​Seniors Matter(s)! Exhilaration and trepidation at the same time

I have been following Peter Diamandis for years and have shared his thoughts in many previous articles.

I am impressed with his astute knowledge of highly-progressive trends that are happening in real time (medicine, finance, world issues), and projections of how they will affect us in the future.

He has helped me understand the tremendous possibilities in the near future and the challenges that come with them.

Diamandis states that today is, by far, the single best time in all human history to be alive. Over the past three decades of studying exponential technologies, he’s come to understand a fundamental truth: “The speed of exponential tech is accelerating, and these technologies are converging and reinventing everything in their path. There will be much change, but that change will uplift humanity, create abundance, and give us a vacation from survival. In the process, we, all of us, are gaining godlike powers.”

His research has shown that the next decade — 2025-35 — represents the most transformative period in human history. We’re not just experiencing isolated technological breakthroughs, we’re on the cusp of 10 simultaneous Metatrends that will transform every aspect of our lives: how we raise our children, run our companies, govern our nations, and live our lives. That thrills me and scares me.

His Metatrends are described as unstoppable, long-term transformations of an industry or domain — propelled by the convergence of multiple exponential technologies.

For example, AI (Artificial Intelligence) enhances every other technology, robotics enables space exploration, quantum computing accelerates drug discovery, and networks create the data layer that makes everything smarter. This is exponential multiplication: a “Cambrian Explosion” of creative genius solving problems at the speed of digital superintelligence.

I find it interesting that I now must prove I’m a human rather than a robot on many Internet sites. I also enjoy robocalls from India daily informing me that my VISA card (which I don’t have) has been compromised but can be fixed in just a few minutes if I allow them access to my computer. How generous!

We have arrived now, when exponential technologies solve humanity’s greatest challenges faster than new problems emerge. By 2035, food, energy, and education will be democratized at scale through autonomous systems and AI.

Millions, and then billions, of humanoid robots are ready to integrate into daily life, by handling 80 per cent of household chores, providing 24/7 eldercare, and working in extreme environments, including off-world settlements. This represents the greatest transformation of human labour since the Industrial Revolution. I love this and hate it.

Medicine has shifted from reactive to anticipatory and preventive, with aging becoming optional rather than inevitable. Continuous health platforms detect disease years before symptoms appear, and people in their 80s routinely start companies and train for marathons.
The pattern of expensive-to-free is unfolding simultaneously across every Metatrend. Gene-sequencing has dropped from $100-million to just $200. Advanced AI systems are now free to billions. Soon, longevity therapies, space access, and personalized education will follow.

Unfortunately, each Metatrend carries profound dark sides that demand proactive governance: from AI alignment challenges and job displacement to privacy erosion and new forms of inequality. This is where I am excited and leery at the same time. Metatrends WILL change our world. In whose hands do we leave this?

Technology is neutral. It will not, on its own, choose justice over exploitation, empowerment over control, or unity over division. That choice is ours, and that scares me, witnessing the radical political aggression current today. For example, a drone can put out fires in tall buildings or shoot someone whose facial recognition is pre-programmed. That is quite a dichotomy.

I see no real effort to ensure that the Age of Abundance benefits all of humanity.

We have started to live in a world where aging is optional, space is accessible, every child learns from a personalized AI tutor, every home produces its own clean energy, and scarcity is becoming an artifact of history.

Also, the future is arriving faster than most realize. It will not wait for us to be ready. This transformation from scarcity to abundance, from expensive to demonetized, from the rich to everyone, is happening in every industry, everywhere on the globe.

The question isn’t whether these changes will occur. It’s whether we’ll be positioned to benefit from them, invest in them, and help guide them toward outcomes that serve all of humanity.

Looks like with all the chores done, I will have more time for golf!

‘Til next time, if it is to be, it is up to me.

For questions or comments, contact me at billpike3@gmail.com.

Stay safe!