Forecasting the future

* Forecast #1:The world will have a billion millionaires by 2025. Globalization and technological innovation are driving this increased prosperity. But challenges to prosperity will also become more acute, such as water shortages that will affect two-thirds of world population by 2025.
* Forecast #2: Fashion will go wired as technologies and tastes converge to revolutionize the textile industry. Researchers in smart fabrics and intelligent textiles (SFIT) are working with the fashion industry to bring us color-changing or perfume-emitting jeans, wristwatches that work as digital wallets, and running shoes like the Nike +iPod that watch where you're going (possibly allowing others to do the same). Powering these gizmos remains a key obstacle. But industry watchers estimate that a $400 million market for SFIT is already in place and predict that smart fabrics could revitalize the U.S. and European textile industry.
* Forecast #3: The threat of another cold war with China, Russia, or both could replace terrorism as the chief foreign-policy concern of the United States. Scenarios for what a war with China or Russia would look like make the clashes and wars in which the United States is now involved seem insignificant. The power of radical jihadists is trivial compared with Soviet missile capabilities, for instance. The focus of U.S. foreign policy should thus be on preventing an engagement among Great Powers.
* Forecast #4: Counterfeiting of currency will proliferate, driving the move toward a cashless society. Sophisticated new optical scanning technologies could, in the next five years, be a boon for currency counterfeiters, so societies are increasingly putting aside their privacy fears about going cashless. Meanwhile, cashless technologies are improving, making them far easier and safer to use.
* Forecast #5: The earth is on the verge of a significant extinction event. The twenty-first century could witness a biodiversity collapse 100 to 1,000 times greater than any previous extinction since the dawn of humanity, according to the World Resources Institute. Protecting biodiversity in a time of increased resource consumption, overpopulation, and environmental degradation will require continued sacrifice on the part of local, often impoverished communities. Experts contend that incorporating local communities' economic interests into conservation plans will be essential to species protection in the next century.

These are a few forecasts from members of The World Future Society and its magazine THE FUTURIST.
In this bulletin, I'll share other forecasts with you and tell you how you can receive—completely without risk—a valuable guide to important trends in the years ahead. It's FREE with an introductory membership..
At the outset, let me say that futurists do not claim to be able to predict the future. So much of what will happen in the future depends on what we humans decide to do. If we could know the future with certainty, it would mean that the future could not be changed. Yet this is a main purpose of studying the future: to look at what may happen if present trends continue, decide if this is what is desirable, and, if it's not, work to change it. Knowing the trends can empower you for effective action.

So you can't know the future. But you can know a lot about probable future developments. This is some of the most valuable knowledge because it offers you an essential edge for success in a rapidly changing world.

A Crisis or an Opportunity? What Makes the Difference?

The critical difference is whether you are prepared. If you're aware of possible developments… if you see changes coming… you can take action and prepare yourself. In a rapidly changing world, new opportunities are emerging everywhere. If you get an advance notice of these possible changes, you can be ready. You can ride these waves of change to benefit your career, your business, your family and your investments.

The news—even instant news—is recent history. But understanding trends and possible future developments is some of the most valuable knowledge you can have. It enables you prepare while you still have the opportunity and time to act.

Here are a few more thought-provoking forecasts…

* Forecast #6: Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century. Global fresh water shortages and drought conditions are spreading in both the developed and developing world. In response, the dry state of California is building 13 desalination plants that could provide 10%-20% of the state's water in the next two decades. Desalination will become more mainstream by 2020.


* Forecast #7: World population by 2050 may grow larger than previously expected, due in part to healthier, longer-living people. Slower than expected declines of fertility in developing countries and increasing longevity in richer countries are contributing to a higher rate of population growth. As a result, the UN has increased its forecast for global population from 9.1 billion people by 2050 to 9.2 billion.
* Forecast #8: The number of Africans imperiled by floods will grow 70-fold by 2080. The rapid urbanization taking place throughout much of Africa makes flooding particularly dangerous, altering the natural flow of water and cutting off escape routes. If global sea levels rise by the predicted 38 cm by 2080, the number of Africans affected by floods will grow from 1 million to 70 million.
* Forecast #9: Rising prices for natural resources could lead to a full-scale rush to develop the Arctic. Not just oil and natural gas, but also the Arctic's supplies of nickel, copper, zinc, coal, freshwater, forests, and of course fish are highly coveted by the global economy. Whether the Arctic states tighten control over these commodities or find equitable and sustainable ways to share them will be a major political challenge in the decades ahead.
* Forecast #10: More decisions will be made by nonhuman entities. Electronically enabled teams in networks, robots with artificial intelligence, and other noncarbon life-forms will make financial, health, educational, and even political decisions for us. Reason: Technologies are increasing the complexity of our lives and human workers' competency is not keeping pace well enough to avoid disasters due to human error.

