Since 2015, I have spent December sorting the hundreds of articles I save during the year into categories of developments that might impact the world in the medium term. It’s my way of congealing the wide variety of topics I touch upon in my research into a manageable list of “global developments to watch over the next five years.” Since 2012, I’ve prepared the list for my top clients and in 2015, began publicly posting my thinking onto LinkedIn and later onto Substack. (Link to all prior predictions here: https://mansharamani.substack.com/t/predictions)
The goal of my efforts is explicitly not to predict the future, but rather to help my audience think through scenarios and possibilities of how the future might unfold. Accuracy is not, and has never been, my objective. Usefulness is my goal. I want to help all of us think differently about possible futures so we can better appreciate (and embrace) uncertainty that is embedded in thinking about the future.
As I begin preparing for my 2025 predictions, I’m seeking input from you regarding the topics you think might have a major impact on the world in the next five years. The following ten polls (expected to take less than 10 minutes) will reveal what you find interesting, intriguing, and worthy of further investigation… while sharing an early glimpse into topics that may appear in my piece next month. (After you’ve submitted your vote for a poll, you’ll see its current results… I’d encourage you to revisit this post every few days to see how the numbers change!)
Thanks in advance for your help!
Best,
Vikram
POLL #1: Geopolitics
POLL #2: Technology
POLL #3: Economics
POLL #4: Demographics
POLL #5: Energy Dynamics
POLL #6: Global Challenges
POLL #7: Finance
POLL #8: Under-appreciated Risks
POLL #9: Under-appreciated Opportunities
POLL #10: WILDCARD: Wealthiest Person in 2030
If you should have any suggested topics you think I should try to address in my 2025 piece on global developments to watch, please note your thoughts in the comments below!
About Vikram
VIKRAM MANSHARAMANI is an entrepreneur, consultant, scholar, neighbor, husband, father, volunteer, and professional generalist who thinks in multiple-dimensions and looks beyond the short-term. Self-taught to think around corners and connect original dots, he spends his time speaking with global leaders in business, government, academia, and journalism. LinkedIn has twice listed him as its #1 Top Voice in Money & Finance, and Worth profiled him as one of the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. Vikram earned a PhD From MIT, has taught at Yale and Harvard, and is the author of three books, The Making of a Generalist: An Independent Thinker Finds Unconventional Success in an Uncertain World, Think for Yourself: Restoring Common Sense in an Age of Experts and Artificial Intelligence and Boombustology: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst. Vikram lives in Lincoln, New Hampshire with his wife and two children, where they can usually be found hiking or skiing.
The most critical under discussed topic in the US election is the evolution of regenerative AI. If the US and China fail to cooperate at a level that is significant by advancing a positive controlling role then this rapidly advancing technology could become an existential event that could easily spin out of control. Society is already overwhelmed by infotech and soon to be biotech that is beyond our common understanding and ability to implement for the greater good, leaving most people feeling disillusioned and lost.The fact that we had the outcome we did in the last election clearly demonstrates this point as we see incompetent individuals ascending to leadership positions based on false information and promises propagated by mass tech media that have the potential for disaster.
Democratization of US Medicine. System breakdown, out of pocket care, alternate treatment and alternate pharma. A parallel path develops, and middle income earners start to choose it.