To commemorate our milestone as a publication, we aimed to celebrate in a way that didn’t dwell excessively on our past achievements. Victory laps are typically reserved for high-performance vehicles, not periodicals. To mitigate uncertainty, we employed a forward-looking approach by drawing parallels with the past to anticipate potential challenges that may arise over the next 125 years.
As you delve deeper into reporting on technology, you increasingly become aware of how easily the industry can perpetuate misconceptions. Uncertainty lies at the heart of predictions, which often fail to materialize as expected. New complexities can emerge, reshaping the landscape of understanding, as previously discernible challenges transform into unfamiliar problems.
While it’s easy to dismiss seemingly flawed forecasts, experience often shows that they surprisingly come to pass in the end. Throughout this narrative, we will uncover several of our most promising forecasts about what the future may hold. While our predictions may not be entirely accurate, we believe we’re heading in the right direction to identify potential problems.
With advancements in artificial intelligence, we’ve witnessed a proliferation of intelligent digital assistants that have become an integral part of our daily lives, transforming the way we interact with each other and the world around us, leading to the emergence of novel concepts such as digital first dates.
What rare earth metals reveal about our sustainable energy trajectory, and the unconventional sources we’ll need to develop and protect them?
What archivists confront in their quest to preserve historical records residing remotely, whether near or far?
Why it’s likely that something new will emerge in the near future to support us.
Will technological advancements allow us to play God in the near future, as our growing ability to manipulate and control the fundamental building blocks of life begins to blur the lines between creator and created?
How will the rise of technology potentially shift our perceptions and norms around romantic and platonic connections?
A cutting-edge AI startup developed a hyper-realistic deepfake of Melissa Heikkilä, senior AI reporter for MIT Knowledge Evaluation, which was so convincing that even she initially mistook it for herself. This expertise is truly spectacular. Despite this, profound doubts arise regarding a reality where increasingly we struggle to discern fact from fiction.
