JIGSAW GENS
Brightanics — The Deep Learning Microgeneration
As the youngest Alphas and the oldest Intrepids, this American cusp might be born into a world full of robots, quantum computers, thermal energy, and copious A.I.
Most rational people agree that no one should be demonized for parts of our identity that we can’t control. We’re unable to alter our skin color or our chromosomes. It’s disingenuous to ask someone to worship a religion in which they don’t believe. And, as far as we can tell, there are no high-tech implants that cause somebody’s disability to magically vanish forever.
But, for some reason, a certain segment of the American population finds it “cool” or “trendy” to bash entire groups of people solely because of their birthyears.
My theory is that people do this because they want to be part of an “in-crowd” rather than being viewed as outcasts. It’s akin to stupid high school cliques. Although this mentality is the type of juvenile bluster you’d expect from some kids, it often carries over into adulthood. People in their twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties, seventies, and beyond can’t seem to shake this “Mean Girl” / “Mean Boy” tactic of pumping up their own peer group while simultaneously putting down those who are older and/or younger than them.
Another problem is that many people refuse to learn the nuances of what distinguishes one “generation” from another. We’re stuck in a societal rut where “boomer” has become synonymous with cranky curmudgeons…and “millennial” is an automatic synonym for entitled brats.
On a daily basis, I ruminate over how to reverse this trend. What will it take for vapid minds to snap out of their stupidity and learn how to hear people out before vilifying them due to a calendar year or decade in which they happened to be born?
Intergenerational conflict has been a mainstay throughout human civilizations. The cavemen dealt with it. So did the Byzantines and the Puritans and the Grangers. Everybody across modern history — from beatniks to flappers to hepcats to punks — has confronted this eternal tug-of-war between young and old.
That’s why I created “Jigsaw Gens” — an anthology series designed to reframe generational cohorts with clarity, detail, and flexibility. Every generation is diverse — and each one has value.
The first phase of this project ended with me having delineated 27 main categories of generations spanning the 1560s up through the present:
Parliamentarians | Concentrics | Inflectors
Kingdomites | Cavaliers | Magnas
Glory Warriors | Lumineers | Enlightening Rods
Septennials | Liberty Lords | Goodpublicans
Madisonians | Unimpressionists | Transcendentals
Redeemers | Golden Renegades | Stowegressives
Missionaries | Hemingrebels | GI-Gens
Traditionalists | Baby Boomers | GenXers
Millennials | Zoomers | Alphas
Microgenerations are an intriguing concept. They exist to fill in the gaps for people who find themselves stuck in-between two adjacent generations. If you’re “on the cusp,” it means that your birthyear falls close to the edge of that broad zone where one generation ends and the next generation begins.
If you’re a “cusper,” your childhood and adolescence indubitably contained elements from two different generations. For example, I was born in 1982. That places me just shy of Gen X but also at the very tip of Gen Y. I could be described as an “Xennial” — and, based on my birthyear, either a “Millennial-leaning Xennial” or an “Xennial-leaning Millennial.”
I’ve mapped out a basic chronology of where these types of cusps would fall across 450+ years of American history.
The microgenerational cohort that I’m profiling for today’s edition of “Jigsaw Gens” is a highly-theoretical cusp. I’ve tentatively nicknamed them Brightanics — with most of them having yet to be born, their range of birthyears isn’t fully clear yet. Their starting point, however, probably begins sometime in the mid- to late-2020s; their endpoint concludes within the first half of the 2030s.
Who They Are
Brightanics are the temporary namesake I’ve given to the microgenerational cusp that will fall between the youngest Alphas (Gen AA) and the oldest Intrepids (Gen AB). However, I should emphasize that a much better moniker might come along as this cohort finishes being fully born and proceeds to mature into adolescence and adulthood.
We may not know that potentially-superior nickname until the 2030s or 2040s.
I’ve provisionally named them “Brightanics” because, much like the generations between whom they’re sandwiched, this group of kids will be entering a “brave new world” full of new opportunities for technological mastery. Since they will be newly-born into the 2030s, they may give our society a fresh outlook on how to craft a *brighter* future for the world.
Due to the presence of accelerated climate change and heightened geopolitical tensions, many doomsdayers of the upcoming decades will probably be inclined to write off humanity’s future as though we’re all being forced to jump from the Titanic. In that respect, “Brightanic” offers a linguistic spin pushing back against such a dystopian outlook.
