Getty Images, Jason Denning
IN YOUR INTEREST
engineering, we may be able to cure illnesses
like dementia and Parkinson’s, which
Michael J Fox was diagnosed with shortly
after making the nal lm in the trilogy.
In 1955 the worldwide average life
expectancy was 48; by 2025 it is expected
to be 73. In 1955 there were, on average,
12 people aged over 65 for every 100
1
;
by 2025, theWorld Health Organisation
predicts there will be at least 31, with more
in developed countries.
Increased longevity raises all kinds of
questions. How will we nance our pensions,
healthcare and public and private medical
insurance schemes?Will there be enough
food, water and energy for everyone?
The world will be more complicated,
quite possibly divided between an American
and a Chinese sphere of in uence.The kind
Balance sheet
A technological boom has yielded
advancements in the way we live and how long we live,
but our priorities – love, relationships and family – will
never change.
of jobs that we do are also likely to be very
di erent from today’s.A survey conducted
by Fast Futures, the consultants, found
that the best-paid job in the future was
expected by worldwide respondents to be
‘nano-medic’ (45%), while in the UK the
preferred option was ‘virtual lawyer’ (59%).
Technology will provide its challenges, but
it will also provide solutions. But as the
Back
to the Future
lms demonstrate, it seems that
what will matter most to us will still be how
we provide for ourselves and our families.
1
2015
(Oculus Rift headset)
THE ILL-FATED
DELOREAN
The films proved
considerably more
enduring than the
gull-winged DeLorean
sports car. The company
went into receivership
three years before the
first film was made.
SEEING INTO THE FUTURE
Throughout
Back to the Future Part II
, Marty
McFly and his family use high-tech glasses
to watch television, answer phone calls and
access something similar to the internet. You
see the wearers immersed in a virtual world.
These features resemble those of Google
Glass and the Oculus Rift headsets
(pictured)
.
THE INVESTOR
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