This is the year 2024. Generative AI, green engineering, mental wellness, cloud computing, blockchain technology and the Lightning network are the popular trends these days and seem poised to change the way we work and live in the future.

With 6 years in the pipeline, 2030 will bring about some integration of technologies so as to alleviate the pressures of modern-day living.

Marriage of AI & Mental Health With nuclear families getting smaller and kids having fewer socialisation opportunities, I foresee AI companies rushing to plug the social gaps to profit off this loneliness epidemic. I think personalised chatbots will be the norm, with people chatting with them as if they were friends in real life. I also believe that robots and virtual digital companions will be widespread in daily life. Rules of engagement involving human-robotic communications will become part and parcel of modern life. Kids may even prefer their robotic pals over their real-life friends.

Marriage of AI & Blockchain With more sophisticated chips and softwares being developed, governments will increasingly turn to blockchain technology to make their operations faster and more effective. Already, the Singapore government is using the Ethereum blockchain to record the vaccination records of its citizens. With AI being incorporated, I foresee that more cross-collaboration between ministries can be fostered as it can be leveraged to solve big-picture problems and synergise work from various ministries. Hopefully this will make governance more coherent and cohesive.

Use of the Lightning Network Given that on-chain transactions are often painfully expensive, I expect more merchants to adopt the Lightning Network as a form of payment. Part of it has to do with the maturing of the LN ecosystem. With more apps introduced and more wallets being launched, people find it easier to accumulate sats as well as store them under self-custody. The ease of getting sats helps prompt people to spend them because replacing them will be convenient. I expect either Microlancer to grow bigger in operations and accept more substantial jobs or a new startup that accepts sats as payment and rivals Fiverr in terms of operations.

My two sats’ worth. This was fun to write about!