Imagine waking in 2075 Britain not to an alarm, but to artificial dawn light and birdsong perfectly synced to your body's natural rhythm. Your smartphone is obsolete, replaced by contact lenses projecting holographic daily briefings directly into your field of vision.
Your clothes, woven with microscopic sensors, provide real-time health updates, while your humanoid helper—indistinguishable from a human, with warm synthetic skin—prepares a breakfast calibrated by your intelligent fridge. Your commute? A personal drone flight above gridlocked streets below.
The Dawn of Agentic AI and Aerial Commutes
This isn't science fiction but a tangible future predicted by leading futurologist Tracey Follows. She believes the next half-century will see Britain transformed by technologies that seem extraordinary today.
"People always want to know when we're getting flying cars and jetpacks," Follows notes. "Look at what drones achieve now: delivering medical supplies in conflict zones, even hot coffee in Ireland. Vertical takeoff and landing is the next big thing—Dubai is already deploying them. I anticipate short journeys via these aerial vehicles within a decade."
The most profound shift, however, will come from artificial intelligence. "AI will shape virtually everything in our future," Follows explains, highlighting significant investment in the necessary data centres.
She is particularly focused on 'agentic AI', systems capable of reasoning independently. "We will outsource not just tasks, but complex reasoning. It could handle contract negotiations or execute blueprints, potentially even constructing things itself. Connected to our finances, we could assign it a complex objective and expect it to be completed autonomously. This will utterly transform commerce, especially banking."
The Cashless Society and Conscious Consumerism
This AI-driven commerce will accelerate the demise of physical money. Tracey predicts cash will be replaced by cryptographic tokens, digitising and streamlining our financial systems beyond the current volatile crypto landscape.
On the environmental front, the news is encouraging. Follows foresees a positive turn in the climate crisis, driven by greener technology and more accountable consumer behaviour.
"Sustainability is already embedded in many industries, like fashion, but companies must further revolutionise material production, dyes, and waste management," she states. Future innovations include energy-generating clothing using triboelectric nanogenerators (Tengs). The friction from movement creates electricity, powering wearable sensors. The construction industry is also advancing, developing self-healing buildings and eliminating unsustainable polymers.
Connecting Minds: The Neurotechnology Revolution
The convergence of technologies is already visible. This week witnessed AI artist Xania Monet enter the Billboard charts, while Elon Musk declared physical smartphones obsolete, to be replaced by AI-powered 'edge nodes'.
Musk's Neuralink company pioneers this frontier. Noland Arbaugh, paralysed after a diving accident, became the first human recipient of a Neuralink brain implant. Now, 21 months later, he controls a computer with his thoughts, messaging and playing games using brainwaves. The technology has restored his independence and purpose, enabling him to pursue university studies.
However, Follows warns this brain-computer integration necessitates robust 'neuro rights'. "The monitoring of brainwave data will increase, potentially entering workplaces under 'cognitive health' initiatives," she cautions. "We must establish how to protect mental privacy. While neurotech offers amazing benefits for cognitive health, it demands new regulatory frameworks and ethical guidelines."
The most crucial step, according to Follows, is for the next generation of engineers to start envisioning the world they wish to build. "Very soon, these technologies will converge, making the impossible possible almost overnight," she adds. "We can see the signals today—pockets of the future in the present. Our role is to construct narratives that help people envision how this future can unfold."
