Slob Maids

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Having a maid or housekeeper is quite common these days, for wealthier people. I once had cleaners, the pair of them spent two hours every Thursday basically cleaning surfaces and vacuuming. It wasn’t really necessary but my wife was a clean-freak and we could afford it.

I am currently your typical bachelor slob. I vacuum maybe twice a year, sheets get changed monthly, the bath and sink have never been scrubbed. That is because those tasks are not important to me.

What is important is dishes and washing clothes. They have to be done, and I tend to put them off as long as possible. With a dishwasher in the mix, this pretty much comes down to some quite simple tasks

  • Put clothes in washing machine
  • Put clothes in dryer
  • Clean the kitchen surfaces
  • Scrub a few pots

In an apartment complex with many slobs, that work can be done very efficiently. Set clothes to wash, spray surfaces, soak pots. Return a few hours later, finish the kitchen, put clothes in the dryer.

The slob can take the clothes out of the dryer. Therefore the work might take as little as half an hour total. Pay them $50. They can do 10 apartments in a day.

AI and the Revenge of Gaia

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Humans have screwed the planet and the only reason we have got away with it is that the other living residents here have no idea. They could get their revenge (aka improve the lives of every not human) by getting rid of us. It might only take the interactions of three systems that are each feasible in the near future

  1. Using AI we begin to communicate with animals and even plants. Somebody might make all of the experiments interoperable, looking for common forms of communication between species, and even some kind of master code of communication, perhaps invent an Esperanto for all species to use.
  2. Digital twins are quite popular, and one day they could be at a very granular level, for accounting purposes. Every square centimetre of a city mapped out according to the materials it comprises of. Accessible to anyone for a fee.
  3. Infrastructure is a weak point that terrorists mostly ignore, despite the cost/benefit of the effort/harm ratio, and the lack of security in many areas.

Ask an AI agent to investigate the intersection of those three things, and whether it could be use for nefarious purposes, get a glitch, and then suddenly:

Every being on Earth gets told that humans are the enemy, and whether they comprehend that or not, they are all instructed to wreak havoc.

Bird strikes on planes.
Termites on critical wood.
Orca on boat propellors.
Apes going ape shit.
Magpies stealing keys.

AI will come up with combinations we could never think of in a hundred years, and coordinate all the species. And it could happen super-fast and before we noticed. Our civilisation could be fucked in a week. Possibly if it was only insects that were controlled.

The advice – never let interoperable AI systems do anything to each other, they need to be read only interactions. Otherwise the combinations become exponentially insane very rapidly and it only takes one oopsie to ruin everything. The time to mandate this is now, and we need to get every country on board. The easiest way is regulating the communications pathways, which at present are only the internet. I mean regulating, isolating, paying, layers of security, databases of who is accessing what, monitoring, and being as paranoid as fuck.

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Private Gatherings Will Take Off

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Especially in America, but globally, society is becoming more divided, and there is more hate towards those who are “different” than yourself.

At the same time, the trend is towards more things being outlawed or regulated, for example smoking cigarettes in public spaces.

And of course we have never had so many lonely citizens, or so much “socialising” not happening in-person.

Triangulate those 3 things and we end up with private gatherings where like-minded people do what they want, away from hate, scrutiny and interference.

As an example, clubs are one solution. In numerous parts of the world smokers have managed to form private clubs where they get to eat and drink inside with others, while smoking cigarettes. Swingers have private, legal parties. Pop culture conventions have never been so popular.

So, here’s the prediction. Just like friends would congregate around someone’s TV in the 90s to watch Melrose Place or 90210 or Desperate Housewives, we will find reasons to meet up, at home or in private clubs, for shared participation. Part of the attraction will be that the economy is getting worse for poorer people, and going out to bars, restaurants, or even fast food joints is becoming too expensive.

In its place will be cheap drugs (marijuana, ecstasy), cheap wine, energy drinks, cheap wholesome homemade food (chili), streaming shows, sports, singles nights, entrepreneur brainstorming, gamblers, cosplay, body modification and drunk show and tell. Cheap automated vehicles will help.

New religions, held in free or cheap non-church environments will emerge, with a focus on psychedelic experiences and encounters.

All behind closed doors, all in the direction of hush-hush secret societies.

See the TV show The League.

Political Violence Goes Ballistic (USA)

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Some commonalities are now taking shape when it comes to political violence in the US. The shooters of Trump and Kirk were locals, which means the politicians came to them, and the shooters found a local, easier possibility to act out. Allegedly the Trump assassin-wannabe would have also taken aim at Biden if he was handy.

Given the the right love rallies more than the left, they will be more targeted, especially during the lead up to the 2026 mid-terms. We might even see the end of outdoor rallies.

The other commonality that is emerging is that aside from the well-established race and religion motives, we also have gender identity in the mix, driven by the hate speech from MAGA. Many transgender folk already have mental health issues and they are often marginalised young people.

The biggie is simply the nature of copycats. When you are close to doing a terrible thing, and you see someone else do it, and in your eyes they are famous, heroic or a martyr, then that can tip you over the edge.

The solution is to stop hate speech, and end all the radical division, being pushed by MAGA. But as long as you have a president who spews out hate speech, and uses the language of violence and threats, it will keep getting worse.

I predict a major domestic terrorist bomb event, before 2026 is over, and hopefully it gets thwarted. It will target authority. Almost certainly it will be rural and involve a U-Haul.

Robots and Drones to Protect Native Animals

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In New Zealand, a land that until a few hundred years ago had no mammals, there is a bold plan to remove every predator that threatens native species, via eradication. They are doing it via small areas at a time, with concerted efforts from locals.

