Reading megatrend reports is a great way to reset one’s insights about reality (it requires humility, I know!), to take a broader view of the world and analyze it. I like to “mentally refresh” myself sometimes, so I follow trends with pleasure. I take a look at the infuture.institute report and pick out a few that stuck out to me.
I admit, starting to read the trend map at first glance, the names of some of them flip me to the Black Mirror series or even Years and Years (both recommended!). I am hooked, for example, by the Laws of non-human beings, and in the short term, i.e. 1-5 years. What do you mean, the laws of non-human beings? Are we expecting an alien invasion and want to give them rights? No, it’s still not Black Mirror, it’s just that it’s a trend I’m already seeing, giving rights to rivers, trees, forests – we all know it, right? I got caught up in the strong forward-looking.
Another trend that hooked me was the Internet of Beings. I thought: probably the Internet of Things (IoT)? Which is one that I am quite close to and deal with in my work and life. And again everything became clear, it’s not a mistake in the report just a trend that is already evident: “the Internet of Beings concept also takes into account the connection of living and non-living organisms to the Internet in order to collect and analyze data (life parameters of humans, animals, Co2 emissions, the state of water, air, etc.) and take appropriate action.”Very interesting, as my first association went to watches that count steps and, of course, to the system that monitors the presence of Co2 in Save the planet and WPIP. I’m curious to see how this trend will develop and what else we will monitor.
And now some promised trends that caught my attention even more strongly and which I will present:
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Zalpha generation
For the sake of argument, let me remind you of the distribution of generations. Baby Boomers are those born between 1946-64 (approximately, as I’m finding different dates), Generation X are those around 40 years old, Millenials are today’s 30-somethings, Generation Z are those born between 1995 and 2012, Generation Alpha are today’s tweens and teens. And the Zaplha micro-generation?
As the infuture.institute report reads: “Zalpha is a micro-generation at the intersection of the two youngest generations (Alpha and Z). It was defined by two events occurring in close succession: the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. For this generation, the process of identity formulation is decidedly different from that of earlier decades and generations. It can be said that this micro-generation is participating in a great social experiment, as it has to define itself in a digitized world of polycrisis.” Very interesting! Specific moments, any historical “black swans” leave a certain crack in generations, and a pandemic and a war following each other two years apart is a really big ” scratch” on young people.
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Anti-tech, struggle for technosvereignty and digitalization of conflicts
Strong trends that will develop. What we have here is the occurrence in humans of the strong influence of modern technology and the digital world. We see in ourselves, but probably especially strongly in young people, an addiction to electronics and the emotions it evokes. The thumbs of younger people are beginning to look and move differently than those of older people. We have an objection to this! If we start noticing the negative impact of electronics on our sleep, health, relationships, productivity then we want to stop it, limit it, cut it off, but is it still possible? The trend called anti-tech is resistance to large technology companies and their impact on the functioning of entire societies. Initiatives such as this one are an interesting example:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=813948400111529&set=a.574024847437220&type=3&ref=embed_post
Anti-tech is strongly linked to another trend, namely the fight for technosvereignty. It’s a concern and a threat that I feel manifests itself in a lack of trust in the state and its ability to protect citizens from rival tech companies. The fight for control of cyberspace, is a fight for security, to stop disinformation, fake news.
Behind the fight for technosvereignty, the digitization of conflicts is lining up. We are well aware of reports about the danger of deepening political, social and worldview divisions on social media, about the escalation of conflicts. Of course, we also have the other side of the coin here, as we can find plenty of examples of beautiful social actions that simply would not exist without social media. However, everything comes at a price.
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Quantum economy
There are already quantum algorithms capable of solving certain computational problems faster than the best published classical algorithms. Quantum algorithms solve optimization problems in such areas as transportation, logistics, finance and medicine.
Quantum computing is also now being used, among other things, to simulate certain chemical processes, which can contribute to the development of new materials or medicines.
New cryptographic methods resistant to quantum attacks are already being developed.
Quantum computing is predicted to change the world of financial services within 10 years. Will quantum computers change our world? We don’t know. What we do know is that the quantum world has a lot of riddles ahead of it and beautifully evades the zero-one answers we are so accustomed to. It’s going to be interesting!
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Bioarchitecture and biomaterials
These two trends make me very happy! Designing in accordance with nature, ecological and sustainable design, is something that has been occupying me for a long time. This trend, of course, is not just about designing buildings, it’s about organizing life around you in such a way that it’s as environmentally and human-friendly as possible, so it’s also about communication, transportation, ideas for growing food, leisure and life style.
HERE and HERE are my articles on bioarchitecture.
I encourage you to follow the entire trend map!