A lot of things will change. Many of our old ways will indeed sink “like the Titanic.” But can we replace them with more sustainable solutions based on science, humanitarianism, modernizations, techno-unification, and critical thinking skills?
This is the pathway that I believe the Brightanics (and their successors) will be eager to embrace.
I call them “the Deep Learning Microgeneration” because this cusp will have unprecedented resources at their fingertips in terms of artificial intelligence, quantum computation, and immersive reality. These tools could give Brightanics a leg up when it comes to developing breakthroughs related to gene-editing, lithium energy, nanobots, skin regeneration, lab-grown food, desktop fusion, wireless electricity, and advanced photon scanning.
Again, it’s too early to definitively say what will be the prime birthyears belonging to members of this probably-to-be-renamed cusp. The Z/AA cusp (Coronazooms) fully transitioned into the proper Coronials (“Gen Alpha”) beyond the year 2016.
So, if we assume that Gen AA will have somewhere between 12–15 years to see all of their members born — this means the Brightanic cusp’s endpoint will most likely see its unofficial “bookend” arrive by 2032.
Proper members of the Intrepid generation (Gen AB) should be coming into this world by the mid-2030s.
Retroactively, we may view the Alpha generation’s (Gen AA) end as having merged with the next generation before the year 2029.
Brightanics’ (the AA/AB cusp) birthyears will probably range from either…
2024 to 2028 (give or take a couple of years on either end)
or
2025 to 2029 (give or take a couple of years on either end)
or
2026 to 2030 (give or take a couple of years on either end)
or
2027 to 2031 (give or take a couple of years on either end)
As this current decade (the 2020s) transitions into another decade (the 2030s), we’ll undoubtedly know more about the basic range of calendar years into which the Brightanics will have been born.
Their Early Lives
Let’s be clear about something: since they are either in the process of being born, or are about to begin being born within the next few years — we don’t have any real examples of living human children who could give us a predictive model for how the Brightanics might interact with the rest of the world.
For that reason, a bulk of this article will be speculative. With each passing year, we’ll slowly gain more and more insight about the contours and trends that will characterize this microgenerational cusp linking together Gen AA and Gen AB.
In fact, somebody (other than myself) may coin a much more relevant and “catchier” microgenerational nickname for them — as well as a superior proper cohort name for Gen AB (*not* “Gen Beta”).
One thing to consider: June 2027 is when the maiden voyage of the Titanic II will depart from Southampton to New York City.
For those of you unfamiliar with Titanic II’s mission: it is a modernized version of the original RMS Titanic ship that will retrace the path of the ill-fated 1912 voyage. Australian billionaire Clive Palmer has commissioned this project — although it’s been delayed on three separate occasions, already. So it remains to be seen whether its 2027 launch will happen on schedule.
If the voyage successfully occurs as planned, it could become a symbol of humanity using modern technology to avoid repeating disastrous tragedies from the past.
As newborns and young children, the Brightanics might be raised in a world where drought and coastal devastation proceed to drive rapid migratory patterns of citizens even within U.S. borders. Small towns could see an influx of new residents due to expanded housing opportunities. We’ll most likely witness more and more Americans abandoning the West Coast, the Great Plains, and the Southeastern Atlantic/Gulf states in favor of the Great Lakes region, the Pacific Northwest, and New England. As a result, this could radically upend congressional redistricting even prior to the 2030 United States Census.
Brightanic childhoods may be marked by the arrival of the world’s first trillionaire. As of right now, the top American contenders for that title seem to be Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Ellison, Jeff Bezos, or Elon Musk.
But additional everyday norms could be transformed. People’s wardrobes may become more vivid and showy in order to draw attention to individuals’ (or groups’) flavors of activism. Holographic pets might be created to accommodate households whose members have allergies to animals (or who lack the disposable income for maintenance of live pets). With increasing endangered species, lab-grown food could become viable (at commercial scale) and viewed as more socially-acceptable than it is today.
A.I.-generated media is sure to be the hot topic of the next two decades. Some politicians will propose regulating artificial intelligence in order to promote mental health. Eventually, 6G should take over as the new standard for wireless communications. As kids, Brightanics can expect to play around with headsets and gaming consoles for high-resolution virtual reality systems.
Science will likewise advance significantly, over the course of the next 15 years. CRISPR gene-editing should boost agriculture, medicine, and pharmaceuticals. Likewise, mRNA-based vaccines could all but eradicate certain infectious diseases. The boffo calculations done by quantum computers shall revolutionize energy storage, astronomy, logistics, cryptography, and drug trials in ways we currently cannot even imagine!
