Technology is evolving at such a rapid speed that it seems almost impossible to predict how Tech will develop in the next few years.
But Bill Gates, being the Tech Genius that he is, actually did just that.
In 1999, he published a book called "Business @ the Speed of Thought".
In this book, he named 15 predictions about the future of technology - predictions, that were absolutely unimaginable during that time.
He predicted the way we live with (and depend on) technology today, how everything is connected to the internet, how communication has changed, how the internet has changed our habits and more.
Shockingly, all of the 15 predictions have come true.
Let's take a look at what he wrote in his book 18 years ago and compare it to our world today.
Keep in mind: what he stated might seem logical or even normal to us now, but it was completely unimaginable and some things might have even seemed like a miracle back then.
1) Mobile devices / wearables
"People will carry around small devices that allow them to constantly stay in touch and do electronic business from wherever they are. They will be able to check the news, see flights they have booked, get information from financial markets, and do just about anything else on these devices."
This is a no-brainer. Millennials hardly go anywhere without their smartphones, we are always online, always connected, always up to date.
Whether it's a smartphone, a tablet or a smartwatch - these electronic devices are always right by our side.
And not only that: the options we have with these devices have grown tremendously as well. Nowadays, there's almost nothing you can't do with your smartphone.
2) Finance management online / improved communication
"People will pay their bills, take care of their finances, and communicate with their doctors over the internet."
Who even goes to the bank to do a wire transfer manually anymore?! Online banking is so much quicker and more convenient.
Of course, the next step for the financial sector is blockchain / cryptocurrencies - but that's one thing Gates really couldn't predict.
3) Social Media
"Private websites for your friends and family will be common, allowing you to chat and plan for events."
I don't even have to say anything about the immense growth in popularity of social media. We all know about it, we've all experienced it first-hand.
Social Media is quite possibly the biggest revolution of our current times, it has influenced and changed not only the way we communicate online, but in many cases also the way we live our lives offline.
4) Personal Assistants / Internet of Things
"'Personal companions' will be developed. They will connect and sync all your devices in a smart way, whether they are at home or in the office, and allow them to exchange data. The device will check your email or notifications, and present the information that you need. When you go to the store, you can tell it what recipes you want to prepare, and it will generate a list of ingredients that you need to pick up. It will inform all the devices that you use of your purchases and schedule, allowing them to automatically adjust to what you're doing."
What Gates describes here sounds absolutely futuristic - but if you think about it, this has become a reality.
"Home Assistants" like the Amazon Echo or Google Home are capable of doing all those things, and of course you can also uses smartphones / smartwatches for that if you're on the go.
And don't forget about the Internet of Things - so-called "smart homes" where almost all electronic devices are connected to the Internet and offer way more functions than their oldschool predecessors.
5) Price comparison websites
"Automated price comparison services will be developed, allowing people to see prices across multiple websites, making it effortless to find the cheapest product for all industries."
Who even buys something nowadays without checking for the cheapest price first?!
While price comparison websites were mostly used in the travel industry at first, they have become an extremely common tool for anyone shopping online.
Especially since many retail stores offer price matches, it can really pay off to do some research online before purchasing something.
6) Online Home surveillance
"Constant video feeds of your house will become common, which inform you when somebody visits while you are not home."
Home surveillance systems that you can control via your smartphone have become quite common.
Users are able to view their home at anytime while they're away, and are notified in case anything unusual happens.
There are even some systems that monitor your pets while you're not home, and you can control to give them treats or play different sounds via an app.
7) Smart promotional offers
"Software that knows when you've booked a trip and uses that information to suggest activities at the local destination. It suggests activities, discounts, offers, and cheaper prices for all the things that you want to take part in."
Most websites already collect user's browsing history, and analyze it to offer the best promotional offers.
Travel websites like Expedia offer a user certain deals based on their past purchases, Facebook and Google display ads based on the user's interests and location, and even Airbnb now offers specialized trips and experiences at locations you've booked a trip to.
8) Smart advertising
"Devices will have smart advertising. They will know your purchasing trends, and will display advertisements that are tailored toward your preferences."
Similar to the statement mentioned above, online advertising has become much more personal.
Websites are analyzing the user's browsing history and use cookies to inform themselves about preferences, past purchase histories and more.
Depending on that analysis, they can then display ads that are especially appealing to the user.
9) Live sports discussion
"While watching a sports competition on television, services will allow you to discuss what is going on live, and enter a contest where you vote on who you think will win."
Of course, social media is the number one place to discuss big events live.
Especially twitter and its poll-tool have become increasingly popular whenever a big sports event is on.
Apart from that, live sports betting sites also offer live chats (and of course, you can 'vote' who will win by betting on live bets too).
10) Online discussion boards
"Residents of cities and countries will be able to have internet-based discussions concerning issues that affect them, such as local politics, city planning, or safety."
Again, social media has made this prediction come true.
People from local areas can easily communicate through internet forums or social media, discussing local events and planning a get-together.
Also, don't forget about the significant role of social media during political events like the black lives matter movement or the arab spring uprisings.
11) Links to websites during live TV
"Television broadcast will include links to relevant websites and content that complement what you are watching."
Hardly any commercials nowadays do not ask viewers to visit a certain website or follow the company's social media.
During big TV shows, there's also often a specific hashtag being shown, encouraging the viewers to post about the program on their own social media channels.
12) Project-management software
"Project managers looking to put a team together will be able to go online, describe the project, and receive recommendations for available people who would fit their requirements."
There are countless online tools to manage your daily tasks and improve your workflow.
Also, job search engines and freelancer portals like upwork make it easier than ever to find the employee or the job you're looking for.
13) Online recruiting
"Similarly, people looking for work will be able to find employment opportunities online by declaring their interest, needs, and specialized skills."
