What do you think life in the UK will be like 30 years from now?

[Blancmangemouse]

The year is 2053. I will hopefully be about to retire. What do you think life will be like?

I remember in my teenage years I became irrationally convinced I would die at 25. I remember reading that young people inexperienced with life can feel this way because they just can’t picture their future selves in an adult world which is unknown to them.

Now mid 30s I am getting similar feelings and it could be because the future seems so uncertain. AI, Climate Crisis, World Powers shifting- etc etc.

So what do you think 2053 will realistically look like?

Haven't read many replies because Mumsnetters are so negative and enjoy believing we're all doomed. Competitive misery.

I think it will be much the same as now, but with more technological advancement. I think unless something is done there will be a widening gap between rich and poor. Things like foreign holidays won't be as easily accessible. Hopefully there's a universal basic income by then.

Fewer cars, more electric scooter type transport
less meat, more veggie food
flight quotas
business hubs, work from community offices with facilities
Fewer children, falling population
More virtual reality holidays/entertainment
A more organised approach to water provision, food production etc
A late realisation that urgent enforced action on climate change is necessary

Huge challenges ahead, health, education, income inequality and housing.

So wise Govt's would increase social/council housing, fund and reform the NHS and education oh and fix the UK crumbling roads.

They will also have to figure out how to tax AI companies and give it to the rest of us, if the cull in jobs actually happens.

Not quite sure how AI will take over the provision of health, its probably the one sector that wont be overly affected by AI.

So, have we wise Govt's in the UK? evidence over the last few years would suggest not, so we are screwed!

I think it will be like the film WALL-E

Due to the energy crisis now, in 30 years people will be getting cheap energy from a range of green and nuclear.

There is a boom in asteroid mining. Ai controlled ships make the journey, with huge assembly plants creating a new Industrial Revolution, with 3d printing doing the majority of the manufacturing.

Huge hydroponic buildings grow crops. Again, these are run through AI, with robots tending to the planting areas. A digitised supply chain means that crops are picked, packed and sent to shops when required.

The middle class and above live in gated communities.

People no longer own cars in general- automated vehicles take people to where they need to go.

Augmented reality glasses are the norm, displaying real time information on anything from street names, to your shopping basket total.

VR is the norm as an entertainment platform.

Roy Hodgson announces retirement after helping Watford avoid relegation from tier 2 of the European league.

Ai is already big in health - it can outperform doctors in diagnosis and robot companions could take over the role of carers

However I suspect t this will be for the rich only

Most people will be on the move looking for food and water and homes

For the uk that means attempted immagration like nothing we have seen

The housing crisis will be much worse as we lose homes to the sea , flooding

The current covert privatisation of the NHS will be complete. A large percentage of the population will have turned to private healthcare (desperate to be able to access services). The govt. will claim that this must mean that people want private healthcare. They will then stop free at service healthcare and adopt an American style system. But unlike the USA they will keep NI taxation to pay for social care, allegedly.

Haven't read many replies because Mumsnetters are so negative and enjoy believing we're all doomed. Competitive misery.

The climate and biodiversity crisis is going to hammer us unfortunately. We knew it was coming and chose to do nothing. A privatised NHS will be the least of our worries.

I know it feels nice to put your head in the sand, especially if you have small children.

Get in your bunkers NOW.

Ermmm for those of us who remember the 70s it feels like we have. Thanks Brexshit.

Local way of life aka 15 min cities for sure, monitored centrally, everyone is tracked making sure people largely remain in their 15 min radius unless except e.g. government workers, doctors, special jobs.

• More no frills academic private schools.
• More private digital health care, having a private online GP is common.
• People don't own cars, bikes scooters but subscribe to them.
• Winters will be wetter and colder and short summers hotter. Less food variety, more in season fruit and veg, more meat substitutes.
• Dog ownership will change, more controlled.

You are very funny.

HEAD

SAND

CHILDREN.

That's a great sentiment.

What, exactly, would you like people to do?

I truly believe that humanity will be ok. We're very resourceful and I'm pretty optimistic. We keep ahead of the curve. Why would you Cassandra the fuck out of people? What's the point of that?

Unless people wake up, a fascist dystopia.

