I honestly believe that science fiction can provide some reasonably provocative insights into the future. It was William Gibson, after all, that gave us the term cyberspace. I also spend a lot of time thinking about emergent and disruptive technologies, which is why I’ve included a section on “Flash Mobs” in my briefings for four years.
It shouldn’t be surprising that I found this article of great interest:
Information chips implanted in the brain. Electromagnetic pulse weapons. The middle classes becoming revolutionary, taking on the role of Marx’s proletariat. The population of countries in the Middle East increasing by 132%, while Europe’s drops as fertility falls. “Flashmobs” – groups rapidly mobilised by criminal gangs or terrorists groups.
This is the world in 30 years’ time envisaged by a Ministry of Defence team responsible for painting a picture of the “future strategic context” likely to face Britain’s armed forces. It includes an “analysis of the key risks and shocks”. Rear Admiral Chris Parry, head of the MoD’s Development, Concepts & Doctrine Centre which drew up the report, describes the assessments as “probability-based, rather than predictive”. Link —>
It looks like one of the only thing they are missing (at least in the news summary) is an acknowledgment of the declining role or nation states (in favor of alignment with corporate entities), a stronger look at issues of the singularity, and the U.S. continued dominance in software coding and high speed pizza delivery.