It remains to be seen who will be the world’s industry titans as we proceed through the 2030s. Plenty of new faces will arise. But we can look at the first half of the 2020s to survey a multigenerational array of voices and minds who’ve influenced the American populace. Many of these individuals hail from outside of the United States itself — but they’ve still made a tremendous global impact.
This decade has seen a cacophony of activists and public servants make waves — in all directions — across our political waters. Some have been elected or appointed to public offices. Others serve as outside agitators.
Those who’ve taken on the roles of public servants — often merging their political goals with mobilizing the grassroots — include Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump, Pete Buttigieg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Josh Hawley, Mikie Sherrill, Todd Young, Stacey Abrams, Jamie Raskin, Chris Pappas, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Elise Stefanik, Jake Auchincloss, Mike Lawler, Jasmine Crockett, Ted Cruz, Raphael Warnock, Kelly Armstrong, Glenn Youngkin, Bernie Sanders, Tom Cotton, Andy Kim, Diana Salazar Méndez, Liz Cheney, Mark Kelly, Lisa McClain, Abigail Spanberger, Chris Murphy, Kelly Ayotte, Byron Donalds, John Curtis, Ruben Gallego, Tammy Duckworth, Ilhan Omar, Lauren Boebert, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Lombardo, Adam Kinzinger, Cory Booker, Michael Rulli, Josh Shapiro, Rena Lee, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Veronica Escobar, Giorgia Meloni, Spencer Cox, Marc Veasey, Kristi Noem, Shontel Brown, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Gretchen Whitmer, Angela Alsobrooks, Matt Gaetz, Jon Ossoff, Donald Tusk, Joni Ernst, Mark Gordon, William Lai, Ro Khanna, and Letitia James.
Numerous activists have gone to bat for causes about which they’re passionate without ever becoming lawmakers or administrators: Malala Yousafzai, Sam Tsemberis, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, Clay Travis, Jack Petocz, Greta Thunberg, Kelley Robinson, Ben Shapiro, Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Sara Menker, Olivia Julianna, Andrew Yang, Tucker Carlson, Jessica B. Harris, Matt Christiansen, David Hogg, Nicolle Wallace, Mark Levin, Akiko Iwasaki, Paige Layle, Nikole Hannah-Jones, Ben Crump, Emma “X” Gonzalez, Jordan Peterson, Ibram X. Kendi, Michael J. Fox, Philip De Franco, Sherrilyn Ifill, Chris Smalls, Derrick Palmer, Neal Simon, Brian Tyler Cohen, Sean Hannity, Blair Imani, Ana Navarro, Joe Rogan, Nadine Smith, Aidan Kohn-Murphy, Frances Haugen, Jesse Watters, Riley Gaines, Leah Thomas, Steven Crowder, Krist Novoselic, Jon Edward Favreau, Sonia Guajajara, Ben Meiselas, Lauren Blauvelt, Frank Mugisha, Sharon Lavigne, Wolfgang Tillmans, RowVaughn Wells, Simon Rosenberg, Andrew Forrest, Xiye Bastida, Shannon Watts, Imara Jones, Shaun King, Genesis Butler, and Simone Leigh.
Many others have taken their entrepreneurial skills and teamed up with innovators. Their endeavors have merged capitalism with sustainability or utility.
Topping this list are Satya Nadella, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Ellison, Tim Cook, Beth Ford, Sam Altman, James “MrBeast” Donaldson, Sara Blakely, Jensen Huang, Margaret Mitchell PhD/MSc, Sam Bankman-Fried, Mark Cuban, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Lucy Guo, Boyan Slat, Ynon Kreiz, Tory Burch, Melanie Perkins, Dominique Crenn, Kris Jenner, Steve Huffman, Mikaila Ulmer, Jigar Shah, Kyle Vogt, Aurora James, Guy Fieri, Maya Penn, Ophelia Dahl, Yoshua Bengio, Joanna Gaines, Sam Harris, Charli D’Amelio, Whitney Wolfe Herd, Brady Brim-DeForest, Alexandr Wang, Jonathan Anderson, Lewis Raymond Taylor, Mary Barra, Julie Sweet, Anne Mahlum, Thom Browne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Zuckerberg, Noubar Afeyan, Jordan Matter, Shubham Banerjee, Timnit Gebru, Bella Hadid, Dave Ricks, Scott Galloway, Kenny Dichter, Anant Agarwal, Kim Kardashian, Alex Cooper, Moziah Bridges, Dylan Field, Kennedy Odede, Asma Khan, and Mike Cannon-Brookes.