My name is Timothy Mack. I am president of the World Future Society. We are a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to the study of forecasts, trends and ideas about the future. We are 25,000 individuals around the world who share a common idea. We believe that the people can create a better future for themselves and all humankind by studying possible future developments and making wise choices. We believe that a better tomorrow is built today.

Our members are business leaders, policy makers, educators, entrepreneurs, students, and retirees. They come from virtually every field and industry, and they're located in more than 80 countries. World Future Society members receive many exclusive benefits, including a subscription to THE FUTURIST magazine. You are invited to join us today with a special offer and benefit from the unique perspective a knowledge of the future can offer.

I would like to show you some of the techniques futurists use to discover the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow. You'll see how people have used knowledge about the future to achieve remarkable success. And you'll also see how you can use these techniques yourself to help your business, career, your family and your investments.

How to Spot Important Trends Years Ahead of the Crowd

World Future Society members have access to the work of futurists around the world in the pages of THE FUTURIST magazine.

In the age of the Internet and 24/7 news, there is a serious glut of information, making it hard to determine what's really going on. THE FUTURIST gives you a way to make sense of our rapidly changing world. Each issue of THE FUTURIST will brief you on the most important trends that affect your business, career, family, investments, and the world in general.

We present the most significant trends divided into six sectors that are commonly used by professional business planners.
Nanotechnology Breakthroughs
of the Next 15 Years

Nanotechnology — the manipulation of materials and machines at the nano-scale — one billionth of a meter — promises exciting new developments. Interviews with a group of nanotechnology experts yielded this list of likely developments:
Two to five years from now:

1. Car tires that need air only once a year.
2. Complete medical diagnostics on a single computer chip.
3. Go-anywhere concentrators that produce drinkable water from air.

Five to 10 years

4. Powerful computers you can wear or fold into your wallet.
5. Drugs that turn AIDS and cancer into manageable conditions.
6. Smart buildings that self-stabilize during earthquakes or bombings.

10 to 15 years

7. Artificial intelligence so sophisticated you can't tell if you're talking on the phone with a human or a machine.
8. Paint-on computer and entertainment video displays.
9. Elimination of invasive surgery, since bodies can be monitored and repaired almost totally from within.

Exploring Tomorrow

Get complete details in our new special report Exploring Tomorrow. To find out how you can get it FREE with membership in the World Future Society

The sectors are:

* Breakthrough Technologies — You'll see the impact of new technologies and the latest innovations, discoveries and new solutions on the horizon.
* Economic and Business Forecasts — You'll get vital updates on major economic, business and consumer trends, and investment and financial outlooks.
* Environment and Resource Outlook — New ideas and reports on natural resources, habitats, sustainable communities and more.
* Social Trends — Changes in values and lifestyles and topics such as religion, entertainment, sports, arts, language, sex and family.
* Demographics — The latest trends on population, immigration, births, deaths, marriages, and other vital information.
* Government and Regulatory Trends — The impact of laws, regulations, taxes, politics, diplomacy and war.

This "Six Sector" analysis of trends saves you time by compressing a massive amount of information into six major categories. What you get in each issue is a careful selection of the most interesting and significant current reports on trends, forecasts, and potentially important developments.

THE FUTURIST will help you navigate through rapid developments and sort through this era of information overload. You'll have ready access to critical information that could affect your future, making this a unique resource.
Outstanding Benefits Available Only to Members

Join the World Future Society today and you'll receive an array of exclusive benefits to help you anticipate change and create a better future both personally and professionally. As a World Future Society member you will receive:
THE FUTURIST: A Magazine of Forecasts, Trends and Ideas about the Future