892 election.
Trump's campaign incited outrage with its barrage of false statements and divisive rhetoric – including claims that the 2020 election had been stolen, engaging in anti-immigrant fearmongering, and promoting conspiracy theories. Trump's embrace of far-right extremism, as well as increasingly violent, dehumanising, and authoritarian language against his political opponents, drove historians and scholars to describe his words as fascist, unlike anything a political candidate had ever said in modern U.S. history, and a continued breaking of political norms.
With control over both the executive branch and Congress, Trump's administration quickly set its sights on implementing Project 2025 – a sweeping blueprint for consolidating power within the federal government. Published by The Heritage Foundation, America's most influential conservative think tank, and co-authored by 140 former Trump staffers, Project 2025 outlines a bold vision to reshape the country's governance. The plan grants the president unprecedented control over federal agencies, reduces regulatory oversight, and strips protections across various sectors. Through this initiative, the executive branch seeks to dismantle the so-called "deep state" and replace thousands of career civil servants with loyalists, prioritising those aligned with Trump's ideological vision. Critics warn that these changes could weaken democratic institutions and erode checks and balances, letting the president operate with fewer constraints and less accountability.
One of the Trump administration's first major actions is a sweeping programme of mass deportations targeting undocumented immigrants. With promises to remove up to 10 million undocumented residents from the United States, the administration moves swiftly to expand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, increase detention centre capacity, and deploy resources to accelerate deportation proceedings. The goal, officials claim, is to secure the nation's borders, reduce crime, and prioritise jobs for American citizens.
In addition to the mass deportations, Project 2025 includes proposals to denaturalise certain immigrants – a process that revokes the U.S. citizenship from naturalised immigrants deemed "problematic" or "disloyal" – thus rendering them deportable. Although historically a rare practice and highly controversial, denaturalisation enters mainstream policy discussions during this time, with potential targets including individuals from certain countries, those with specific political affiliations, or those found to be overly critical of the administration.
However, the scale of this deportation effort is hampered by formidable challenges, with projected costs running into the hundreds of billions, alongside a number of legal, logistical, and operational issues.* Industries such as agriculture, construction, and hospitality – which rely heavily on immigrant labour – face the potential for major workforce shortages and supply chain disruptions, triggering a backlash from business leaders. Legislative progress also stalls, as even some conservative lawmakers express concerns over the programme's economic and social implications. Civil rights organisations file a series of legal challenges, complicating and delaying the rollout, with courts ruling in some cases that specific aspects of the programme violate the constitution.
Despite these hurdles, Project 2025's centralised structure allows the administration to push forward elements of the initiative by bypassing certain safeguards and circumventing state-level protections. Together with ongoing issues over the Mexico border wall, started during Trump's first presidency, these deportations become highly contentious and polarising. Increasingly frequent reports emerge of human rights abuses, particularly at detention centres, such as overcrowding, poor sanitation, and lack of care.
In addition to immigration reform, Project 2025 includes a series of measures aimed at expanding federal surveillance and tightening control over civil liberties. Under the guise of "national security," Trump's administration proposes enhanced monitoring tools for tracking suspected threats – targeting political opponents, activists, and minority communities. The programme extends to online spaces, where authorities implement intensified monitoring of social media platforms, forums, and independent news websites to detect and flag "subversive" content. These expanded surveillance capabilities raise concerns about the potential targeting of individuals who openly criticise the administration or express dissenting views.
New policies also seek to curtail press freedom with stricter regulations on media outlets deemed "unpatriotic" or "biased." As part of this effort, the Trump administration moves to defund public broadcasting entities like NPR and PBS. Journalists critical of the administration face heightened scrutiny, with some even threatened with legal action.
Meanwhile, Project 2025 empowers federal law enforcement with broader authority to suppress protests, even going as far as deploying the military to break up such gatherings. This marks a significant departure from American norms, which historically upheld free assembly and civil disobedience as protected rights, drawing comparisons to hardline regimes like China and Russia.