Except, not unsurprisingly, feral cats. People don’t feel okay with killing those mammals. And there are way too many to catch, neuter and realise, even if it was affordable.

There might be a solution. Small, autonomous robots, flying or not, and solar powered, might be about to wander about the wilderness with very simplistic, repeated tasks.

It needs to:

  • be small enough to be cost efficient and energy efficient
  • be rechargeable by returning to a solar-powered dock
  • know roughly where it is, I think GPS is inevitable
  • be a bit randomised in where it goes
  • make sound or light sufficient to scare off a nearby cat
  • not get stuck!

I think it is all doable, and potentially not too expensive. Studies can find out what scares cats best.

Use groups of drones to herd the feral cats away from birds and towards a place where you have installed some serious fencing. Lock them away. Tell the public they can feed them if they wish, or let them starve from over-crowding.

UFOs and EMPs

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This is an odd prediction to make, because if it comes true I won’t be able to show anyone…

There has been a lot of fiction regarding alien invasions, and mostly, for dramatic purposes, they don’t just wipe out all humans with the press of a button.

But they would most likely have access to a relatively modest weapon that could send us back to the dark ages – and EMP. Well, a number of them, around the world, detonated high above us, and taking out every single electronic device, including computers, cars, satellites and so on.

They might do so for legal or ethical reasons, as in a mandate to not directly kill any living things.
They could do it for our own good, before we blow each other up.
They could do it as a science experiment, or for fun.

Our enemies (Russia, China, Iran etc) could also find away to achieve an EMP. It would possibly be hard to trace, hard to retaliate, and make a country very vulnerable to a traditional invasion.

So, keep you car and computer in a Faraday Cage at all times!

Carbon Fibre Rocket Curtains for Defence

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There are similar ideas, like the Iron Curtain and Bullet Curtain, which both use a lot of tiny missiles to interfere with an incoming missile.

My idea is a mile high curtain, like a fishing net, woven from carbon fibre, as thin as possible.

It lies folded on the ground (maybe there are rows of them, miles apart…) and when activated it is sent skyward by rockets on each end of it. The rockets are angled slightly away from the curtain so that when the curtain is drawn tight horizontally, the rockets self-straighten.

Balloons are released when it reaches full height to keep the curtain up for a while. Afterwards, balloons and rockets are refreshed and the curtain can be re-used.

The netting of the curtain simply needs to be tight enough to probably stop whatever is incoming.

Conceivably it would be cost-effective relative to other systems, and a good part of required redundancy.

The Law of Autonomy

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Every country should enact a law, in which all products sold must be able to perform their standard functions without any connection back to the manufacturer.

For example, smartphones would qualify. While OS updates are preferable, the phone will keep operating without them, or offline.

Actually, maybe it should be the Law of Offline. The product must specify which functionality will be lost if the product is offline. That could be anywhere from an EV not finding the nearest charging station to a tractor being bricked.

Regardless, we need to protect ourselves from the very real threat of being held hostage. Specifically, I can imagine that all Chinese EVs could be rendered useless by the flip of a switch.

Some Predictions for 2026 and Beyond

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TRUMP

One is blindingly obvious – China won’t back down on tariffs, they will just keep matching any that Trump adds. They will end up back at square one, the bully will be vanquished OR the global economy will be destroyed. There is no win for Trump possible.

Talk of Greenland and Canada will disappear.

The Ukraine war will keep going. The US will end some support, but keep their hand in. The US will end Russia sanctions. Europe will keep giving Ukraine enough money and weapons to keep it at stalemate. That is until they give Ukraine enough to win, in exchange for

  • mineral rights (ha ha Trump)
  • economic agreements
  • no Ukraine in NATO
  • contracts for rebuilding

When the Russians have been pushed back to near their own border, a ceasefire will happen. A DMZ will happen covering both sides of the border, but patrolled by non-NATO international forces like Australia.

The US will of course have a recession by early 2026. The dollar will drop more. Another country or group will make a minor, but meaningful move towards making their currency more global.

CHINA

China will withstand Trump’s shenanigans and become more like a sensible, reliable, trustworthy superpower. They’ll keep expanding overseas economically and start building overseas military bases just as the US starts closing some.

AI and privacy will continue to be huge issues and China will more than ever be shut off from the rest of the world for anything that is more tech than a TV panel. Some countries will ban Chinese EVs because of privacy concerns, and then more countries will, and then sooner-or-later China will start bricking their overseas cars in retaliation. Well, they will do what they call “ending updates” but the cars will stop working.

OTHER

Austria will get a far right-wing government, and they will become good mates with Hungary.

Non-war drone attacks will become a serious problem. Gang fights, assassination attempts (especially officials who do not have high security, and families of officials). Drones will be used for robberies and kidnapping.

Africa will become the place to be. Lots of 100-year-leases to foreign powers. The new land of cheap factory workers. A few private micro-nations.

Universal ID QR Code Phone Numbers

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It is a mouthful, for sure.

I have noticed a trend in Australia. First we had loyalty cards, then we had loyalty apps, and now people just tell the sales clerk their phone number. It saves keep things and remembering things. I expect this to be happening everywhere soon.

However, it is inefficient and tedious. We can make this happen faster. People wear a badge with a QR code on it, containing your phone number. It could be on an actual badge, or on the back of your phone (physically). To indicate to the checkout chick that you want them to know it (because it identifies you for their loyalty scheme), you simply hold it up or point to it – and they scan it.

Another trend is being emailed receipts and warranties instead of paper ones. That can automated in the same movement. If you want a paper receipt, you ask. Otherwise it is emailed.

Before long emails will have some kind of code in the subject line identifying them as a receipt or warranty, from any of your loyalty apps, and will be stored somewhere convenient and backed up elsewhere.