I don’t think the next ten years will contain many surprises (unless Donald Trump wins and ISIS takes over Europe; in that case all fuckin’ bets are off). Technologically speaking, we’ve already chosen our trajectory. Venture capitalist Chris Dixon, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, recently wrote an article called “What’s Next in Computing?” To summarize, he listed these trends:

  1. hardware so cheap and ubiquitous that it’s an afterthought (except for iPhones, I’m sure)
  2. artificially intelligent software
  3. the internet of things (I’m collapsing autonomous cars + drones into this category)
  4. wearables (for example, the Apple Watch)
  5. virtual reality + augmented reality

Dixon’s theme is tech that brings the internet to the “IRL” world instead of catapulting us deeper into the net while we veg out on our couches. Virtual reality is the exception — it’s a technology best economically suited to entertainment and general escapism. Everything else is about venturing forth and accomplishing normal tasks.

To be honest, all I really want from the future is a cheap robot that will do my laundry for me.