Adding to concerns over civil liberties, Project 2025 mandates that states provide abortion data, ending what had previously been a voluntary reporting system.* States must now report on the number of abortions performed, gestational age at the time of the procedure, reasons for each abortion, the pregnant person's state of residence, and method used. To enforce compliance, the administration threatens to halt federal funding for states that do not supply the required data. As surveillance of pregnancy outcomes intensifies, this data is weaponised against individuals in states hostile to abortion rights, criminalising those seeking or assisting with abortions. The prospect of a nationwide abortion ban moves closer to reality, with grave implications for women's health and well-being.
Project 2025 also envisions a rollback of protections for LGBT individuals, proposing measures that remove federal recognition of gender diversity and eliminate protections against discrimination in healthcare, housing, and employment. The plan aims to reinstate narrow definitions of gender and sex, erasing policies that provide access to gender-affirming healthcare and protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Critics argue that this marks a dangerous regression in civil rights, targeting people in ways that parallel the restrictive laws seen in authoritarian states that enforce social conformity. The impact of these policies threatens to marginalise LGBT individuals further, eroding gains made in recent decades and enforcing a rigid, state-sanctioned ideology around gender and sexuality.
Overall, the combination of intensified surveillance, restrictions on reproductive rights, rollback of LGBT protections, expanded police and military powers, and the deportation of political dissidents creates a troubling precedent for free speech, privacy, and civil liberties, marking a shift towards a more authoritarian state.
Project 2025 includes many other proposals – affecting education, employment, the environment, welfare programs, and much more* – signalling a decisive rightward turn in policymaking. As it begins to reshape American governance, concerns grow that the 2024 election may have been the last truly free and fair presidential contest in the United States. The consolidation of executive power lays a strong foundation to influence or restrict any future democratic processes. With echoes of tactics employed by autocratic leaders such as Vladimir Putin, observers warn that democratic safeguards Americans have long taken for granted may weaken further, creating a turbulent road to the 2028 election and beyond.
Contact with the Voyager probes is lost
Voyager I is the farthest man-made object: 14 billion miles (22 billion km) away, or 150 times the distance between the Sun and Earth. Both Voyager I and its sister probe, Voyager II, have remained operational for nearly half a century, continuing to transmit data back to NASA. They have left the heliosphere and are now headed towards the Oort Cloud. By 2025, however, onboard power is finally starting to wane.*
During 2017, Voyager I had fired its trajectory thrusters for the first time since November 1980, to subtly rotate the spacecraft and reorient its antenna – extending the mission lifetime slightly. This makes Voyager II the first of the two to shut down, with Voyager I outliving it by three years.* The shutdowns happen gradually rather than instantly, with instruments failing one by one, until none are left operating.
Each probe carries a gold-plated audio-visual disc, in the event that either spacecraft is ever found by intelligent alien life. The discs carry images of Earth and its lifeforms, a range of scientific information, along with a medley, "Sounds of Earth", that includes the sounds of whales, a baby crying, waves breaking on a shore, music from different cultures and eras, plus greetings in 60 different languages. Voyager I passes by the red dwarf star Gliese 445 in the year 42,000 AD and Voyager II approaches Sirius in 298,000 AD.
2025
Kivalina is being inundated
Kivalina is a small Alaskan village located on the southern tip of a 7.5 mi (12 km) long barrier island. Home to around 400 indigenous Inuit, its people survived over countless generations by hunting and fishing. But during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, a dramatic retreat of Arctic sea ice left the village extremely vulnerable to coastal erosion and storms.
The US Army built a defensive wall, but this only served as a temporary measure and failed to halt the advancing sea. 2025 is a pivotal year for Kivalina as its residents face the need to evacuate and abandon the island.* Some of the more exposed buildings are now disappearing beneath the waves.
The Alaska region has been warming at twice the rate of the USA as a whole, affecting many other Inuit islands. At the same time, opportunities are emerging to exploit untapped oil reserves made available by the melting ice.*
Sample return mission to Kamo'oalewa
In 2025, China conducts a sample return mission to the near-Earth asteroid 469219 Kamoʻoalewa.* This tiny, fast-rotating body is just 41 m (135 ft) in diameter and is the smallest, closest, and most stable (known) quasi-satellite of Earth. Its orbit, and the lunar-like silicates it contains, make it likely to be an impact fragment from the Moon. The mission provides confirmation of this along with further science data when it returns its sample a year later.
