This timeline is to accompany the blog post on “A Brief History Of The Future“, by Jacques Attali, written in 2006. It is simply an aid to help you compare some of the predictions the author made back in 2006 for the world in the next 20, 50, 100 years.
Don’t hesitate to give me feedback if you think I have missed out some major events or inventions that are in the process of revolutionising our society.
2006: Twitter is launched; Nintendo launches Wii; PlayStation 3 released; Wikipedia reaches its 1 millionth article in English Language
2007: First iPhone released; Flexible screens invented (LG & Sony); Start of Subprimes crisis
2008: Google Chrome released; Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008; Barack Obama elected as President of the USA; Beijing Olympics; First Prosthetic 3D-printed leg used
2009: Bitcoin was launched for the first time; formation of BRICS economic block; Makerbot launch 3-D Printer for the mainstream
2010: iPad is introduced; Instagram is launched; The Arab Spring;
2011: Snapchat launched, Fukushima Nuclear Disaster, Syrian Civil War begins,; War in Libya;
2012: London Olympics; Vladimir Putin elected president of Russia for the 3rd time
2013: Death of Nelson Mandela; Oculus Rift VR released; Google Glass
2014: 100 years since the start of the Great War; Worst Ebola outbreak (+11k deaths); Rosetta spacecraft “Philae” lands on a comet; WiTricity Charger (Wireless Electricity); World’s First 3D-printed house created
2015: China announces end of the “One-Child Policy” after 35 years; 195 nations agree to lower carbon emissions; Microsoft Hololens (Augmented Reality); The Self-Balancing Scooter
2016: Rio Olympics; People of the UK vote to leave the EU; US troops withdraw from Afghanistan after 15 years; Death of Prince, David Bowie
2017: Catalonia declares independence from Spain; Constitutional Crisis in Venezuela; Fidget Spinners released; Google Self-driving car project: start of “Self-driving Taxi” trials in Arizona.
2018: 100 years since the end of The Great War; Yellow Vests movement starts months of social unrest in France; China National People’s Congress votes to abolish presidential term limits: Xi Jinping is to rule for life; End of the 20 years border-conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia
2019: Donald Trump (USA), President Moon Jae-In (S.Korea) and Kim Jong-Il gather together for the first time; Start of Corona Virus in China; Gravity Jet Suit
2020: Covid-19: The world goes into lockdown. Tokyo Olympics postponed.