Whether putting the written word on book pages, within journalistic articles/broadcasts, or in cinematic scripts — groundbreaking writers who’ve thrived during this decade have been: Greta Gerwig, Rebecca Yarros, Lauren Groff, Peter Schweizer, James McBride, Colleen Hoover, Maya Lin, Connie Walker, Rachel Maddow, Bret Stephens, Faith Ringgold, Taika Waititi, Emily Henry, Shonda Rhimes, David Brooks, Peter Attia, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Kristin Hannah, Michelle Zauner, Ernest Cline, Lesley Lokko, Anderson Cooper, Jesse Singal, Chizuko Ueno, David Grann, Bela Bajaria, Sevgil Musayeva, Brad Palumbo, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Elizabeth Alexander, Celeste Ng, Abraham Verghese, Mitch Albom, David Frum, Sally Rooney, Freida McFadden, Dmitry Muratov, Issa Rae, Emily Oster, Matthew Yglesias, Louise Penny, Rian Johnson, Fareed Zakaria, James Clear, Percival Everett, Bessel van der Kolk, John Grisham, Neil Gaiman, David Baldacci, James Patterson, Delia Owens, Jeff Kinney, Harlan Coben, David French, Rick Riordan, Maggie Haberman, Nicholas Sparks, Max Boot, Elin Hilderbrand, and Suzan-Lori Parks.
Top actors and comedians within the past decade have included: Zendaya Coleman, Jeremy Strong, Daniel Kaluuya, Taraji P. Henson, Jennifer Coolidge, Pedro Pascal, Ke Huy Quan, Tom Holland, Margot Robbie, Walker Scobell, Olivia Rodrigo, Andrew Garfield, Steven Yeun, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana DeBose, Zoë Kravitz, Tracee Ellis Ross, America Ferrera, Millie Bobby Brown, Sarah Jessica Parker, Ali Wong, Colman Domingo, Michelle Yeoh, Alia Bhatt, Miranda Cosgrove, Bowen Yang, Emma Myers, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Amanda Seyfried, Jack Black, Shameik Moore, Elliot Page, Maya Rudolph, Austin Butler, Salma Hayek, Tom Hiddleston, Jeffrey Wright, Anna Kendrick, Zoe Saldaña, Colin Farrell, Lea Michele, Finn Wolfhard, Peyton Roi List, Jim Carrey, Aubrey Plaza, Dev Patel, Scarlett Johansson, Xolo Maridueña, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Chloé Zhao, Adam Sandler, Jason Sudeikis, Alex Edelman, Kate Winslet, Simu Liu, Quinta Brunson, Robert Downey Jr., Iain Armitage, Jenna Ortega, Pete Davidson, Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum, Keanu Reeves, Jace Norman, Michael B. Jordan, and Drew Barrymore.
The music world of the 2020s has been captivated by Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Mary J. Blige, Kane Brown, Sabrina Carpenter, Lil Nas X, Dove Cameron, Harry Styles, Kylie Minogue, Bad Bunny, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars, Dua Lipa, Timbaland, Kendrick Lamar, Britney Spears, Jeon Jung-kook, Selena Gomez, Chappell Roan, Ed Sheeran, Fantasia Barrino, Shawn Mendes, Jazmine Sullivan, Post Malone, Darren Jason Watkins Jr., Megan Thee Stallion, John Mayer, Damiano David, Saweetie, Benson Boone, Jack Harlow, Solána Imani Rowe, Auli’i Cravalho, Justin Bieber, Leslie Odom Jr., Miranda Lambert, Burna Boy, The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Joshua Bassett, Steve Lacy, Dixie D’Amelio, Rachel Anne Accurso, Kim Min-gyu, Reneé Rapp, The Kid Laroi, Questlove, Lana Del Rey, Cynthia Erivo, Shervin Hajipour, Travis Scott, Rema, Ice Spice, Tyla Laura Seethal, Adele, Bella Poarch, 21 Savage, Lalisa Manobal, Anitta, and Jon Batiste.
