Possibilities for 2037

A friend recently sent me a copy of what the CEO of Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Benz, said in an interview (July 2017) with Plebiscite Naija. He predicted what we might see in the next twenty years, and what he said can be either frightening or wonderfully comforting. Here is a summation of what he predicted:

1. Law as a profession will be out because of the many less expensive places to find legal advice; there will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future.

2. By 2030, computers will be more intelligent than humans.

3. In the near future, no one will own a car and accidental deaths will drop significantly. Since there will no longer be a need for parking, such space in cities could be used for parks. Auto insurance agencies will go out of business because there will be so little need for such insurance.

4. There will be a significant increase in solar energy and a similar decrease in the use of fossil fuel for energy. Cars will be run on electricity, thus minimizing noise and pollution. With cheap electricity, plentiful drinking water will be obtained by desalinizing sea water.

5. By 2027, with cheap 3-D printers available to nearly everyone, 10% of all products will be 3-D printed.

6. By 2037, 70% to 80% of all present-day jobs will be gone.

7. We will soon be using insects as a source of protein for many of our food products.

8. By 2036, almost everyone will live well over 100 years.

9. By 2020, 70% of all humans will have a smart phone with internet access, making education a personal process.

10. Bitcoin may soon become the default reserve currency. 

So, does this frighten or comfort you? If we can somehow avoid destroying the world in these next 20 years, I consider his predictions very comforting. But what he said about bitcoin only confuses me. What the hell are bitcoins, anyway?