The technical challenges include entering and keeping orbit around a small body with very weak gravity. The spacecraft requires long-life propulsion engines and a high-precision navigation, guidance, and control system. The return capsule must also withstand ultra-high-speed re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.
China develops two mission architectures – "anchor-and-attach" and "touch-and-go" – using both to maximise the chances of success. It lands on the asteroid using four robotic arms, with a drill on the end of each for anchoring.
After delivering samples to Earth in a return capsule, the probe continues on towards the main-belt comet 311P/PANSTARRS. On arrival in 2034, it uses a variety of imaging, spectrometer, and other instruments to investigate whether such a comet may have delivered water to the young Earth. It also provides insight into the differences between active asteroids and classic comets.*
Credit: Tao Zhang, Kun Xu, and Xilun Ding/Nature Astronomy
First crewed flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft
In late 2025,* NASA conducts a first human flight of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV). This test, Artemis 2, follows the uncrewed Artemis 1 in 2022 and the Earth-orbiting prototype in 2014. These missions form part of the agency's longer-term plan for sending humans to Mars.
Artemis 2 is placed in high Earth orbit by a new super heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), for a period of two days. During this time, its crew perform checkouts of the spacecraft's life support systems, as well as an in-space rendezvous demonstration using the spent Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) as a target.
It then fires its main engine to begin a translunar injection manoeuvre, sending it on a lunar free return trajectory. The spacecraft performs a lunar flyby with a mission duration of 10 days – passing within 10,300 km (6,400 mi) of the Moon's surface – before returning to Earth. This mission is the first crewed spacecraft to travel beyond Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The four-person crew includes a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut, the first Canadian to travel beyond low Earth orbit.
Artemis 2 is followed by Artemis 3 in the second half of the decade, which delivers a human crew to the Moon's south polar region. Two astronauts, including the first woman on the lunar surface, spend roughly a week there before returning to Earth.
NASA's proposed timeline includes a total of 11 Artemis missions – running until at least 2035 – with potential for Orion to be used on Mars missions beyond that in combination with a Deep Space Habitat module for additional space and supplies.
Artemis 2 in 2024. Credit: NASA
BepiColombo arrives in orbit around Mercury
BepiColombo is a joint mission between the European and Japanese space agencies. It is only the third mission to study Mercury at close range and only the second to enter into orbit around the planet. Consisting of a rocket component and two science probes, the mission is launched in 2018. It performs a total of nine flybys around Earth, Venus and Mercury before orbital insertion on 5th December 2025.* It is the most comprehensive on-location study of Mercury ever performed, with 12 specific objectives:
- What can be learned from Mercury about the composition of the solar nebula and the formation of the planetary system?
- Why is Mercury's normalised density markedly higher than that of all other terrestrial planets, Moon included?
- Is the core of Mercury liquid or solid?
- Is Mercury tectonically active today?
- Why does such a small planet possess an intrinsic magnetic field, while Venus, Mars and the Moon do not have any?
- Why do spectroscopic observations not reveal the presence of any iron, while this element is supposedly the major constituent of Mercury?
- Do the permanently shadowed craters of the polar regions contain sulphur or water ice?
- Is the unseen hemisphere of Mercury markedly different from that imaged by Mariner 10?
- What are the production mechanisms of the exosphere?
- In the absence of any ionosphere, how does the magnetic field interact with the solar wind?
- Is Mercury's magnetised environment characterised by features reminiscent of aurorae, radiation belts and magnetospheric substorms observed at Earth?
- Since the advance of Mercury's perihelion was explained in terms of space-time curvature, can we take advantage of the proximity of the Sun to test general relativity with improved accuracy?
The European contribution, Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO), studies the surface and internal composition, while the Japanese probe, known as the Mercury Magnetosphere Orbiter (MMO), analyses the magnetosphere and atmosphere. A new form of ion engine is used for the propulsion system. BepiColombo was originally planned for a 2014 launch with 2020 arrival at Mercury, but faced a number of delays. The mission concludes in 2028.