Among the planet’s most high-profile athletic superstars: Patrick Mahomes, Sunisa Lee, A’ja Wilson, Tom Brady, Zhang Yufei, Alex Morgan, Travis Kelce, Naomi Osaka, Jalen Hurts, Allyson Felix, Nathan Chen, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Katie Ledecky, Jenni Hermoso, LeBron James, Regan Smith, Chloe Kim, Faith Kipyegon, Max Verstappen, Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, Megan Rapinoe, Leon Marchand, Caitlin Clark, Kenny Bednarek, Cooper Kupp, Antoine Dupont, Sakshi Malik, Rafael Nadal, Peng Shuai, Quincy Hall, Summer McIntosh, Bryce Hoppel, Valarie Allman, Mikaela Shiffrin, Torri Huske, Kaylia Nemour, Mollie O’Callaghan, Ariarne Titmus, Gabby Thomas, Siya Kolisi, Armand “Mondo” Duplantis, Scottie Scheffler, Candace Parker, Gretchen Walsh, Keely Hodgkinson, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Ryan Crouser, Shohei Ohtani, Becky Sauerbrunn, Angel Reese, Kaylee McKeown, Shinnosuke Oka, Grant Holloway, Eileen Gu, Kate Douglass, Shelby McEwen, Chase Jackson, and Brittney Griner.
As you can see, this collection of achievers is cross-generational, multiracial, and grew up amidst a plethora of nationalities across Earth.
They’re an eclectic assembly of Silent Nesters, Baby Boomers, JonesGens, GenXers, Xennials, Millennials, Zillennials, Zoomers, Coronazooms, and Coronials/Alphas. Some of them may fade away; others will almost certainly surge to even greater prominence. But their beliefs, philosophies, and endeavors — for better or for worse — will give these next soon-to-be-born generations a canvass which they can either reject…or turbocharge.
When They’ll Come-of-Age
Brightanics will be teenagers and young adults throughout the 2040s and into the 2050s. Around 2045, members of this cusp who’ve graduated from high school would be either preparing for, entering, or finishing their earliest years of college.
That is, of course, depending upon what percentages of them actually decide to attend college. For all we know, online education (or other types of nontraditional learning centers) might become rapidly utilized in light of dwindling household incomes.
Universal Basic Income (UBI) will be a major cause amongst many liberals and progressives (and, eventually, perhaps even in the eyes of some moderates/centrists). But the sticking point remains: how feasible is its implementation within the realities of our modern-day economy? Also, A.I. should facilitate entirely new industries — including some forms of self-employment.
Robots are projected to be a huge resource further developed as we near the Twenty-First Century’s midpoint. In particular, Intrepids (Gen AB) are likely to have their childhood and salad years massively affected by robotic technology. Scientists from the Brightanic cusp may have a hand in mainstreaming home robots that complete mundane tasks, chores, security layers, or provide personal entertainment. “Robo-taxis” could become the next big trend in transportation convenience.
Along with robo-taxis, mass transit or other alternatives to traditional vehicle ownership would reduce the need for parking lots and garages. These spaces, in some instances, could be refurbished to provide affordable housing units. In turn, if this trend can be brought to scale, it will go a long way toward alleviating the homelessness epidemic.
For those who still remain homeowners, all-electric homes may be an option for those who wish to reduce their carbon footprints. Gas water heater pumps, gas stoves/ovens, or wood-burning fireplaces would be more commonly phased out by dwellers who desire appliances and utilities that are safer, more precise, easier to clean, and cheaper to run.
It’s possible Brightanics grow up amidst an atmosphere of defiant and colorful music produced by creative folks as a way of countering the grim narratives that have dominated the 2010s and 2020s. Preppers and enthusiasts of Dystopian Porn will still be around; but I can visualize a world where leagues of young people “rebel against” the cynicism and pessimism of their elders by exceeding the challenge of reimagination.
And, while the specifics aren’t totally apparent yet, there could be an alternative to the phone. These gadgets would inevitably be embraced by many Alphas and Intrepids.
This may take the form of wearable devices (eyewear, headwear, wristbands) that allow friends to correspond across long distances with the help of A.I., holograms, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), or immersive links. Such a scenario would be all but guaranteed to create a new “generation gap” — where Millennials and Zoomers still insist on using their “old-fashioned” smartphones, tablets, and PCs/Macs.