Forgot to add:

Policing will heavily involve the use of drones .
Private security in residential areas will be the norm.

Gun ownership will be more common (for no other reason than right wing politicians will want to copy their American backers view)

Religious wars will be back. The rise of evangelical Christianity in the Americas, Africa and Asia will undoubtedly be another bundle of tinder to add to the already combustible mix of competition for arable land and water.

Small wars will be fought over environmental protection.

Railways will be fully automated and reliable.

More countries will have adopted Chinas social credit system.

Teaching will be revolutionised through extensive use of data, analytics and AI.

I guess these comments either come from a position of fear or comedy.

It's not ok to say this bollockry.

I do think that MN is full of Russian and Chinese bots.

I don't know anyone in RL that has such a negative view.

Yes, climate crisis will cause wars on a massive scale due to population movement and lack of food and water. Europe will try to take refugees for a few years but it will turn into millions every day. They will start crossing the channel…

I don’t know WHAT we do then as a country. Probably it will be the Royal Navy bombing boats in the channel as someone else said.

Anyone feeling positive doesn’t grasp climate change. Whole parts of our planet will be uninhabitable. It’s not just about saving ice caps for fun!

Bloody hell.

Let's imagine a different future, where technology taps into limitless energy. It's not that far away.

And then, instead of the mad horror, we have a post-scarcity society.

Imagine that?

That sounds pretty fucking good eh?

@Hal9001 There is no evidence of "tapping into limitless energy"

We face climate change, its pretty much baked in!

Migration will increase as areas of the world become racked with war and famine.

I don't know how Europe will manage this but if we look back to the concentration camps of South Africa and Germany, i do not see the population willing accepting 100s of millions of people coming into Europe.

AI, as seen with BT;s announcement yesterday, will remove millions of semi skilled jobs, these people do not have the qualifications nor the ability to move into the highly skilled jobs AI "might" create... so the challenge will be shifting monies away from the AI industry to the majority who will be affected.

AI unless heavily regulated will caused huge issues for democracy, its in its infancy but its not hard to see that people will be asking AI "How do i vote?"

We will not know whether we are chatting to an AI bot on MN or a real person.

All these answers, make me wonder why there are people still having more children. I don't mean a first and only, the ones adding to their existing brood. Why would anyone impose what is coming on a child.

Quite.

What would I like people to do?

Understand at a basic that the natural world has no respect for human concerns, financial systems, markets. It’s too late in the day to stop the big changes ahead, but we can make the effects less bad if we stop voting in fossil fuel obsessed fascist politicians.

Building on the success of the plastic tax other environmental taxes are introduced without much notice from ordinary people. Suddenly it becomes possible to easily repair everyday items as companies design for repair to avoid costly disposal fees.

Environmentally things are improving (for what is left). We've lost a lot, so whenever a species thought to be extinct is found it makes front page news.

Newspapers still exist as people realise the benefit of none screen time. Recycling facilities are widespread and widely used.

The NHS is thriving. Direct entry apprenticeship jobs, where students train for a particular specialism in a particular location, have resolved the staffing crisis. These roles are particularly popular with mature students and become the gold standard for healthcare training. Less car use has statistically reduced obesity and heart disease on a national level. Active travel has also created a better sense of community as more people know their neighbours.

The consequences of falling population in the UK were relieved by emigration from countries more affected by climate change. Planning rules have changed to allow for more passive energy efficiency design of homes. Shutters and heat curtains are widespread.

It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. We can still choose which path we take...

To add to @SleepingStandingUp suggestion of things no longer around, I suspect banana's might disappear.
Also veganism will be blamed for the destruction of soil quality and catastrophic insect loss across the planet, which combined with regular seasonal flooding and droughts, will have a huge impact on food availability. We will all learn to love homegrown brassicas

After seeing in the news about groups of young men just going uninvited into people's homes without invite to ' scare the owners ', I'm wondering how much discipline the future generations will lack.
The future is quite worrying really.

King William has abdicated due to Katherine's ill health. George is coming 40, he's ready for this. Will Prince Erik by his side they're ready to take the RF in a new direction. The throne will pass down through Charlotte's line.

Please apply to become a scriptwriter for Bridgerton

This.