New predictions for the timeline

[wjfox]

2054-2055 – The UK's population is peaking at 71.8 million

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/UN-p ... RV~GRC~GBR

[GTrang]

3183 - Zeitpyramide (time pyramid) in Wemding, Germany is completed

https://www.wemding.de/sehenswertes/zeitpyramide-10278/

[wjfox]

I think I've worked out three of the main predictions I want for 2050:

- Net zero is reached by the majority of countries
Mainly due to (exponential) faster-than-expected growth in clean tech, and a general collapse in fossil fuel demand due to escalating climate crisis.

- The world's political centre has shifted eastwards
However, China's influence will be less than expected, due to demographic and other issues.

- AI-augmented governments
We won't have AI Presidents or robot politicians anytime soon, but Super AI will be advising leaders on the best courses of action. It will analyse stupendously vast amounts of data with quantum computers, and then simulate the likely outcomes before a policy is enacted.

Not sure what I'll do for the 2060s... any ideas??

[erowind]

At a glance, change/delete the 2061 prediction that the UK's population will reach 80 million given the new predicted peak in 2054-2055

[wjfox]

2025 – The first private mission to Venus

https://www.space.com/rocket-lab-privat ... layed-2025



Credit: Rocket Lab

[wjfox]

Some really interesting predictions here, regarding successor(s) to the Large Hadron collider, stretching as far as the 2070s.

We've already covered the Very Large Hadron Collider, but it seems that will need renaming, and moving from 2035 to 2045.

There's another entry that could be added for 2063, and then the 2070s:

https://physicsworld.com/a/cern-physici ... der-plans/

[wjfox]

Here's another good reference for the waste heat problem mentioned a few months back.

^ I know that prediction is for 2400, but that's describing the ultimate result, if nothing is done.

i.e. waste heat would likely become a problem long before then:

"During the past two centuries at least (and likely for much longer), our yearly energy use has doubled roughly every 30 to 50 years. Our energy use seems to be growing exponentially, a trend that shows every sign of continuing. We keep finding new things to do and almost everything we invent requires more and more energy: consider the enormous energy demands of cryptocurrency mining or the accelerating energy requirements of AI.

If this historical trend continues, scientists estimate waste heat will pose a problem in roughly 150-200 years that is every bit as serious as the current problem of global warming from greenhouse gases."

https://aeon.co/essays/theres-a-deeper- ... al-warming


One possible solution might involve relocating vast portions of industrial activity from Earth to space/the Moon. Which could tie in with our prediction for lunar cities in circa 2170 (already on the timeline). So I could expand on this a bit, perhaps covering the period up to 2220.

[wjfox]

Couple of predictions for 2066.

Currently, we don't have anything for that year, which means I could split the 2060s decade into individual years (making it nicer to browse through and faster to load).


2066 – The ozone layer has fully recovered

This prediction has changed before. It's currently listed at 2060, so will need moving again.

https://news.sky.com/story/earths-prote ... n-12783268


2066 – 1,000th anniversary of the Norman Conquest of England in 1066

This event might be commemorated in the UK and elsewhere. Prince William (presumably King William V by then) will be 84 years old.

[wjfox]

2034 - UAE space probe lands on an asteroid

https://www.space.com/uae-asteroid-miss ... nding-2034
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/29/scie ... ssion.html
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireSto ... s-99679737

Added that one.

[wjfox]

2031 – Generative AI is a trillion-dollar industry

16 times bigger than today.

https://www.artisana.ai/articles/genera ... -estimates