The future of alternative fuels is *bright* (pardon the pun). Solar power will definitively accelerate; that rate of growth shall be determined largely by how quickly and efficiently storage capabilities (for solar) can be maximized. Wind power may grow, although probably not as fast as solar will. In addition, fuel sources such as geothermal, nuclear fusion, hydrogen cell, biomass, ocean/tidal energy, and hydropower should be innovations at which Brightanics will gaze with a sense of wonder and purpose. This cusp might be key in determining which of them become the main competitors to solar and wind (not to mention in terms of phasing out traditional fossil fuels).
There’s also a chance that xenotransplantation (grafting tissues/organs between members of different species) will be broached before the end of the 2040s. Compatibility is the major hurdle, here. In this new field of science, immunologists, surgeons, and infectious disease specialists would be key. Synergy between zoology, biochemistry, and genetic engineering will be essential in order for xenotransplants to be viable on a grand scale.
If ectogenesis advances throughout the 2030s, we can safely bet it would be perfected by the time of the Brightanics’ adolescence and young adulthood. This scientific genre involves fetal growth outside of a mother’s womb — be it in humans or other creatures. Artificial wombs are most commonly speculated as a newfound avenue for remote gestation. But fetal surgeries, infertility treatments, and premature-infant viability could also be improved in ways that involve smaller, more incremental steps.
Finally, we must consider the very real threat of ocean acidification. There will be a bigger push to restore coastal ecosystems. Better forms of carbon sequestration would also contribute to this goal. But capturing carbon isn’t the only remedy — if there’s a viable method for capturing runoff, then rivers and lakes are less likely to continue polluting (and warming) the oceans. Boyan Slat and his peers could discover a more formidable iteration of Slat’s Ocean Cleanup “net.” Deep-sea mining would be another option for acquiring critical minerals while cutting back on land-based fracking…although precautions ought to be taken for preserving aquatic habitats and disposing of oceanic waste.
By the time Brightanics are ready for parenthood, the technological landscape may very well be “brighter” — flashy, skillful, marvelous, and visibly enhanced.
How They’ll Shape The World
As our society moves into the 2050s and 2060s, we’ll have crossed into the second half of this century. Thinkers and visionaries shall seek to build upon our daily amenities that will have advanced throughout the 2030s and 2040s.
Now parents (and sometimes grandparents themselves), Brightanics might help drive the sartorial trajectory of “smart clothing” — when people’s wardrobes are manufactured to change color, monitor biometrics, regulate body temperature, emulate metals, interface with machines, etc.
Some Brightanics may love the notion of treating their Gen AC kids and their Gen AD grandchildren to these luxuries. On the other hand, more frugal Brightanics would probably view “smart clothing” as rather gaudy and superfluous.
Depending on how far A.I. has advanced, they could be dealing with robots and androids which replace human laborers in public venues. Would this create massive unemployment? Or, could there be opportunities for new jobs to emerge out of this development?
Robotic medicine will very likely be explored by doctors. Some robotics, modeled after the da Vinci System, would aid surgeons in being more dexterous and precise during minimally-invasive procedures. Remote surgeries could also be an option for emergencies or when specialists are unable to physically travel. Some robots will be rehabilitative — such as exoskeletons for paralysis victims. Others will be “telepresence robots” which monitor preventative assessments or urgent-care inquiries. And then there will be robotic devices offering social companionship, hospital delivery, lab assistance, and cognitive support.
Contrary to myth or assumption, the need for qualified “live” human doctors will still be very much in demand. In our lifetimes, robotics will only empower the living, breathing doctors who perform operations based on tangible training & experience.
Organ failure could become a thing of the past. Doctors will rely more on artificial mechanical organs — examples of these include LVADs (Left Ventrical Assist Devices), dialyzers (“artificial kidneys”), and ECMO systems (“artificial lungs”). Bioprinting and tissue engineering organs from a patient’s own cells seem like viable possibilities — as would be organ regeneration from stem cells.
As science and medicine ascend to new heights, Brightanics might be the cohort who obsesses over life extension. Cancer-busting remedies, anti-obesity drugs, and anti-aging modifiers could become practical and available to a wider range of people. There may be outright cures for diabetes or smaller (early-stage) cancers.
Of course, assuming that we still have a capitalistic society — these medical breakthroughs will mostly be accessed only by those with great wealth (or proximity to wealthier sponsors). That may turn into a major point of contention amongst Brightanics and the other cohorts surrounding them: we’d have all of these miraculous resources at our fingertips…but those solutions are routinely denied to people bogged down by poverty and bigotry.
