Five forces that will shape the future
US wealth gap
Since 2007 the bottom 50% has had zero or negative wealth (i.e., debt).
1980
- Top 10% of people: 65% of wealth
- Middle 40% of people: 34% of wealth
- Bottom 50% of people: .01% of wealth
2014
- Top 10% of people: 73% of wealth
- Middle 40% of people: 27% of wealth
Source: World Inequality Database (2018)
Data explosion
We’re going to need better storage, processing, and privacy.
Source: IDC Research, The Digitization of the World. From Edge to Core. (2018)
Rise in average global temperatures
As surface temperatures increase, so will sea levels, extreme storms, and habitat disruption.
Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance (2020)
Language extinction
From 1950 to 2010, 230 languages went extinct. Today, a third of the world’s languages have fewer than 1,000 speakers left.
Source: UNESCO World Language Atlas (2010); Ethnologue: Languages of the World (2019)
An older population
Today, 9% of the global population is over 65. That’s going to grow in the next decades, redefining work, health care, and our economy.
Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019).
Deep Dive
Humans and technology
VR is as good as psychedelics at helping people reach transcendence
On key metrics, a VR experience elicited a response indistinguishable from subjects who took medium doses of LSD or magic mushrooms.
The 1,000 Chinese SpaceX engineers who never existed
LinkedIn users are being scammed of millions of dollars by fake connections posing as graduates of prestigious universities and employees at top tech companies.
Social media is polluting society. Moderation alone won’t fix the problem
Companies already have the systems in place that are needed to evaluate their deeper impacts on the social fabric.
The fight for “Instagram face”
Meta banned filters that “encourage plastic surgery,” but a massive demand for beauty augmentation on social media is complicating matters.
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