Predictions

2020 End of cheap oil and beginning of a “Children’s
Rights” movement
2030 Children’s Rights movement builds momentum,
challenging existing legal arrangements, as a result of an
aging population and scapegoating of minors as criminals
2030-80 With depleting fossil fuel reserves there is a beginning
of pressure and outright demand by Capital for investment in
Space exploration in order to move industry off-planet
2050 Disintegration of United States as a unified political
Entity
2050-90 Population crashes from >8 billion to <4>
(for hydrocarbons), Mars, Ganymede and Europa+
Mining of Asteroid Belt by EU, Russia and China
2090-2110 Advances in AI* allow interstellar exploration,
At first by containing a crew of AI-Constructs of recently
Deceaced/ coma patients aboard a laser powered solar
Sail vessel the size of a suitcase (a la “Accelerando”),
Then through a form of teleportation from one solar
System to another (although transporting a whole,
Living human being is unlikely)

*AI stands for Artificial Intelligence. If AI is possible,
a matrix or substrate containing an AI should be able
to contain or store a holographic, virtual representation
of a human brain. This can be converted into a virtual
representation of that brain's personality. A scan
would probably be done at first involving a recently
deceased volunteer as the process would likely
be too intrusive for a living person to survive.