Another perk exclusively attained by recipients of income privilege could be memory retrieval. In other words: can there be methods for scanning brain activity to create a digital replica that gets uploaded and transferred into computers or other devices? Essentially, a “cheat” to make oneself “immortal” even when natural death cannot be avoided? Under this blueprint, artificial intelligence could advance to the point where people map “A.I. footprints” of their personalities and physical features — which then get posted onto the Internet to remain with society long after that person is dead.
Considering how members of the Golden-Builder cusp were forging their way through adulthood back when TV first became mainstream — it’s very conceivable that television will undergo another major evolution during the Brightanics’ adult years. This future cusp may watch their TVs transformed in front of their eyes to grow more immersive, offering an array of more personalized forms, and expanding the breadth of on-demand options for the American viewer.
By the middle of the century, housing affordability will likely still be a conundrum. With malls almost certainly extinct, old buildings that had once belonged to food courts and department stores can be retrofitted and repurposed into affordable-housing units. Single occupants looking for cheaper rentals could move into energy-efficient micro-living pods. Other new homes can be more cheaply assembled with modular parts and prefabricated nonmodular construction.
Brightanics will be reaching the midpoints of their lives during the 2070s. With the decades’ worth of research that’ll have been done on alternative energy, there’s a good chance fusion power may be the newest driver of reactors and power plants. They could even be integrated into smart grids that already feature solar, wind, and hydro generators. Once these networks see their webbings maximized, they may evolve into the nuclei for underground cities.
In the final quarter of this century, magnified space exploration should be on the horizon. It’s questionable as to whether humans will actually have a functional, livable colony on Mars by mid-century. However, it’s conceivable that our galaxy might have some Earth-claimed colonies inhabited by humanoid robots (which won’t have to worry about water and oxygen). Dome villages or underground cities are options for human subsistence on Mars and the moon…but they’ll need to be tested and perfected on this planet, first.
We could have a moon base established; yet, my guess is that it will be designed for astronauts and other scientists, rather than being a community in which civilians can thrive. Mass-migrating human population to other planets would still be a long way off.
These are the types of innovations that may find greater social acceptance and overall feasibility as the final few decades of the Twenty-First Century come and go.
Their Future Golden Years
As of the date of this writing (June 2025), most of us who are reading this article won’t be alive when the Brightanics have become elderly. This future cohort would turn 65 across the 2090s — while the world, as a whole, is preparing to ring in a new century. Yet, America’s traditional retirement age may have fallen by the wayside. “Retirement” itself might look entirely different than anything we could visualize today.
Given the natural human thirst for life extension, people will surely be eyeing cryogenics as a way to “freeze” the aging process. Can it be done safely? How do scientists mitigate frost bite, cold burns, skin adhesion, or eye damage when “putting somebody to sleep” for multiple decades?
Will the need for chemotherapy — including most forms of cancer — be completely eradicated? Only time will tell. In order for that to happen, early detection and targeted therapies would need to be made ubiquitous. How likely is it that our for-profit health care system will put profit aside in favor of universal bodily health? It’s almost impossible to imagine the development of some “super-vaccine” that’s a silver bullet in trying to kill most/all cancerous growths in one fell swoop.
Lunar bases in our solar system will give scientists the chance to figure out if multiple years’ worth of life can be sustained within those environments. This would result in prototypes for extraplanetary cities to which civilians from Earth could eventually flock. But, realistically speaking, our species wouldn’t see that type of widespread colonization across the galaxy until the middle of the Twenty-Second Century (at the earliest).
Climate change will reshape where (and which crops) farmers are able to grow. Devices shall be so ubiquitous and seamless that farmers would have the ability to activate audio-visual simulations of crop yields, weather forecasts, and pest-control measures. The real question is to what extent this technology gets subsidized by federal governments. Could there be an open-source centralized database from which any agricultural professions may obtain these resources? Or will they merely be sold to the highest bidder by private companies?
Some insects (crickets, ants, cockroaches, grasshoppers) could become trendy delicacies…or protein staples. Algae would be a nutrient-rich option for vegetarians and other health-conscious folks. Jellyfish can be consumed to replace varieties of seafood that go extinct. Lab-grown food could become more personalized as the scientific practice improves over time. “Edible water bottles” (made from lipid membranes) and 3D-printed foods, if scalable, will cut down on waste.