Direct flights from Sydney to London and New York
In 2025, Australia's national airline, Qantas, begins offering Project Sunrise flights.* This new service – described as "the final frontier of long-haul travel" – enables direct routes from cities in eastern and southern Australia to any major city in the world, without any connections.
In the case of Sydney to London, the journey lasts for 20 hours, making it the world's longest commercial passenger flight. However, this enables a reduction in travel time of up to four hours compared with earlier services that required layovers.
Qantas began operating non-stop flights from the western port city of Perth to London in March 2018. This ended the era of the continents of Europe and Oceania not being connected by non-stop flights, marking the first time that all continents, excluding Antarctica, had been connected by non-stop flights. The Sydney to London service is one of the final steps in a century of progress for air travel distances. Qantas had carried its first passenger in 1922 aboard an Avro 504 biplane on a domestic flight within Queensland. Sydney to London journeys in 1935 took 12 days, made up of 31 stopovers.
Project Sunrise includes 12 new Airbus A350-1000s, which begin entering service in late 2025; the fleet is fully operational by 2028. They each have a seat count of 238, the lowest compared with any other A350-1000 in service. The interior designs, influenced by medical and scientific research, are specially configured for improved comfort on ultra-long-haul flights, which includes a Wellbeing Zone and more spacious seating in both Premium and Economy cabins.* HEPA filters remove 99.9% of particles and refresh the air every 2-3 minutes. As part of its 2050 net zero emissions commitment, Qantas announced that all net emissions from Project Sunrise flights would be carbon offset.
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http://www.iftf.org/future-now/article-detail/will-automation-lead-to-fewer-jobs-in-10-years-probably-yes/
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19 Cloud computing platform for robots launched, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/03/12-2.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
20 Artificial intelligence breakthrough: CAPTCHA 'Turing Test' is passed, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/10/29-2.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
21 "...robotics and artificial intelligence will permeate wide segments of daily life by 2025, with huge implications for a range of industries such as health care, transport and logistics, customer service, and home maintenance."
See AI, Robotics, and the Future of Jobs, Pew Research:
http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/08/06/future-of-jobs/
Accessed 14th June 2015.
22 Self-driving trucks are going to hit the US economy like a human-driven truck, Quartz:
http://qz.com/417014/self-driving-trucks-are-going-to-hit-the-us-economy-like-a-human-driven-truck/
Accessed 14th June 2015.
23 "Daimler and other manufacturers, including Nissan and Tesla, are planning to introduce fully autonomous vehicles (with no human driver on board) during the early 2020s."
See The first licenced autonomous driving truck in the US, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2015/05/7.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
24 Autonomous Vehicles Will Replace Taxi Drivers, But That's Just the Beginning, Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sam-tracy/autonomous-vehicles-will-_b_7556660.html
Accessed 14th June 2015.
25 New Tube for London, Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tube_for_London
Accessed 24th December 2023.
26 Rethink Robotics aims to revolutionise manufacturing with humanoid robot, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2012/09/18.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
27 Boeing's new robots outperform human workers, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/06/4.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
28 See 2016.
29 A robot to help improve agriculture and wine production, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2015/01/30.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
30 Affordable robotics in agriculture, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/09/3.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
31 Robot cleaner can empty bins and sweep floors, New Scientist:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22630213.200-robot-cleaner-can-empty-bins-and-sweep-floors.html
Accessed 14th June 2015.
32 First drone delivery company gains approval in the U.S., Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2019/04/27.htm
Accessed 5th January 2020.
33 "Amazon Prime Air" will use drones for 30 minute delivery, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/12/2.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
34 Hospital robot kills 95% of pathogens in 5 minutes with UV light, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/01/22.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
35 Robotic butlers to appear in hotels, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2014/08/14.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
36 Robot check-in: The hotel concierge goes hi-tech, BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-32931923
Accessed 14th June 2015.
