Image:
250,000 ton ocean tanker cruising through the water at 20 miles per hour
sprouts wings and takes off. See Movie.
Driving factors/forcing functions:
Continued or increased investment in basic science, new technology and inventions,
surprises, wildcards, radical innovation.
Description: The
future does not look like today. There is radical change through innovation.
The global economy grows rapidly. This future scenario suggests a world
of rapid, wild, almost chaotic change, unprecedented technological progress
and upheaval, high rates of economic development, growing linkages of transportation
and communication within and between every country and part of the world,
and an increasingly interlinked and rapidly evolving multimedia Internet.
Rapid global travel to almost any location is commonplace. Population in
more regions of the world levels off, more governments become more democratic,
international relations, treaties and cooperation continue to improve, and
wars and ethnic conflicts are reduced through successful mediation and increased
communications and education. The world reaches almost 90% literacy and
average education level continues to rise. There is growing respect for
different cultures and their environments, an active sense of both a local
and global community, and the environment becomes cleaner and cleaner as
technological breakthroughs in “green technology”, recycling
and environmentally-friendly resource use allow for the sustainable development
of economies and the meeting of basic human needs throughout the world.
Statistical indicators/warning signals:
Major breakthroughs in nanotechnology, bioengineering, and
space sciences; continued economic growth; increasing numbers of patents;
increased funding for basic science; ecological repair; elimination of hunger
and malnutrition, rising life expectancy, increased literacy and level of
education, increased tolerance for ethnic and other differences, reduced
armed conflict.
Indicative quotes:
“Don’t insult the future. Anything is possible.”
—French proverb
“Trend is not destiny.”
—Rene Dubois
“The future’s so bright I’ve got to wear shades.”
“Imagine a new century, full of promise, molded by science, shaped
by technology, powered by knowledge.”
—President Bill Clinton
Possible Future Headlines:
Living to 100 and Beyond: Health Enhancement Futures
China established colony on Moon
Green Tea Found to Cause New Cell Growth in the Brain
Cell Phones Reshaping Africa
$1 computer powerful as the human brain
Miniature robots self-assemble
HIV infection blocked by frog enzyme
Students Launch Home-Made Satellite
New Hydrogen Storage Technology
Humans Extract Billions of Tons of Precious Metals from Asteroid
Nanoparticles Deliver Cancer Breakthrough
Power Generating Microbes
Space Tourism: Marketing to the Masses
Toyota Sells Service Robots
Low-Cost Laptop Revolutionizes Global Education
Mid east Agreement Welcomed In Gaza City
Malaria Vaccine Effective
FutureGame Scenario 1: Momentum
FutureGame Scenario 2: Brake/Break-Down
FutureGame Scenario 3: Breakthrough