Futurist Dr Pieter Geldenhuys on 2024+: Robo air taxis, helium-3 moon mining, peak consumption

At the end of 2022, the world was introduced to ChatGPT, which has been a watershed moment for artificial intelligence as it enables millions of regular users to experiment with AI. In just a year, it has changed so much of how we work and search for information on the internet. So, what will 2024 and beyond hold in store for us? In this interview with Biznews, futurist Pieter Geldenhuys, the Director at the Institute for Technology and Innovation, dives into several technological developments that are shaping our world including robo air taxis, moon mining for helium-3 as an alternative energy source, post-quantum computing, smart glasses, and the hu.ma.ne smart pin. Underlining these technology developments, he says, are currents that are shaping our world which includes a demographic decline in the northern hemisphere that will lead to a severe drop in consumption. By 3035, he says, “a reality might be that a company would be proud to announce our revenue only fell by 3% while our competitors fell by 8%.” Peak consumption will have a severe impact on Africa with its growing population but the light at the end of the tunnel for Africa, he says, is for the continent to embrace new types of technology, but that “does mean that the mindset of technology adoption will have to change significantly."