January 3, 2020 - Predictions For The New Decade

Because this day was a most typical one for an all-inclusive Cuban resort (morning walk, massive breakfast, pool, beach, giant lunch, afternoon drinks, excellent dinner, drinks and games at lobby bar), I decided instead to put together a list of predictions for the 2020’s.

As far as I can remember, I have never before put together a list of predictions, because trying to predict anything in this complex world is a fool’s errand. And nothing I’m predicting is going to change anything I do in the present, right now. So why bother? Well, let’s just say that I have plenty of time on my hands at the moment, and in ten years I can say “I predicted that!” for the few that inevitably come true, but then ignore the majority that I didn’t get right. I will split these up into predictions for the world in general and a few specifically for Canada.

Predictions - World

• The world will be hit with a crippling economic recession, fueled by government overspending and massive consumer debt
• Interest rates will remain low, sometimes negative
• There will be a massive cyber attack on global financial institutions which will bring into question the concept of money
• Life will continue to improve across all economic classes and mostly all countries, despite mass media reports to the contrary
• China will be the world’s undisputed economic global power and mostly hated
• China will also lead the world in renewal energy technology and production as it chokes on its own emissions and pollution
• The rest of the world will finally follow Europe in taking climate change seriously after massive youth protests and devastating weather events across the globe
• Nuclear power will make a surprising comeback and small-scale reactors will be deployed worldwide with few adverse effects
• The US will realize the stupidity of its economic embargo against Cuba and remove nearly all restrictions; the ever crafty Cubans will figure out a way to not be overrun by American franchises, however there will be a McDonald’s in Havana
• Countries will come together to implement a significant global carbon tax on airplane fuel, which will prompt airline makers to find a better way of getting people around as global travel sags
• Self-driving electric cars will be commonplace but the highways will still be clogged with traffic
• High speed internet will be available in every location on Earth, and it will be cheap or free
• Donald Trump will lose in 2020 but will not go down gracefully
• The US will have a female president
• The US will continue to be a global power, but its significance and influence will wane as it struggles with domestic issues
• There will be a breakthrough international agreement to preserve and restore global fish stocks
• Somebody will figure out an environmentally sustainable replacement for single use plastics…and get very rich
• Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter will be relics, as information will be shared online in a very different way
• People will realize the internet really was in its infancy in the early 2000’s
• There will be an illegally cloned human
• We’ll still be talking about AI and no computer will consistently pass the Turing test
• We still won’t have figured out a good replacement for the keyboard
• Lots of that stuff we saw on Black Mirror will be real
• The concept of gender will continue to change and develop
• The Middle East will be a continual source of global anxiety and conflict with no clear path to peace
• Russia will continue its slow, steady decline
• South American countries will not realize their potential
• Asia and it’s youthful and educated populations will continue its economic takeover of the world
• Young leaders will emerge in many African countries and start to reform their awful systems
• We will realize that global population growth projections were far too high
• We will realize that the expected impact of carbon emissions and global warming on the oceans was far too low
• Humans will visit Mars
• Permanent tattoos will be passé
• A “new” form of African music will take the world by storm
• There will be an internet billionaire under the age of 15
• An entirely new beverage will capture the world’s attention
• There will be a major incident at a particle accelerator…that will lead to a fascinating discovery
• Robotics will continue to revolutionize the world - in particular, the medical field
• Hundreds of millions of people will realize they can live happily without meat
• We will be eating a lot more seaweed and vegetables produced by ocean farming

Predictions - Canada

• Canada’s economy will sputter, hampered by the aging population, continued decline of the oil industry, and led by weak politicians unable to make the tough decisions
• Canada’s right leaning Conservative parties will finally turn the corner on their resistance to fighting climate change…when they realize they are no longer getting elected
• Canada’s fresh water resources will become very, very important
• Hard drugs will be decriminalized and addictions will be treated properly as medical conditions
• There will be a female Prime Minister who will start to reinvent the country
• We will continue to welcome immigrants from all parts of the world
• There will be a massive, unprecedented forest fire that will burn an unimaginable amount of forest
• Mark Carney will become the most influential and important Canadian in living memory
• Canada and the US will do away with Daylight Savings Time
• Quebec will become poorer, weaker, and a less significant part of Canadian politics
• Canada will still be an amazing place to live

I will check back in ten years to see what’s happened!