Welcome to the world of tomorrow

By Michael Coulter

I came across this the other day, Ralph, and I thought this was not only interesting but something that even you with all your infinite wisdom had no idea how our lives would change so dramatically.

Based on the dramatic and accelerating changes that have and are taking place I just wonder how those who have no computer skills will survive and I wonder if anyone with mechanical skills will find employment?

You’re probably sitting back wondering what and the heck am I talking about. Well, my good buddy, there is reason to believe most of all of the following will become reality in the next couple of decades.

I won’t bore you with all of the predictions that will sure to become a reality but based on what has already occurred I believe there will be no auto repair shops within this time frame; gasoline and diesel pumps will give way to street corners having meters that dispense electricity; the coal industries will disappear, drilling for oil will stop and the middle-east will be in trouble because there will be no more OPEC.

Our homes will produce and store more electrical energy using solar technology and smart auto manufacturers will build new plants that build only electric cars, making conventional combustible engines obsolete and no need for fossil fuels leaving thousands of workers standing in the unemployment lines.

Who would of imagined 20 years ago that Kodak, who in 1998 had 170,000 employees, would no longer exist and its business model would have disappeared, resulting in the major company going bankrupt.

Predictions now are that artificial intelligence, health, autonomous and electric cards, education 3D printing, agriculture and jobs will all be impacted. For instance, software has already disrupted and will continue to disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years, Ralph.

You know this as well as anybody that UBER is just a software tool, they don’t own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world. I wonder if the taxi drivers had any idea this was going to eliminate their jobs.

And, did you know Ralph, Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world, and they don’t own a inch of property. I wonder if the big wigs at Hilton Hotels saw this company.

Now here is one that is not only surprising but also somewhat funny. In this country, young lawyers already don’t get jobs and that is because of IBM’s, you can get legal advice within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans.

My advice now is if anyone out there is studying law they should stop because there will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future only omniscient specialists will remain. I bet you didn’t know that Watson already helps nurses diagnosing cancer which is four times more accurate than human nurses and it is predicted that in 10 more years computers will become more intelligent than humans. Now that is scary, Ralph. I can’t imagine that with our intelligence that there will be a computer smarter than you.

You know I come from a time when cars were everything and I hate to know that autonomous cars will make my conventional pickup truck obsolete and there will be a day in the near future there will be 90 to 95% fewer cars.

I’m even told most traditional car companies will doubtless become bankrupt and insurance companies will have massive trouble because, without accidents, the cots will become cheaper.

Listen Ralph, welcome to tomorrow — some of it actually arrived a few years ago.