Our world is being transformed by rapid advances in sciences and technology that are touching every aspect of our lives. So what changes could these developments bring about for life as we know it? We only have to look around us to see just how much can change in a relatively short space of time. Including Human 2.0, National Sovereignty, Corporate Giants, Financial Services, Brain Uploading, Immersivity, Mixed Reality Living, Robotics, AI, & the Internet of Life

1. The Journey to 2025 - A Decade of Discovery
Rohit Talwar - CEO - Fast Future Research
Our world is being transformed by rapid advances in sciences and technology that are
touching every aspect of our lives. So what changes could these developments bring about
for life as we know it? We only have to look around us to see just how much can change in a
relatively short space of time.
Our lives have been shaped by developments which most of us couldn't have imagined a
decade ago. For example, handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets now allow us
to have live video conversations with our friends, translate instantaneously between multiple
languages, watch full length videos and monitor diverse aspects of our health from blood
pressure to oxygen flow and stress levels. 3D printing is now available in every home and is
being used to create everything from blood cells to entire houses, while new aircraft such as
the A380 can carry over 800 passengers on a single flight.
As we look ahead, the decade could be shaped by advances in nanotechnology, information
technology, vertical farming, artificial intelligence, robotics, 4D printing, super-smart
materials, neuroscience, the biological sciences and genetics. Below we take a brief look at
ten scenarios exploring how some of these developments could come together and impact
different aspects of our world.
1. Human 2.0 - Human augmentation will accelerate in the next decade. By 2025 we will be
witnessing a new breed of human 2.0 and 3.0 who have "hacked" their own bodies.
Mind-enhancing drugs are already a reality and we can now have super-smart prosthetic
limb replacements that have greater functionality than the ones we were born with. Both
fields will continue to progress and we will see genetic treatments to eliminate conditions
such as rage and obesity.
All of these enhancements will be monitored and managed 24/7 by a variety of wearable
technologies and devices implanted into our bodies. These will help us track every vital
sign and link directly to both our own hand held devices and to monitoring services
provided by our healthcare providers. 3D printing already allows us to create
replacement body parts. The evolution to 4D printing will enable the manufacture of body
parts that can self assemble and adapt their shape and properties over time - giving us
limbs that could reinforce themselves as we age.
2. National Sovereignty - The map of the globe will change - driven by economic forces.
Many smaller and poorer countries may find it impossible to cope on their own with the
accelerating pace of change and the cost of keeping up to speed with a globally
connected planet. By 2025, we could see 20-25 country mergers as 'at risk' nations
seek to come together to create the critical economic strength and attract the investment
required to serve their populations and compete in the hyper-connected era.
3. Corporate Giants - 50% of the Fortune 500 index of the largest publicly listed
companies in 2025 will come from firms that were not even born in 2014. We will see an
ever-increasing number of so called 'exponential companies' that achieve rapid rates of
growth by using science and technology to disrupt old industries and create new ones.

2. For example, the taxi app Uber didn't even exist in 2008 and is now valued at over $40
billion while a number of new technology-based businesses such as AirBnB and
Snapchat are already valued at over $10 Billion. Many more mega-growth players will
emerge in sectors such as driverless cars, 3D and 4D printing, genetics and web-based
applications and services that we can't even imagine today. Some argue that the notion
of public stock markets will have been transformed by more efficient online crowd
funding platforms and the widespread use of digital currencies that effectively create a
single global monetary system.
4. Financial Services - By 2025, the financial services landscape will have been
transformed by digital currencies like Bitcoin, open markets and a wave of new providers
offering crowd based solutions for everything from insurance to equity investment and
commercial financing. These community platforms will let us lend to and invest in each
other - bypassing the existing providers of saving, business investment, loans and
personal insurance.
5. Brain Uploading - By 2025 we will have mapped how the human brain works and
technology companies will be competing to host the 'back up' of our brains online. Three
major projects in Europe, the USA and China are currently involved in major research
activities to understand how the brain stores information and memories. This will
ultimately allow us to create memory back-ups with the information stored remotely via
an online service provider in exactly the same way as many of us already do with the
data on our computers and mobile devices.
6. Immersivity - By 2025 technology advances will give rise to new immersive live and
virtual leisure experiences. For example, we will be able to become participants in live
action adventures games from Roman battles to re-running the Olympic 100 metres final
with robots performing the roles of the other contestants.
7. Mixed Reality Living - The boundaries between virtual and physical worlds will have
disappeared by 2025 as we overlay multiple layers of digital sensory augmentation over
our physical environment. Augmented and virtual reality will have advanced to the point
where we can stimulate all our senses over the internet and via our handheld devices.
So, for example, when booking a hotel, these developments would enable us to feel the
bed linens, taste the food in the restaurant and smell the bath products - all from a
device in the palm of our hands.
8. Robotics - The replacement of humans by robots in manufacturing has been taking
place for two decades - it is now spreading to a wide range of other sectors such elder
care, crop spraying and warehouse management. By 2025 robots will have entered
every aspect of human life and will be commonplace - performing functions as diverse as
nursing, complex surgery, policing and security, through to construction, retail and hotel
service roles. All of the major vehicle manufacturers are working on autonomous or
driverless cars - a form of robot that we will see coming to market in the next few years.
9. Artificial Intelligence - Breakthroughs is Artificial Intelligence (AI) are accelerating - with
the development of computer software that has the capacity to mimic humans' ability to
learn and adapt over time to changing circumstances. AI is already in widespread use in

3. applications such as satnav systems, aeroplane autopilots, assessing credit and loan
applications in financial services, automated call centres and healthcare diagnoses.
Advances in AI will gather pace in the next decade. For example, by 2025, the interfaces
to all our devices from phones to computers, cars and home appliances will be highly
intelligent and adaptive - learning from our behaviours and choices and anticipating our
needs.
10. Internet of Life - In the next decade upwards of 100 billion objects from smartphones to
street lamps and our cars will be connected together via a vast 'internet of everything'.
This will impact every aspect of our lives - for example it could transform the criminal
justice system. By 2025, evidence in a court case will include data taken from body worn
cameras and microphones and sensors in everyday objects such as clothing, furniture
and even our coffee cups - proving exactly what happened and who was present at the
scene of a crime.
Rohit Talwar
CEO
Fast Future Research
December 21st 2014
rohit@fastfuture.com