Featured Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation / Getty Stock
Topics: Bill Gates, Technology, Business, Social Media
Callum Jones
Topics: Bill Gates, Technology, Business, Social Media
Unless you have a time machine, then it's going to be near-impossible to predict everything that happens in the future.
So, just maybe, Microsoft founder Bill Gates is living his Back to the Future life alongside all of his CEO duties.
Back in 1999, Gates made some predictions about the future, with a lot of them seeming pretty outlandish.
However, the tech billionaire made a whopping 15 that have since come to fruition.
Some 25 years ago now, Gates predicted 'automated price comparison services would be a thing', allowing folks to easily compare the price on products they want to buy.
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"Automated price comparison services will be developed, allowing people to see prices across multiple websites, making it effortless to find the cheapest product for all industries," he said.
And with sites such as Google Products, this has certainly come to fruition.
It's the first item we grab in the morning and often the last thing we put down at night. The majority of us can't imagine life without a smartphone.
Of course, mobile phones were a thing back in 1999, but they couldn't do half the stuff you can do on them nowadays.
Gates predicted: "People will carry around small devices that allow them to constantly stay in touch and do electronic business from wherever they are.
"They will be able to check the news, see flights they have booked, get information from financial markets, and do just about anything else on these devices."
The 68-year-old also predicted we'd have an automated helper sitting around our homes.
For sure, he couldn't predict the Alexa or Google Home becoming a thing, but did say something of that nature would come.
"They will connect and sync all your devices in a smart way, whether they are at home or in the office, and allow them to exchange data," Gates said of the tech.
Remember the days of going to your local bank to check your finances and make big transactions? Well, those are well and truly behind us now, with everything being done on online banking.
Gates, of course, predicted this, saying: "People will pay their bills, take care of their finances, and communicate with their doctors over the internet."
We all know about Ring doorbells in 2024, but Gates saw it as a possibility back in the late 1990s.
"Constant video feeds of your house will become common, which inform you when somebody visits while you are not home," he said.
Some 25 years ago it's hard to believe there was no such thing as Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook, with family and friends having to use the landline to arrange to meet.
For the future, Gates predicted: "Private websites for your friends and family will be common, allowing you to chat and plan for events."
It's pretty common nowadays for adverts to show up on your social media of products you've been searching the web for.
Gates predicted: "Devices will have smart advertising. They will know your purchasing trends, and will display advertisements that are tailored toward your preferences."
The Microsoft founder also predicted auto-generated commercials becoming a thing as he penned: "Software that knows when you've booked a trip and uses that information to suggest activities at the local destination. It suggests activities, discounts, offers, and cheaper prices for all the things that you want to take part in."
Ever take to Twitter to moan about how poorly your NFL team is playing? Well, Gates himself predicted sports discussion sites.
"While watching a sports competition on television, services will allow you to discuss what is going on live, and enter a contest where you vote on who you think will win," he said.
"Residents of cities and countries will be able to have internet-based discussions concerning issues that affect them, such as local politics, city planning, or safety," Gates wrote in 1999.
Very much sounds like what we'd do on social media, right?
"Television broadcast will include links to relevant websites and content that complement what you are watching," Gates wrote in his book.
Sounds awfully familiar, yeah?
Scanning a QR on live TV is certainly common nowadays, another prediction in the bag for Mr Gates.
We see a lot of online communities thriving on Reddit, with people able to connect based on a common interest no matter where they are in the world.
"Online communities will not be influenced by your location, but rather, your interest," Gates predicted.
Spot on.
Thanks to the rise of the likes of Slack, Microsoft Teams and Workplace, it's easier than ever to connect with your colleagues.
Gates said some 25 years ago: "Project managers looking to put a team together will be able to go online, describe the project, and receive recommendations for available people who would fit their requirements."
Websites such as Fiverr and Craigslist allow small businesses to shop around for potential clients.
Gates envisaged something like that happening in 1999 as he predicted in his book: "Companies will be able to bid on jobs, whether they are looking for a construction project, a movie production, or an advertising campaign.
"This will be efficient for both big companies that want to outsource work that they don't usually face, businesses looking for new clients, and corporations that don't have a go-to provider for the said service."
Applying for a job online is the preferred method for many to find a new gig, with collecting an application form in-person increasingly rare nowadays.
But back in 1999, everyone would do the latter.
Gates knew something was going to change as he guessed sites such as LinkedIn would crop up.
If Gates does happen to make predictions again anytime soon, we would be wise to stand up and listen.