I know we can't predict the future, but using an educated guess, what are some things that are likely to happen in the next 10-30 years?

If you don’t mind me stretching it to 10–40 years two things that immediately come to mind for me are:

The (Technological) Singularity Event [predicted between 2040 and 2050]

Attainment of biological immortality [predicted between 2035 and 2050]

Iran will fall victim to an unprovoked invasion.
The founding of the The Lord’s Grand American Theocratic Empire.

On the grand scheme of things, not much…

Many people that I love will die. I will likely die.

If the Mayans are wrong then my guess is that the Republicans will somehow subvert the election process and win the White House and gain enough seats to take over the senate. The economic decline of the middle class will speed to epic proportions and we will be in about the same position as Greece.

President Romney will begin instituting his version of the Ryan budget, the U.S. infrastructure will falter and a number of cities will resemble Detroit. The stock market will do well but manufacturing in the U.S. will decline in the northeast and gain slightly in the south because of the “Right To Work (for less)” laws.

The Post Office will be sold to UPS of Fed EX and it will cost at least 5 dollars to mail a letter. It won’t matter though because the only people that can afford the mail are too rich to need it. I expect the country to stagnate for at least for the 4 years of the Romney reign but business will pick up because of the revolution to bring democracy back to the United States.

A whole bunch of us will find out we have been paying into Social Security and Medicare for years, only to see not one cent of it when our time comes.

I’m likely to die.

As opposed to strong rumors iPad 14 still will not sport Flash.

Less and less people will smoke.
More match and lighter manufacturers will go out of business and tobacco companies will have less and less power and profit.
The number of newspapers and magazine in paper format will diminish further.
Less paper books will be produced. They will still exist but many more mass produced, formulaic books will be published only in digital form only.

Along with what most others said:

- Our air will become less breathable if we don’t smarten up very soon (especially in urban areas).
– I think clean water will become too expensive. The cost of transporting and desalination with go through roof.
– However, the longevity of humans will most likely increase.
– The use of gasoline in vehicles will become obsolete.
– I think it’s very possible that we will discover signals from extraterrestrial intelligence.
– Media will be completely digital.
– Massive decline in mysticism and faith/religions.
– Genetic engineering will continue to change our food.
– And who knows what scientific stuff will come next. Maybe wearable retinal projectors?

There are so many possibilities, one could on for ages.

Cars that can drive themselves will become more popular.
Post offices will go out of business completely. Postmen and women will be retrenched.
Many retail outlets will close and we will buy some things entirely online.
Solar power and other alternative energy sources will become more popular.
Governments will increasingly offer subsidies to get people to adopt alternative energy sources when building new homes.
It will become hugely expensive to park in the city.
Online education will become the norm. Less people will attend colleges and universities in face-to-face mode.

Serious attempts will be made to simulate the function of a whole human brain. Should there be a breakthrough and a “brain-in-a-box” talks back to its creators, expect a whole lot of debate that has been deferred (since the over-extension of artificial intelligence in regards to its original promises became clear in the 1970s and ‘80s) to erupt among the public-at-large.

- The Christian demographic on fluther will increase to over 70% (hey, it could happen couldn’t it? No, I suppose not)

- Gravity Powered cars

- Zombie Apocalypse?

It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.—Yogi Berra

I offer a few more technological prognostications:

1. Personal electronics & digital media (audio, video, computer, etc) continue to converge until there is one consistent metaphor everyone agrees on. As usual we won’t see it coming until it happens.

2. Graphene and carbon nano-tubes emerge as crucial materials in new technologies as transformative as silicon transistors were during the past half-century.

3. Quantum computing advances beyond proof-of-concept and begins yielding useful results. The AI “singularity” predicted by Kurzweil is an embarrassing no-show, reminiscent of Y2K predictions last century. (Sentient computers will inevitably arrive but take centuries of development.)

4. Manned space travel in the next 10–30 years will still be risky and experimental – yet consistently improving. Manned missions to Mars and back will still not occur in this period.

- A woman will be elected President of The United States.

- Definitive proof will be found for the existence of either Bigfoot or alien life.

- Evidence will be made public that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone.

- It will be common for parents to implant tracking chips into their children.

- Jude will quit Fluther upon reaching 100,000 lurve.

- Paper books will effectively be an extinct product.

-China, India and Brazil will be rivals in the fight for most influential country in the world. (The U.S. lost its foothold because of lack of ability to cooperate in its government.) It isn’t clear who dominates.
-I wish I could predict that world hunger would be a thing of the past, but I don’t think that will be true. Will we ever learn?
-Life expectancy will be around 150 years, given all the advances in curing medical conditions. Birthday cakes will have to be very large to hold all the candles. The candles will have to be lit by at least 3 people or the first candles lit will burn out before the last one is lit. A special mini-mini fire extinguisher will be standard in every kitchen and dining room..

Peace in the middle. I remain hopeful.

Healthcare in America will reach an impossible point, and there will be a huge change.

America will become more amd more divided.

More discoveries that rheumatic diseases are actually caused by infection.

Polio will be eliminated by the efforts of the Bill Gates foundation.

Small-scale wars over natural resources.

Massive migrations from regions suffering from famine and lack of water towards areas that still have food stores and water, resulting in friction and potential conflict.

Economic restructuring based on the need to retrench in the face of shrinking petroleum reserves; goods can only be transported so far. On the plus side, exploration of alternative energy sources will eventually expand, once politicians globally wake up.

Increased authoritarianism in much of the globe, with a return to a sort of neo-Feudalism.

Again on the plus side, I see continued technological and medical advances, although the beneficiaries will be a very small wealthy elite.

I hope I’m wrong, but this is some of what I see happening…

Justin Bieber will develop a ground breaking treatment for people with tiny heads.
Sarah Jessica Parker to enter & place in the Kentucky derby before being put out to retirement.
Stephen Hawking is miraculously cured by the new “messiah” Billy Crystal & wins a silver medal at the olympic pole vault event.
The white house is painted pink in honour of the first gay president.