More efficient forms of hydroponics and aquaponics could be attainable as energy sources become more versatile for the purpose of powering indoor greenhouses. Local investments into these facilities may have the potential to reinvigorate rural, suburban, and urban economies alike. At some point, food scientists are going to attempt to condense phytonutrients into capsules. One tiny little pill could become our meal-replacement salvation.
As the polar ice caps melt — and sea levels rise — existing coasts will need to be abandoned in some places. This begs another intriguing question, though — could the Arctic and/or the Antarctic become temperate enough to grow crops? Can their landscapes be terraformed so that large-scale farming is possible in those regions?
We won’t know until we’ve had additional decades to monitor the temperature increases in every continent. Still, if greenhouse gases heat the middle latitudes of Earth — migrating some populations to Antarctica or the northernmost stretches of Canada, Siberia, Yamalia, Nenetsia, Karelia, and Scandinavia won’t necessarily be out of the question.
Anytime we speculate about the future, everyone usually considers the risk of nuclear war. Assuming that the Twenty-First Century proceeds with no nuclear holocaust — one scientific project that takes off could be the development of forcefields that would shield international borders against destructive weapons. If the world’s major powers (and their allies) are able to erect such defense systems, it would effectively make nuclear disarmament a moot point (with nuclear missiles being mostly obsolete).
Brightanics would be heading into their seventies during the 2090s. At this juncture, they could see robotic symbiosis — a scenario where robots essentially interact with each other. Possibly harboring superintelligence.
Computers, in addition to being smaller and more compact, might be portable and voice-activated. These would replace the smartwatches and V.R. headsets from previous decades. Some very early prototypes for “food replicators” could prepare on-demand menu items based on how advanced energy conversion or molecular reconfiguration becomes.
And, if my earlier prediction about national-defense forcefields is ever a reality…we’d probably be just a hop/skip/jump away from asteroid deflection. Meaning, a high-tech satellite system that could detect large masses in outer space well ahead of their arrival — and then manipulate gravity to divert them from any hypothetical collision with Earth.
As a new century begins, the 21-aughts (spanning from the years 2100 to 2109) will draw scientists to push the boundaries of technology even more audaciously. Neuroscience could research whether it’s possible to channel brainwaves so humans can tap into other people’s emotions. If there’s a way to harness this process, neuroscientists could develop wearable headgear to fulfill the function (as a substitute) of a brain implant.
Maybe sounds, images, memories, and feelings would be accessible just as easily as one could place (or remove) sunglasses onto the bridge of one’s nose.
Depending on the rate at which high-speed rail accelerates as a form of commercial travel, this transportation mode might be combined with robo-taxis and air-taxis. Through such a confluence, traversing the globe will be quicker and more precise for those who can afford it.
Ammonia could be a usable fuel source for air travel in the Twenty-Second Century. If space travel has greatly evolved to the point that most assume it will, journeying into space may become the equivalent of a luxury vacation. Hotels, labs, factories, and space stations may readily orbit the earth. Perhaps there’ll even be a new energy-capture method derived from materials only available in outer space?
By the year 2110, Brightanics would be planning to enter their nineties. Some scientists believe the average human life expectancy could increase as high as the age of 130 — with the optimized health accessibility. This possibility has the longest-surviving Brightanics dying out as late as the 2150s.
On the other hand: if humans are still averaging a general lifespan “ceiling” of between the ages 90 through 95, then Brightanics’ natural deaths would occur throughout the 2120s (and, in rarer cases, the 20130s). But if people are living past the age of 100, certain Brightanics should witness the middle of the Twenty-Second Century.
I’d like to extend joint-credit to Joe Scott, U.K. Research & Innovation, & the Insane Curiosity science channel — all of whom can be found on YouTube — for inspiring many of these broad (yet, oddly-specific) predictions.
No matter where they go, in their lives…it’s almost indisputable that Brightanics shall live an existence that glows, flashes, and shimmers more vividly than the sights & sounds beheld by any generation (or cusp) who’ve previously called Earth their home.
Members of the previous microgenerations were named…
Colonial Zygotes | Turnip Squeezers | Starving Timers
Long Climbers | Rumpus Rebels | Emerald Knights
Royal Raiders | Pre-Continentals | Bottled Beacons
Primordial Founders | Aucto-Septennials | Public Liberators
Cradled Explorers | Liberty Babes | Defiant Giants
Prospectors | Gilded Architects | Late-Goldens
Aucto-Progressives | New Wordsmiths | Frugal Gatsbians
Click here to subscribe to my stories.
