What will the world look like in five years? What will life be like? How will technology define our existence then as compared to now?

Every day, I wonder about these questions and more. For example, how long will it take for cutting edge, applied research to become reality for many who need it?

  • Engineers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab have developed a next-generation prosthetic: a robotic arm that has 26 joints, can curl up to 45 pounds and is controlled with a person’s mind just like a regular arm.

The above is quite amazing, but then couple that with sensors implanted in muscle that allow for brain control of the prosthetic – thought control – and you have something quite amazing.

  • The implantable electric sensor wirelessly sends out muscle control signals used to operate the prosthetic limb. The implantable devices contain electronics within a 1-cm-long ceramic capsule and can be non-surgically placed within the residual limb via a hypodermic needle.

Now, take the above, add in the stem-cell research, tissue-replacement research, body-part-replacement research, and …

  • In all, 16 AI companies got initial backing from venture capitalists in 2014, up from two in 2010, according to data compiled by researcher CB Insights for Bloomberg. The amount invested in the startups — some of which describe themselves as doing machine learning or deep learning — soared to $309.2 million last year, up more than 20-fold from $14.9 million in 2010.

You see where I am going with this? How will technology define our existence five years from now? Currently, we use the word android to describe smartphone technology, but five years from now, maybe we will be using the word as the Start Trek folks did – to describe a programmable creature that walks, talks, and thinks on its own. I wonder …    

Now, this kind of thinking adds impetus to the idea that soon enough, jobs will be lost to robotic evolution, and that well might become true, but for now, jobs for regular humans, at least in the US, are becoming more plentiful.

  • The average number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits over the past four weeks dropped to a 15-year low, a sign the labor market continues to strengthen.

The above is a leading indicator, for sure, and it is one that speaks to a market still hanging around record-high levels.

  • Companies are anticipating a pickup in demand for their goods and services in the coming months. More job security that sparks bigger wage gains would help propel consumer confidence and make households feel more comfortable spending.

This single data point tells more about the US economic future and the market than all of the economic data from last quarter. There is a reality here and the market knows it.

  • Many layoffs now reflect company- or industry-specific causes, such as cost-cutting or business restructuring.

There is another reality here, as well, and it takes me back to my recent writing about how the food-industry is changing. I wrote about restaurant chains catering to the non-GMO crowd, organic foods picking up major market share via Target, Walmart, and Safeway, et al, and now we have …  

  • More mass-market retailers want niche brands that shoppers view as healthier to drive traffic in stores, particularly as they face rising competition from natural food and specialty chains like Whole Foods Market.

Five years from now, will we all be healthier simply because we are eating better, and, if so, how will that impact the medical industry that now over prescribes, cuts too much, and otherwise rams people through batteries of tests to find the cause of their ailment?

  • Contract manufacturers have made it easier for small companies to produce goods inexpensively, while the reach of digital advertising allows them to target consumers without big marketing budgets, industry experts said.

And this brings me back to my recent writing about Millenials, smartphones, and the easy reach of advertisers to get those Millenials to spend money of what is now perceived as normal – healthy foods.

  • Overall, small and midsize consumer goods companies have stolen $18 billion in U.S. sales, or 2 percentage points of share, away from large players since 2009, according to a March report by IRI and the Boston Consulting Group. In 2014 alone, they took 0.7 points of share from big manufacturers.

In five years, will we be seeing the really big dogs in the food industry downsizing to better compete with their smaller, more nimble rivals, and will we also see those same big dogs putting out products that have less sugar, less salt, less fat, and no harmful chemicals?

Technology is driving this train of change, a fast-moving train, I might add, and one that is traveling to every station that defines our lives.

I wonder … What will the world look like in five years?

Trade in the day; invest in your life …

Trader Ed