Tech to expect in the 2020s | Predictions

If you're guessing the next decade will involve 5G and A.I., you'd be right. But what else will the next ten years bring us in the way of tech. We've spelled out our predictions!

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[zTheMonsterz]

Smells like a Technological Dystopia for the 2020s

[forestgrump]

" the question is whether you will let them do it. " who are you kidding . not in a million years will you have a choice.

[jason_v]

That was a pretty narrow and pessimistic outlook for an entire decade's worth of technological innovation. I think we'll do much better than that.

[billytaylor]

I would like to see a 5G stand-alone VR headset, 4k resolution for each eye.

[madant]

Do americans (that mostly buy these smart speakers) like to be in a completely controlled/observed environment like test subjects?

[jameshihihin]

Am I the only one who feels old? I used to be all about new tech but I don’t like voice assistants and automated cars. I feel like we’re in a golden age right now just freeze it.

[HardKore]

2020-2029
timeline contents

2020-2060

• At some point during this period, the United States is struck by the most devastating earthquake in its history

2020-2040

• The Arctic is becoming free of sea ice

2020-2037

• At some point during this period, a major earthquake hits California

2020-2025

• America-China tensions continue in the Asia-Pacific region
• Gene therapy for deafness
• Breast tomosynthesis is in widespread use
• Five-year survival rates for Hodgkin's lymphoma are approaching 100%

2020

• Microsoft ends support for Windows 7
• Generation X is reshaping global politics
• Internet use reaches 5 billion worldwide
• Texting by thinking
• Complex organ replacements grown from stem cells
• The first stem cell therapy for congestive heart failure
• A cure for malaria
• Progress with longevity extension
• Genetically engineered "super" bananas
• Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games
• Hong Kong's Mass Transit Railway (MTR) has been significantly expanded
• Completion of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link
• The UK has expanded its offshore grid connections
• Smart meters in every UK home
• Mercury pollution has been greatly reduced
• Glacier National Park and other regions are becoming ice-free
• Britain's new aircraft carriers reach full operational capability
• 30, 000 drones are patrolling the skies of America
• Mars 2020 rover mission
• The first test flights of NASA's Quiet Supersonic Technology
• England's Coastal Path is open to walkers
• Expo 2020 is held in Dubai
• The PlayStation 5 is launched
• The final collapse of the Larsen B ice shelf

2021

• Exascale computers are deployed
• The ExoMars rover touches down on Mars
• The James Webb Space Telescope is launched
• Crossrail opens in London
• Water crisis in southwest USA
• The world's largest insect swarm re-emerges
• Five-year survival rates for breast cancer are approaching 100%
• Male birth control pills are entering the market
• The world's first artificial kidney
• Launch of the Terrafugia TF-X flying car
• The first Arabian mission to Mars
• The maiden flight of Ariane 6
• India's first manned space flight
• A rapidly changing workforce
• Wireless electricity is reaching critical mass
• Completion of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge

2022

• India becomes the most populous country on Earth
• The ITER experimental fusion reactor is switched on
• Germany phases out nuclear energy
• Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics
• Completion of the Northeast Corridor high-speed train upgrade
• Qatar hosts the FIFA World Cup
• China's first space station is complete
• New Horizons completes its study of the Kuiper Belt
• The AIDA mission arrives at Didymos
• The Dark Ages Radio Explorer (DARE) is launched
• Water is becoming a weapon of war
• Global reserves of antimony are running out
• Nanotech clothes are growing rapidly in use
• Driverless hover-taxis are operational in Dubai
• VIPER mission to the lunar south pole

2023-2027

• A tipping point for block chain

2023

• Xi Jinping extends his presidency
• The Aerion AS2 supersonic jet enters service
• The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope begins full operations
• First crewed flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft
• Mars sample return mission
• Asteroid sample return mission
• Launch of the Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST)
• The Hinkley Point C nuclear power station is operational
• The Type 26 Global Combat Ship enters service
• Turkey celebrates its 100th anniversary as an independent republic
• Completion of the London "super sewer"
• Brain implants to restore lost memories
• Luna 27 lands on the far side of the Moon
• Driverless high-speed trains begin operating in France
• Completion of the Stad Ship Tunnel
• Launch of the SPHEREx mission

2024-2064

• The next generation of London Tube trains

2024

• Vladimir Putin steps down as President of Russia
• Open-source, 3D printed clothes at near-zero cost
• The Thirty Metre Telescope is fully operational
• Completion of the Square Kilometre Array
• Total solar eclipse across North America
• Euro 2024 is hosted by Germany
• Paris hosts the Summer Olympic Games
• Lunar Mission One drills into the Moon's south pole
• Bio-electronics for treating arthritis are in common use
• Carsharing has exploded in popularity
• Wind turbine drone inspection is a multi-billion dollar industry
• Starlink reaches full capacity
• The first probe to fly into the Sun's outer atmosphere

2025-2050

• Unemployment is soaring

2025-2035

• All television is becoming Internet-based
• Small modular nuclear reactors gain widespread adoption
• Manned missions to the Moon
• The Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST) conducts its life-searching mission
• Mouse revival from cryopreservation

2025-2030

• Many cities are banning fossil fuel-powered vehicles
• The threat of bioterrorism is increasing
• Hypersonic missiles are in military use
• Some of Britain's most well-known animal species are going extinct