37 World's first robotic kitchen to debut in 2017, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2015/04/18.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
38 CIROS, the salad-making robot, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2012/11/3.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
39 Autonomous swarm boats to defend U.S. Navy, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2014/10/6-2.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
40 The human rights implications of killer robots, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2014/05/13.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
41 Latest videos of the ATLAS, LS3, and WildCat robots, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/10/4.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
42 See 2047.
43 See 2016.
44 OSHbot – a new automated retail assistant, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2014/10/30-3.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
45 Crime-predicting robot to patrol streets from 2015, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/12/11.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
46 Microsoft Shows Off Robot Security Guards, PC Magazine:
http://uk.pcmag.com/robotics-automation-products/37736/news/microsoft-shows-off-robot-security-guards
Accessed 14th June 2015.
47 Amazon warehouse robots, YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quWFjS3Ci7A
Accessed 14th June 2015.
48 It takes human researchers 12 years "to do what this robot can do in a week.", Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/11/13.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
49 Solar power prices to continue falling through 2025, experts say, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2012/12/14.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
50 Lowering the cost of solar installation with robots and cleaning technology, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/10/16-2.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
51 Meet Shanice, the new holographic receptionist, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/08/21.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
52 Holograms to replace people at New York airports, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2012/05/28.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
53 See 2014.
54 Amazon to open checkout-free store in NYC, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2018/09/13.htm
Accessed 22nd August 2019.
55 Automation arrives at restaurants (but don't blame rising minimum wages), Computer World:
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2837810/automation-arrives-at-restaurants-but-dont-blame-rising-minimum-wages.html
Accessed 14th June 2015.
56 Burger-making machine could replace human workers, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2012/12/1-3.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
57 Rise of robot reporters: when software writes the news, New Scientist:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25273-rise-of-robot-reporters-when-software-writes-the-news.html
Accessed 14th June 2015.
58 IBM forms Watson Group to meet growing demand for cognitive innovations, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2014/01/9-2.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
59 3D Printing Market by Offering (Printer, Material, Software, Service), Process (Binder Jetting, Direct Energy Deposition, Material Extrusion, Material Jetting, Powder Bed Fusion), Application, Vertical, Technology, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2024, Markets and Markets:
https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/3d-printing-market-1276.html
Accessed 1st January 2020.
60 See 2039.
61 The Coming Wave, by Mustafa Suleyman:
https://www.the-coming-wave.com/
Accessed 27th December 2023.
62 World Development Indicators, World Bank:
http://data.worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicators
Accessed 14th June 2015.
63 The Future of Employment: How Susceptible are jobs to computerisation?, Oxford Martin Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology:
http://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf
Accessed 14th June 2015.
64 History of basic income, Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN):
http://www.basicincome.org/basic-income/history/
Accessed 14th June 2015.
65 After Robots Take Our Jobs, This Is What the Economy Will Look Like, Tech Mic:
http://mic.com/articles/119896/after-robots-take-our-jobs-basic-income-is-the-best-solution
Accessed 14th June 2015.
66 See 2042.
67 SWITZERLAND: 'National Campaign for Unconditional Basic Income' launched, Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN):
http://www.basicincome.org/news/2015/06/switzerland-national-campaign-for-unconditional-basic-income-launched/
Accessed 14th June 2015.
68 The Basic Income Grant Experiment in Namibia, Crooked Timber:
http://crookedtimber.org/2009/06/02/the-basic-income-grant-experiment-in-namibia/
Accessed 14th June 2015.
69 Basic Income: A Transformative Policy for India, By Sarath Davala, Guy Standing, Renana Jhabvala, Soumya Kapoor Mehta:
http://www.booktopia.com.au/basic-income-sarath-davala/prod9781472583109.html
Accessed 14th June 2015.
70 Nearly half of US jobs could be at risk of computerisation within 20 years, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2013/09/19.htm
Accessed 14th June 2015.
71 Peter Diamandis on technology: "I'm a libertarian-capitalist at heart, but we are heading towards a future of socialism."
See Peter Diamandis talks about "Robots Will Steal Your Job, But That's OK", YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXdA1lP7DKY
Accessed 14th June 2015.
72 "The endgame, where we're going as a species if we don't screw up badly and destroy ourselves or burn out all our resources before we get there, is some kind of post-scarcity society."
See America Has Hit "Peak Jobs", TechCrunch:
http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/26/america-has-hit-peak-jobs/
Accessed 14th June 2015.
