BT's insights into the future
Although dating back to last August, this futures work from BT is still challenging.
BT's futurology department has developed a technology timeline featuring the technological advances that are likely to affect our lives to 2050 and beyond. It covers all areas of life influenced by technology developments including artificial intelligence, health and medical, business and education, demographics, energy, robotics, space, telecommunications and transport and travel.
It predicts that, by 2012, children could be entertained by video tiles in the bath before sitting in a playroom with wallpaper that changes to promote energy, happiness or calm, and interacting with toys that respond to their voices with matching emotions.
As beaches become more crowded and quiet corners become harder to find, BT predicts we could be holidaying somewhere above the earth's surface by 2017. By 2040, the timeline predicts we could get a space elevator to take us up to a moon village that will have developed by then.
The purpose of the timeline is to help organisations to design technology and products with future customers in mind, with a vision of the kind of environment they will be living in. For example, looking at the future of education or lifestyles, for example, will impact the way BT enhances and develops its broadband network.
For an interactive version of the BT 2005 technology timeline.
For a static version of the BT 2005 technology timeline
For full details, dates and predictions to accompany the BT 2005 technology timeline.
posted by John @ 10:23 pm
2 Comments:
By 2040, the timeline predicts we could get a space elevator to take us up to a moon village that will have developed by then.
As with all timelines, some 'stuff' is inevitably going to happen long before, and long after, the prediction.
If we're lucky and can execute well we'll have a space elevator online by 2020. After that it's up to someone else to build the moon village. Or city.
Brian Dunbar
Liftport
I wrote that this work is 'challenging' - I didn't say I agreed with it! In fact, I don't like the sort of futures work that just gives one view of what might happen. Maybe the elevator and Moon village could be built by 2040 - the US got to the moon within ten years - but the chances are that different technology solutions will come to the fore and - more importantly - social and economic forces may make such projects impossible. To form robust strategies for the future a range of possible outcomes must be considered. Even then you will probably be wrong, but at least you will have thought about it.
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