In 2031, will we still be playing games on our consoles, or will we be plugged into the cloud via VR-enabled headgear? Why not both? Videogames have come a long way since the days of Super Mario. Today, the tech developed in the gaming industry is applied in movies and TV shows, as well as fields of medicine, architecture, and urban planning. Hence, the way we interact with the videogame industry will continue to shift over the next decade. Jack Condon, evangelist at Epic Games, couldn't be happier about this trajectory, as he shares his hopes, dreams, views, and predictions of the future with us. Image Credit: Artem Podrez | Pexels

In 2031, will the world still remember the pandemic? According to travel-tech evangelist Johnny Thorsen, we'll have different issues of concern by then. While the pandemic has changed the way people move across countries, sustainable practices will be the issue that forever shifts the way the travel space evolves into the future. Image Credit: Cameron Casey | Pexels

In 2031, will the first humans have already landed on Mars? According to analysts, the first people to set foot on the red planet have already been born. With billionaires pumping extraordinary resources into space travel, will the vast unknown get more familiar over the next decade? We glimpse into the future with Professor Emerita Dato Seri Dr Mazlan Othman, astrophysicist and pioneer of Malaysia's space sector, to understand just how close we are to becoming true extraterrestrials. Image Credit: Mikhail Nilov | Pexels

In 2031, Artificial Intelligence will serve as a neural network for many cities around the world, essentially turning them into Smart Cities. But while technology can solve some problems, other issues like climate change and a growing socioeconomic divide requires a shift in the way we plan, view, and think about these cultural epicenters. Hamdan Abdul Majeed, Managing Director of Think City, gives us a glimpse into the future by explaining the problems facing major cities today, and what can be done to ensure we future-proof our metropolises of tomorrow.

In 2031, robots and artificial intelligence may be tools used by authorities to maintain law and order around the world. While the use of a neutral algorithm to prosecute suspects sounds fair and good, human bias may continue to be the proverbial "ghost in the machine". Kami Chavis, Professor of Law and Director of the Criminal Justice Program at Wake Forest University, joins us to talk about the recent reckoning in the United States in terms of law enforcement, the inclusion of robots in the legal system, and if one day, computers will be the ones creating our laws instead.

In 2031, the way we utilize credit scoring could be vastly different than it is today. As Artificial Intelligence and machine learning are adopted across the financial ecosystem, banks and other financial institutions may need to rethink the way they benchmark a person's financial health. Hann Liew, CEO of RinggitPlus, joins us to talk about the decentralization of banking, e-wallets replacing credit cards, and how cryptocurrency could factor into credit scoring within the decade.

In 2031, the world will be a vastly different place. In a decade, we'll have technologies that we can only dream of today, creating relics of the "state of the art" concepts we now utilize on a daily basis. In this special mid-season episode, Arvindh compiles his favourite quotes, clips, and predictions of the not-too-distant future from some of the most critical thinkers of our time. These glimpses of an exciting albeit unfamiliar future won't just help us welcome what's to come, but they'll make us appreciate the future that we're in now - one that only existed in the dreams of visionaries not too long ago.

In 2031, a large portion of the population will have adopted cryptocurrency as an official financial platform. But as the world of crypto evolves, so do its questions. Will this create a social divide? What happens to the "Bitcoin billionaires"? And is there a version of 2031 that doesn't involve cryptocurrency at all? Ellie Rennie, Principal Research Fellow at RMIT's Digital Ethnography Research Centre, takes us 10 years into the future to explore a world in which things like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and the blockchain are household names. 

In 2031, a significant portion of the global population will live a financial lifestyle that's free of banknotes and physical cash. But while cashless societies are on the rise, cash isn't going anywhere so soon. How will this dual ecosystem function as more and more governments, tech industries, and even financial institutions move towards reducing physical money? We peek into the future with Matthieu Favas, finance correspondent at The Economist, and discuss the social divide that comes with going cashless, the potential of surveillance states, and the ascension of China in the next 10 years. 

In 2031, vaccine passports and proof of inoculation could be a standard prerequisite for travelers. While on the surface it sounds like a good idea, a vaccine passport isn't without certain ethical concerns. If COVID-19 is far gone and years have passed since the end of the pandemic, will we still need annual vaccinations? Will travel fundamentally change due to an emerging vaccine hierarchy? Will we have vaccine kiosks at the airport for "immunization on-the-go"? Ugur Altundal, Ph.D Candidate in Political Science, expands on his Henley & Partners article outlining the ethical dilemmas of a COVID-19 Vaccine Passport, and how it could shape the way we cross borders in the future.