2050

I remember when my Dad showed me the internet through AOL for the first time when I was around 5 years old at his office. He had a Gateway computer and I want to say it was Windows 93 as the OS. It was a pretty remarkable experience. I don’t remember much from when I was 5, but I do remember that day vividly.

He logged onto AOL and showed me a chat room. I remember him messaging someone saying “Hi Flowers”. He quickly regretted that decision and X’ed out of the window and said it was for adults. It was a funny moment especially in retrospect, but it was the first time I fell in love with technology.

I am now 35 years old. If I’m lucky, I’m somewhere between a 1/3rd and halfway through my life. In 2050, I’ll be 60 years old and again, if lucky, I’ll be retired and heading in my glory days.

With the way technology is rapidly advancing, I’ve been doing a lot of day dreaming on what that future could look like for me. I joked with my friends that if there was a self driving car to take me to Lake Tahoe in the future, I’d be satisfied. But maybe I’m thinking too small given how fast things are advancing.

Is it really that farfetched that in 25 years an average joe like me could go to space? Perhaps air travel becomes so economically viable that instead of driving to Lake Tahoe in a driverless car, I could fly there in my hovercraft in less than half the time it takes. We all know medicine is getting better - I wonder what the age expectancy will be by the time I’m 60.

I don’t know what the future will hold. But I like to remain optimistic that my 60s will be better than my Dad’s 60s. And my son’s 60’s will be a lot better than my 60s. With the way things are growing, there is a lot to be optimistic about in tech despite perhaps all the negativity and doom in the news right now.