Random Observation/Comment #789: Make decisions that make tomorrow a better place.
Why this List?
I’m an optimistic worrier. In previous pieces, I’ve expressed musings around 30 Macro Worries (May 2022), 30 Impacts of war, and 30 bearish trends (Sept 2021). Of course, I was somewhat over reacting and planned too far in advance. To put a spin on similar thoughts, I thought I’d cover the hopes I have for the future. These are the things I’d want my lifetime to solve. Hopefully they are realistic?
After writing this list of 30, I realized this is yet again hovering the topics I’m worried about. These are just framed as hopes of things we solve or get right in the next few decades. Perhaps these are less profitable businesses and more NGOs or policies we should consider enacting.
- Preventative care and treatment for diseases like cancer – mRNA approaches and latest accelerated vaccines are promising. I doubt we can make this all free. The margins for production and delivery will commoditize into a SaaS business. For now, we’ll need to deal with the lengthy process of trials.
- What You Narrate Is What You Get (WYNIWYG) with AI – ChatGPT has limitless potential. I’ve written some 30 musings on the AI subject. It seems like we’re going to see big companies lean in and leverage all their resources to make this a better UX.
- Immersive VR adoption – As someone that loves playing on VR, I believe the graphics and interactions are just getting better. It’s another mass distraction entertainment risk to trap people in a cycle of dopamine, but it’s also super fun and trippy when introducing it to friends at parties.
- AR / XR overlay – So far we’ve got some impressive deep fakes and Pokemon GO. I’m still waiting for those Google Glass companies to resurface when the devices get more distribution.
- Alternative energy breakthroughs – The net positive fusion reaction released by the Department of Energy is still far away from limitless energy at the palm of your hands.
- Level 5 self driving – I’m mostly thinking about this from the perspective of cars turning into assets. It’ll probably be less impressive when people stop commuting all together and we all become Prime members and Prime citizens. All hail Amazon.
- Gig economy unionization with livable wages – Gamification can create cheap labor for new products. It’s interesting how people want to be their own boss by choosing their routes, but wind up being more tied to software and the whims of rich people too lazy to drive. Perhaps automation and AI will get rid of gig economy jobs.
- Fully embedded crypto payments and staking mechanisms with commercial banks – Cryptocurrency (or virtual/digital assets) are not going away. The logical low hanging fruit is to have commercial banks allow regular users to convert their USD into stable coins and participate in staking services or connections to ETF-like products or Synthetix (crypto markets reflecting equity stock ownership).
- W3C Decentralized Identity (DID) adoption for identity management in order to reduce centralized data hacks – DID adoption is going to be very difficult as the interactions and data mining habits of companies are hard to revert. We all know it’s the better system to share proofs through wallets, but maybe some of us aren’t ready to control our own identity.
- Education that does not lead to debt and economic slavery – The education system is broken and based on brand identity. $80k per semester is just ridiculous. Are generic degrees worth it?
- Connected Healthcare with recurring bundles for standard medication – Pharma prices are just ridiculous when they share their margins. I think Amazon with their OneMedical acquisition is going to change the game here. $5/month for prescriptions delivered to my door? Yes, please.
- No more spam calls or phishing attempts – There’s a spot in the circles of Purgatory for those who invented spam calls and social engineering hackers. One day we can trust the phone call coming in.
- Longer attention spans – The tiktokization of everything means we’re all waiting for the next short form interesting video and always free to “change the channel.” I hope there’s a reversal of social media and app usage in the new generation. I met a babysitter who didn’t use her phone at all because she said her parents were always on it.
- Longevity of social interactions – With so many insta-dating apps, I feel like people don’t know how to maintain relationships or notice social cues of interest or just general kindness. I’ve personally gone backwards to smaller social circles and whatsapp groups with neighborhood friends. My sharing has switched all together.
- Prison reform – Prisons in the US are huge tax burdens and the system doesn’t help people change their habits. I think the Scandinavian style of a prison removes your freedom, but focuses much more on education.
- Effective gun control – I was in the NRA and totally believe in learning gun safety. I don’t, however, understand the need for semi-auto or extended clips. We can learn a lot from M.A.D.D. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) techniques. In my mind, there’s definitely a disconnect in hobbies, collections, and culture.
- Less partisan politics dividing the country – Democracy is such an illusion of choice. As a voter that believes in the specific politician’s nuanced choices (there’s a list of 30 for that), I still wind up voting for services that help the poor while still being pessimistic that government programs will properly execute.
- Reduced military spending – It boggles the mind how much our taxes go into the military for very expensive tanks and aircrafts for “protection.” I’m pretty sure cybersecurity, drone strikes, and chemical warfare are far more effective than a tank.
- A generation of space exploration and curiosity – The JWT is opening the world to new understandings of space and time. I’m a huge fan of getting lost in rabbit holes.
- More attention to self care and addiction – Especially gambling. We need to be more aware of our personal health and vices. Everything in moderation, including moderation.
- Less dependency on meat consumption and cruel treatment of animals – To be honest, meat just tastes too good to not eat. I do try to eat more vegetables on a regular basis and it’s not like I’m for animal cruelty, but it’s a big market that will be hard to change.
- Closer attention to online bullying – I’m so worried about in-game chats for video games. The things these kids say can get so toxic.
- Removing the “always on” media coverage of disasters leading to doom scrolling – The news can be so depressing and bring you into a rollercoaster of negativity and paranoia. I would be lying if I didn’t believe in some conspiracy theories. I’m not Aliens guy crazy or a flat earther. Illuminati? Maybe?
- Universal free internet access – The service of “unbanked” focus is helping with poverty and underpaid labor. With the abundance of smart phones getting recycled and Starlink satellites, this could be a realistic future.
- More controls on social media consumption – Why the internet so thirsty? I think body dysmorphia and the forced images of beauty does lead to teen depression. I’m guilty of feeling the need to go on diets and building muscle.
- Digital health awareness and action – We all need less screen time and more outdoors and family time. There are already great apps built into the Android OS that turns on blue light filters and creates app restrictions after over use.
- Better infrastructure to withstand climate change harsher weather conditions – We definitely will get more rainfall with flooding risks, hotter temperatures in the summer, colder winters with burst pipes, and forest fires. I just hope we can help those at risk.
- Acceptance of DAOs as bank accounts / treasury for LLCs – We’re pretty close to this already with Wyoming and Delaware leading the way. I can’t wait to see an ENS domain a requirement and a tax reviewable entity claimed by a legal entity.
- Fewer monopolies and More decentralization – Data mining and advertising is convenient for merging recommendations and knowing identities, but at what cost? I’m no anarchist, but the Nation State is definitely Big Brother. So is Google, Meta, and Apple.
- Hope – We shouldn’t give up. Hope is as powerful as love. Let’s work on hard problems together.
~See Lemons Optimistic
