A Look Into the Future: The Difference Time Can Make

I’m going through a very interesting time in my life. Just last week, my younger daughter graduated high school; and I’m about to head to New Jersey for my older daughter’s college graduation. All this activity, as my wife and I are about to become empty nesters, made me think of three things: 1) I’m incredibly proud of both daughters, 2) I’m halfway through paying for colleges and 3) I’m really getting old.

But then my thoughts turn to a more interesting (or at least relevant to our businesses) thought: What will the business world look like 30 years from now…when my older daughter, Erika is my age? No one can crystal ball gaze that far in the future, but here’s a few things that came to my mind:

• Transportation will be completely different. I’m not sure how far away driverless cars are, but it seems a sure thing that it’s a lot less than 30 years from now. This will have a major impact on how space is used, particularly if the move to driverless cars is accompanied by widespread adoption of car-sharing services. High density areas will no longer need large parking structures. Though I wouldn’t be surprised if many people still choose to own a car for recreation and as a symbol of who they are.
  
  
• Artificial intelligence will radically change our workforce. AI is likely to do to the white collar work force what machinery did to manufacturing. Most of the advances I expect are exciting, but this one is also scary. Hopefully, these changes mean my daughters will be able to work in higher value jobs, but I’m not so sure these new jobs will be enough to cover all those lost. Like driverless cars, the reality of the future may be further off than the hype, but the trend appears inevitable. The very nature of work is almost certain to be different by the time Erika is 52.
  
  
• Drone delivery. That’s another easy one that affects us in real estate. The good news is drone delivery may eventually solve our package locker problem…all while introducing a new problem around where the drones can land and how they’ll get the packages to our resident. The good news for this exercise is we still have 30 years to solve it! 😊
  
  
• Embedded computers. While concerned about visions of “the Borg” from Star Trek, I believe that the future will bring tighter interfaces between humans and machines. Within 30 years, I would be surprised if we don’t embed computers and other devices into the human body, including connections to the brain. Coincidentally, Erika will be entering a PhD program in Biomedical Engineering at Rutgers, and she currently has a strong interest in both devices' neuroscience. So who knows, she may be designing and building some of these very soon!
  
  
• Ubiquitous speed and bandwidth. I have no idea how this will manifest itself in daily life, home and work; but I do know that 30 more years of development will present humanity with computer processing speeds and data transmission bandwidths hundreds, or more - probably thousands, of times faster/larger than we have today. The human capacity for creatively applying new uses and business models to leverage raw capabilities continues to astound me…and it will do even more over the next few decades.

The good news for most of us reading this newsletter is that we’ll be long since retired in 30 years and God willing, enjoying the fruits of our labor today. But stop and think a moment about the world your children (and grandchildren) will be facing. I’m sure it will be at least as exciting as the changes we’ve dealt with in our career. What do you think?