“What Is Something That Is Highly Likely To Happen In The Next 10 Years That Everyone Is Completely Ignoring?” (67 Answers)

China will invade Taiwan and it will test/strain the resolve of Western alliances even more.

Edit: I don't think it will be a full scale Normandy-like invasion. It's much more likely that China will pull something similar to what USA did to Venezuela combined with the Hong-Kong playbook, i.e. send some special operations guys in the middle of the night, arrest the cabinet, make up some criminality, install a puppet government much more open to diplomatic talks, then before you know it you have a "diplomatic" victory for China.

Not really ignoring, but I feel it's flying under the radar. The world's supply of Helium is dwindling rapidly. I work in an industry that uses a loads of He and we've been told to retrofit devices that use He to H2. So far it's not going so well.

The Amoc collapsing.

Jeramy_Jones:

This should probably be the top answer.

When people hear “climate change” or the more antiquated “global warming” they don’t realize it’s not just gonna be warmer weather.

Destabilization of that current can cause all kinds of damage, both cold and hot weather, storms and stagnation in ocean waters. It’s a looming catastrophe what will change everything we know.

Global financial crisis from US debt.

Massive environmental collapse of entire ecosystems. I look at the forest behind my house. The average person would say it looks nice. But all the ash trees, the elms, the chestnuts, certain oaks, all destroyed by invasive species. Insects populations are massively decreased. Amphibians are getting scarce. There is only so much damage it can take before it falls apart and I think we are getting close.

A lot of people in their 30s and 40s right now are never going to own a home. Like actually never. And the conversation is still being treated like it's a temporary problem that's about to fix itself.

Global recession.

God this thread is so bleak. As expected. This site is full of sad doomers living in existential dread. How about some positives??

Most experts agree that Quantum Computers will take a Great Leap Forward in the next few years, with the government actively preparing their encryption to be “Quantum Resistant” in the next few years. Sounds terrifying, yes? But the cool thing about quantum computers is they will likely change life for the better assuming proper safeguards are enacted (actively happening now as I said). For example, quantum computers have the ability to simulate complex systems at a scale that is unthinkable for standard computers. People point to complex systems like say the climate of the planet, the human body, and advanced materials. What does this mean in 10 years? It means that using these new tools we could take *massive* leaps forward in things like advanced materials manufacturing, drug/therapy design, and weather prediction and climate change intervention. These are things that could actively improve *your* life in the next 10-15 years. Add in things like AI, CRISPR/gene editing, advances in robotics and we could genuinely see a leap forward in treating all kinds of common maladies-genetic diseases, organ/knee replacements, Alzheimer’s… there is SO much hope out there if you seek it out.

Another one that is underrated imo are advances in energy production/storage. There is a HUGE push currently happening to develop better batteries, and more of them. Solar energy production is crushing previous estimates, nuclear fission reactors are coming back safer/smaller than ever before while still being massively efficient and clean compared to old fossil fuels. Fusion is still being researched but I don’t think we see it in 10 years. Energy production/storage is the baseline of everything in your life. It effects the cost of everything on top of it. Any advances here make their way up through the economy- the phone in your pocket, the car you drive, the truck that delivers your groceries.

This one might get some pushback because of the characters involved- but I think a lot of the rocketry stuff happening right now is really, really cool. Starlink and other satellite communications networks are bringing more people online than ever before in remote areas. Reuseable rockets are plummeting cost to launch and within the next couple years SpaceX will likely be launching their next generation heavy lift rocket Starship. Most estimates expect this to reduce launch costs per kg of cargo by an order of magnitude. Such a reduction will have us looking at launches as less as a boondoggle/extravagance and more of a utility. In the next 10 years we could see more launches, which opens the door to a more robust satellite communications network, exploration/scientific projects, etc.

Pollinator deficits causing en masse crop failures.

Zealousideal_Pay2128:

I was going to say famine. Partly from lack of pollinators, and partly from reduced crop outputs due to climate change. There is going to be a reduced wheat crop this year in the US due to the ongoing drought. Could be a preview of what's to come.

There's going to be a truly abysmal natural disaster that makes that location uninhabitable. The gulf coast of the US, specifically Florida or Louisiana, are just waiting for it and with the extreme ocean temperatures happening right now... it could be any day now. To think otherwise is to rely on hopes and prayers.

Mass surveillance.

Honestly, looking at things the way they are: mass civil unrest.

Governments have done their damnedest to under-educate the populous and the Internet and media have told everyone how easy it is fix problems.

People are getting angrier because their lives haven't improved immeasurably and in fact have gone the other way.

Keep lying and people will get angry. Farage in Britain will find out when he can't deliver and the U.S is on the way already.

People with nothing to lose are the most dangerous kind.

Surprised no one has mentioned this, but look at the state of US politics and the economy as a whole. The top 10% of income earners in the United States account for about 50% of consumer spending. The US is on track to surpass $39 trillion in debt. Interest rates are creeping up (along with treasury yields) due to loss of confidence in the ability for the US government to pay its debt obligations (because we don't tax the wealthy their fair share to fund government). There will be a default on US debt (due to interest rates going up) in the medium to long term. Then, we will see a scaling back / steep cuts of programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. Then we will see sizable civil unrest. Then, we will see a loss of confidence in institutions, such as the IRS, DoJ, and the judiciary. Finally, we will see a collapse and balkanization of the states. This will happen. Our trajectory is already headed that way. And this goes all the way back to Nixon and Reagan. When big business started to consolidate wealth and power, when they started to go after unions, consolidate companies, scale back regulations, and run up the debt due to forever wars in the Middle East, that's what has led us to this moment. The Republic will fail. And countries like Russia and China will consolidate more power in their respective regions. Expect China to go after Taiwan once the US starts to collapse. Expect Russia to take another swing at Ukraine as well.

Another major pandemic. Will be bad considering the collective amnesia from this last one.

The Social Security fund is expected to be fully depleted in 2032.

Barring legislative changes, which are hard in modern politics, there will be significant drops in benefits for lots of people.

Incredible events that will benefit the rich and be devastating to the poor but will be disguised as cultural topics for us to fight each other over.

A generation of boys raised by twitter, podcasts and the manosphere become young adults.

I’m getting depressed just reading all this. I’m gonna give it a break. I think about these things a lot but right now something I’m very concerned about is the fact that wages are hardly going up at all yet the cost of everything is skyrocketing and this is having a massive effect on peoples lives. I don’t know why more people aren’t talking about this. The prices is in the grocery store terrify me sometimes. And what’s even worse is eating out having a nice dinner now the food isn’t so good. The price is three times as much so people aren’t going out and everything‘s changed. Everyone’s lives have just gone downhill in my opinion well except for the few they’ve got loads of money. Rant over.

A massive mental health crisis unlike anything we've seen. An entire generation raised on screens, isolated, overstimulated, and emotionally malnourished and we're just waiting to see how that plays out.

The Grand Canyon will be dry. Likely by 2027 sometime. The Colorado River watershed is depleting because of overusage (looking at you AZ, with your beef and dairy industry), and all those farms will go bankrupt. We should move them now before it's too late.