2025-2029

• The Martian Moons Exploration probe collects and returns samples

2025-2028

• Contact with the Voyager probes is lost

2025

• A billion human genomes have been sequenced
• Human brain simulations are becoming possible
• 3D-printed human organs
• China is becoming highly urbanised
• Vertical farms are common in cities
• Solid waste is reaching crisis levels
• Kivalina has been inundated
• Completion of the East Anglia Zone
• The UK phases out coal power
• The European Extremely Large Telescope is operational
• The Giant Magellan Telescope is fully operational
• The first test flight of the Skylon spaceplane
• The first manned flights from Russia's new spaceport
• High speed rail networks are being expanded in many countries
• A comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. airspace system is complete
• Railguns are in use by the U.S. navy
• The global crowdfunding market reaches $100bn
• BepiColombo arrives in orbit around Mercury
• The final Avatar movie is released

2026-2031

• India's reusable launch vehicle is operational

2026-2030

• The PLATO observatory is operational

2026

• A synthetic human genome is completed
• Aquaculture provides the majority of the world's seafood
• The High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) is operational
• The International Linear Collider is completed
• 3-D printed electronic membranes to prevent heart attacks
• Youthful regeneration of aging heart muscle via GDF-11
• New treatments for Alzheimer’s disease
• Rising sea levels are wreaking havoc on the Maldives
• Global reserves of indium are running out
• Italy hosts the Winter Olympics
• Construction of the Sagrada Família is complete
• Robotic hands matching human capabilities
• The FIFA World Cup is hosted jointly in Canada, Mexico and the United States
• Mars Science Laboratory is shutting down
• 50TB hard drives

2027

• The BRICs overtake the G7 nations
• Light-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicles reach 1 million in annual sales
• Tokyo and Nagoya are connected by high-speed maglev
• Carbon sequestration is underway in many nations
• The Venera-D mission arrives at Venus
• The asteroid 1999 AN10 makes a close approach
• The Europa Clipper arrives in orbit
• The autopsy report for Elvis Presley is made public
• Opening of the New Central Polish Airport

2028

• Completion of the Deep Space Gateway
• Launch of the European ATHENA X-ray observatory
• China builds the world's largest particle accelerator
• Printed electronics are ubiquitous
• The UK population reaches 70m
• British newspapers are going out of circulation
• Launch of the ARIEL spacecraft
• Launch of the Comet Interceptor
• Delhi becomes the most populous city in the world
• Los Angeles hosts the Summer Olympic Games
• Total solar eclipse in Australia and New Zealand
• Resurrection of several extinct species has been achieved
• The International Space Station is decommissioned

2029

• Human-like AI is becoming a reality
• Increased automation of banking
• Close approach of the near-Earth asteroid Apophis
• Mass application of gene drives on mosquitoes
• Global reserves of silver are running out
• Finland bans coal for energy use
• Madagascar's radiated tortoise is extinct in the wild
• Phase 1 of the California High-Speed Rail line is complete
• Expansion of London's Heathrow Airport
• Jupiter's Great Red Spot is disappearing
• The wreck of the Titanic has decomposed

2030-203

[Ponk_]

It seems that everything connected to the internet is smart, except for humans. XD

[Lanae]

Wow. Thinking about all of this gives me a headache. Life used to be so simple.

[fritobandito]

This video forgot to mention that you pay for the products, the tax on those products, the monthly fees to use those product, and then your personal data (that you should own and be compensated for) is collected by those products and sold for profit.

Congratulations, consumer! You are living the global dream.

[ashwoodson]

When every human reaches maturity and is given a suit of armour with a.i. built in, then come bother me.

[voraxledur]

What will happen when AI becomes Skynet?🤔😂

[lgdwltr]

Another big evolution for IOT is healthcare. It will be more assessable for rural areas and allow doctors to remotely monitor patients vitals

[xetechonline]

Hey I got a question that I need answered.
Where can I get a dumb TV to purchase - like a 75"-85" 4K?
I prefer to use a firetv or ruku box to my liking to smart up the TV but just need it to boot straight into display more with no apps loaded on it.
Or do you know of any TV brand that allows you to disable the smart feature and just turn it into a display?

[pontiaxdevonblueguer]

Automatic parking button will be everywhere

[mikaela]

Lots of 8k content? I am still waiting for 4k content.

[AraceaeFanatics]

Okay so in the 2010s we got the world onboard with in home and in office assistants, and gave them power to control things, and adding routines makes mornings (for example) easier. In the 2020s, I wanna see assistants in more automobiles, with the ability to start the car and warm it up before we head outside. The ability to roll up the windows if it starts raining, or arm and disarm the security system through voice activation from around the globe. More onboard internet connectivity in automobiles. Not just future transportation, but the ability to have your local 12 volt shop install a 3G/4G/5G modem/router into older vehicles as well. Better options and sensible plans for more connected cars, trucks, vans, busses, trains and planes. Trains for travel across country again. Why'd that go away?
More rural towns and cities offering city wide wifi to it's residents in the 2020s.

[SpaceFox]

The more technology progresses, the more depressed we get.

[jGRite]

Now if we can get people out of the passing lane (unless they are turning off the road, or passing with signal).

[johntheux]

For me the next big thing is 3d doing it's comeback.