73 "75 percent of American workers unemployed by 2089."
See: Imagining a future when machines have all the jobs, PhysOrg:
http://phys.org/news/2013-01-future-machines-jobs.html
Accessed 14th June 2015.
74 See 2200.
75 We're about to pass a watershed moment in the decline of TV, Tech Insider:
http://www.techinsider.io/streaming-will-soon-pass-traditional-tv-2015-9
Accessed 10th June 2016.
76 Netflix CEO Reed Hastings predicts when cable TV will die for good, Business Insider:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/netflix-ceo-says-all-tv-will-be-on-internet-in-10-to-20-years-2015-9
Accessed 10th June 2016.
77 This is the scariest chart in the history of cable TV, Business Insider:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/cable-tv-subscribers-plunging-2015-8
Accessed 10th June 2016.
78 BBC: '10 years left of licence fee', BBC News:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-33215141
Accessed 10th June 2016.
79 Television licence fee 'preferred option' to fund BBC until 2038, say MPs, The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/mar/25/television-licence-fee-preferred-option-fund-bbc-2038-mps
Accessed 25th March 2021.
80 New mobile app could revolutionise human rights justice, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2015/06/8-2.htm
Accessed 10th June 2016.
81 Aubrey de Grey has responded to his IAMA - Now with Transcript, Less Wrong:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ReSqnpwWh4K786JPc/aubrey-de-grey-has-responded-to-his-iama-now-with-transcript
Accessed 30th June 2012.
82 Phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles, Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phase-out_of_fossil_fuel_vehicles
Accessed 21st January 2024.
83 The Singularity is Near, by Ray Kurzweil (2005)
http://www.amazon.com/Singularity-Near-Humans-Transcend-Biology/dp/0143037889/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1254172463&sr=1-1
Accessed 7th Dec 2008.
84 Neuromorphic supercomputer aims for human brain scale, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2023/12/16-worlds-first-human-brain-scale-neuromorphic-supercomputer.htm
Accessed 21st January 2024.
85 Trump's mass deportation plans would be costly. Here's why, CNN:
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/10/19/politics/trump-mass-deportation-cost-cec/index.html
Accessed 10th November 2024.
86 Project 2025: What It Means for Women, Families, and Gender Justice, National Women's Law Center:
https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Project-2025-Full-Report.pdf
For archived version, see:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/21stcentury/pdfs/project-2025-full-report.pdf
Accessed 10th November 2024.
87 Policy Agenda, Project 2025:
https://www.project2025.org/policy/
Accessed 10th November 2024.
88 Voyager program, Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_program
Accessed 10th September 2018.
89 Voyager I fires thrusters for first time since 1980, Future Timeline Blog:
https://www.futuretimeline.net/blog/2017/12/3.htm
Accessed 10th September 2018.
90 The Alaskan village set to disappear under water in a decade, BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23346370
Accessed 30th July 2013.
91 "...the USACE estimates that Kivalina will be uninhabitable by 2025, and the Government Accountability Office recommends that Kivalina's 400 residents leave immediately."
See Climate Change Is Driving Residents of Kivalina From Their Homes, Sierra:
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/climate-change-driving-residents-kivalina-their-homes
Accessed 15th January 2024.
92 469219 Kamoʻoalewa, Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/469219_Kamo%CA%BBoalewa
Accessed 18th November 2021.
93 China Plans Near-Earth Asteroid Smash-and-Grab, IEEE Spectrum:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/china-plans-near-earth-asteroid-smash-and-grab
Accessed 18th November 2021.
94 NASA delays Artemis 2 and 3 missions, SpaceNews:
https://spacenews.com/nasa-delays-artemis-2-and-3-missions/
Accessed 14th January 2024.
95 BepiColombo, Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BepiColombo
Accessed 25th May 2016.
96 Qantas announces Project Sunrise aircraft order for non-stop flights to Australia, Qantas:
https://www.qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-announces-project-sunrise-aircraft-order-for-non-stop-flights-to-australia/
Accessed 2nd May 2022.
97 Qantas A350 First, YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c504mnty-Tc
Accessed 2nd May 2022.
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