Job search has never been more convenient than in our digital age.
There are countless sites where you can find jobs or find employees, and platforms like LinkedIn offer even more opportunities to network and find new business contacts.
14) Interest-based online sites.
"Online communities will not be influenced by your location, but rather, your interest."
Many social media or forum sites already filter based on interest, not location.
For example reddit offers a lot of different subreddits that offer topics based on a certain interest, rather than who the user is or where he's from.
15) Business Community Software
"Companies will be able to bid on jobs, whether they are looking for a construction project, a movie production, or an advertising campaign. This will be efficient for both big companies that want to outsource work that they don't usually face, businesses looking for new clients, and corporations that don't have a go-to provider for the said service."
Freelancing websites like upwork or fiverr are a great example for this case.
Companies are able to create job postings about whatever work they want to get done, and freelancers can apply to those jobs.
This is called gig economy.
Which of these (accurate) predictions impressed you the most?
© Sirwinchester
I wonder if Bill Gates will ever have a steemit account.
If he did he would first buy $1000000000steem
And the number of users would jump 100times within a week
Any body vote me ...for no reason
done
done
done! :-)
That would be awesome. I wonder what he'd blog about.
My first thought for this post was that Bill Gates created a Steemit account. :D
This is pretty astounding @sirwinchester . So now I'm wondering, what is Bill Gates saying today about the future? Could be a gold mine in listening to him and his predictions.
Check out this article that features some predictions he has made (this year) for the future: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/bill-gates-is-pretty-good-at-predicting-the-future-this-is-what-he-thinks-will-happen-next1
Especially this part:
Thanks for the link--super interesting article.
genius who change the world
He changed the world and predicted how it would change even more in the future..
This is really amazing @sirwinchester! This guy is a genius and we all know that! I would like to know if he predicted/said anything on cryptos too?
Cheers
@progressivechef
He is actually a big supporter of cryptocurrencies - especially bitcoin!
This is a quote from 2014 - before cryptocurrencies became as well known as today:
Thank you for this share @sirwinchester! Hearing this from him is just amazing and gives us another idea of the greatness of crypto!
he know the future of bitcoin
"Bill Gates once said 640K of memory was more than anyone needed."
But did he realy said that? https://www.wired.com/1997/01/did-gates-really-say-640k-is-enough-for-anyone/
Bill gate will always earn my respect...
Yeah that is the Bill Gates I know!
Hey mate, glad to connect! Hope to see you around and yeah, this is the technology we've all been waiting for~ SteemOn
Financial management online and Price comparison websites are the ones that impress me the most. Websites like aliexpress, jiji, olx, ebay are some that i have used. And guess what, i do check prices there, compare it with physical stores and then take my decision. Online banking has transformed a lot of financial services. From paying for flight ticket to buying bitcoin when the price suddenly dips. I believe alot of unfathomable improvement and technological exploits awaits us.
Yes you're right!
And online banking is definitely an important factor.
Billgates is one the intellectuals of the world. A great man born in 21st century. I am just amazed at his predictions. Great sharing @sirwinchester.
Yes he did but still he is a evil motherf.....
I was impressed by Bill Gates!
Thank you for the interesting post!
At least, most of these predictions are favorably to humanity, and we're glad to see them being actualized. What of Elon Musk's prediction? "that Artificial Intelligence would wipe out Humanity, and replace them" Not to talk of Stephen Hawkings Predictions. That would be so scary.
Nice post. Upvoted
True.
But just because they're scary doesn't mean they can't come true. But yes you're right, it seems like the current predictions for the future are definitely not as positive as these ones..
Always good posts from you @ Sirwinchester.
Bill Gates has impressed me in several areas.
What he does to help poor so next generation gets access to tools and education,
Fight contagious diseases and much more. Read more here Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation https://www.gatesfoundation.org/
Thank you for the compliment!
Yes he is not only one of the wealthiest mans in the world but also a big philantropist. He really cares about giving back, which is awesome.
Yes, he is generous
What did he say about BTC again? :)
.. that it's better than any regular currency! And that the future of BTC is bright! Well look at us now! :)
I would have loved to have read this back then and wonder what I thought about this back then. I probably would not have imagined many of these ever coming true. How times change and can't imagine what is to come.
Good point. Yes I think most of us would have thought that his predictions were far off, or unimaginable.
I am glad he invested into ethereum, will never sell my ETH now :-)
and he's a big believer in bitcoin too! This already goes to show how bright the future of cryptocurrency is!
curious:
did he provide more predictions in the book about what's to come yet further ahead?
Check out this article that features some predictions he has made (2017) for the future: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/05/bill-gates-is-pretty-good-at-predicting-the-future-this-is-what-he-thinks-will-happen-next1
Are you a shill for bill? This stuff was not new in 99. Novell had been doing it since the early 90's.It was another rip off of the superset and Ray Norda, for which he was sued and lost. I read this bookback then (sorry to say) and still remember it was not worth the price of the ticket. Again G. Santayana looms. We stand on the shoulders of giants and Bill just rips them off with no credit. NDS, Groupwise, led the way. Had he predicted the block chain, that would have been cool...but no just regurgitating Ray Norda ripoffs, and platitudes. Another spoiled rich kid ripoff
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That's pretty cool. Gates really has some good thinking going on here. I am waiting for the digital assitant. I own an Amazon Echo and it is basically useless and not even 1% of what I expect from an assistant. But the true AI assistants are only a few years away. And when they come, they will change each of us more than the smart phone already did. By far!
He also said at the beginning that the internet is just a passing fad. And boy, was he wrong.
Quite impressive. I wonder if there were also many predictions of his that were off.
Some of these are really fascinating indeed
Interesting, I knew about a few but not all. Would be a bit less impressive with all the failed predictions that he made, but they were still fewer