Man who predicted the 21st century's biggest terror threat says US will never be the same after Trump

A futurologist famous for debunking some of the greatest myths experts share about the future has made a devastating prediction of his own – about a post-Trump future.

Writer and self-styled ‘apocaloptimist’ Jonathan Margolis predicted the rise of Islamic terrorism, the proliferation of wearable gadgets and the ‘isolation effect’ caused by the internet in his 2000 book A Brief History of Tomorrow.

The British technology journalist took as his starting point a saying attributed to film producer Samuel Goldwyn, ‘Never predict anything – especially the future,’ and looked back at how badly previous generations had predicted the future, reports The Independent.

In particular, he focused on being sceptical towards forecasters of doom, noting how well humanity had in fact adapted to change, be it climatic, technological or economic challenges.

Robots are much more common in the workplace than they used to be (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images)

Now, a quarter of a century later, Margolis, has again turned his sights on technology, in particularly examining the rise of AI (which he did not predict) and how current geopolitical trends will meet them. And unlike much of his first book, there is some doom he believes should be taken seriously.

He looks towards the world 40 years from now, in the year 2066, with some chilling predictions we should heed and other humorous forecasts that still hold a kernel of truth. The percentage chances are his own.

Robots are now used in warfare, in the Ukraine in particular (Photo by Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Predictions from Jonathan Margolis

1. Democracy will be cancelled to stop populists from taking power. The system that has reigned over much of the planet for years could make way for AI-run ‘benevolent autocracies’ – 20% chance

2. Everyone will be entitled to ‘universal benefit’ where all get a wage sufficient to live whether they decide to work or not, mainly because AI will be doing so much work currently performed by humans – 50% chance

3. Humans will start to worship machines in the form of AI deities, because ‘unlike gods, they may answer their prayers.’ – 65% chance

4. Children will be in short supply because family size will continue to shrink as living standards improve. Instead, there will be a larger proportion of healthier older people – chances 70%

China has developed rapidly and increased its military spending massively in the past decade (Photo by CN-STR / AFP via Getty Images)

5. China will carry on its trajectory until it becomes ‘the most significant nation.’ America will still be the richest country, but after the presidency of Donald Trump, it will never match its past success – 80% chance

6. There will be a surplus number of tradespeople such as plumbers, who trained in manual labour and crafts to future-proof themselves from AI. However, because so many people chose this path there are now too many of them compared to demand - chances 60%

Margolis’ predictions, which have previously taken on a comedic bent, again enter the realm of the tongue-in-cheek.

Humorous forecasts include: a 90% chance a Premier League club will sink to League Two, a 99% chance printers will still jam, a 65% chance the ‘woke’ generation will regret their views and a 90% chance humanoid robots will fail to carry cups of tea upstairs without spilling it.