Back in December 2021, I wrote a post outlining what I believed the world and the tech landscape would look like over the next five years. Looking around today in 2026, it’s fascinating—and deeply satisfying—to see how many of those predictions have shifted from bold foresight into everyday reality.
Here is a look back at what I wrote in 2021, alongside how those trends have actually played out:
1. The Work Revolution: Remote, Automation, and “Workations”
- What I predicted in 2021: Remote and hybrid work would become standard, manual labor would transition into configuring AI/robots, and terms like “Workation” and “digital nomad” would mainstream as live, work, and travel integrate.
- The Reality in 2026: Work is no longer tied to a physical office for millions. The line between living and working has blurred into a modern digital nomad lifestyle. On the industrial side, automation and applied AI have taken over repetitive physical labor, transforming modern manual roles into high-tech operator and supervisory positions.
2. AI & Software Development: Software 2.0 & AI Assistance
- What I predicted in 2021: Software development would pivot heavily toward concepts like Software 2.0, GitHub Copilot, and early LLMs (like GPT-3).
- The Reality in 2026: AI-assisted development is no longer an experiment; it is the fundamental way code is written today. Developers have evolved into architects driving AI systems, dramatically accelerating how products are built and deployed.
3. Hardware & Infrastructure: ARM Chips, 5G, and PWA Adoption
- What I predicted in 2021: ARM architecture and 5G would dominate computation, while Web-based PWAs (Progressive Web Apps) would gain ground as native app fatigue set in.
- The Reality in 2026: ARM has solidified its place as the efficiency benchmark across both mobile devices and cloud servers. Connectivity is seamless, and lightweight, web-centric software models continue to challenge bloated native applications.
4. Digital Humans, Virtual Reality, & Spatial Computing
- What I predicted in 2021: Virtual/digital humans (like @lilmiquela) would become mainstream influencers alongside traditional YouTubers and KOLs, while AR/VR technologies would gain widespread adoption.
- The Reality in 2026: Virtual avatars and AI-driven personalities are everywhere in digital marketing, gaming, and content creation. Spatial computing and immersive 3D experiences are integrated deeply into everyday entertainment and media.
5. Sustainability & Electric Vehicles
- What I predicted in 2021: Electric vehicles (EVs) would be enforced and prioritized to save the planet.
- The Reality in 2026: The global shift away from traditional ICE engines has accelerated rapidly, making EVs the default choice for new drivers around the world.
Final Thoughts
As I noted back in 2021: “The future is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced.” Seeing these shifts materialize over the last five years reinforces that technology moves fast, but clear trajectory markers are almost always visible if we look closely enough.
Now, as we look toward the next horizon, emerging fields like biocomputing, advanced biomachines, and deeper AI integrations are calling. The next decade promises to be even more transformative.
Original Author: Ng Fang Kiang
Original Post (Published December 5, 2021):
The future is not something to be feared, but something to be embraced. There’s an inherent danger in clinging to progress, but progress is precisely the reason we should be embracing it.
In the next 5 years, I think a lot of things will change.
I think remote work is here to stay. People continue to work remotely (fully remote or hybrid work). For manual workers, It’s very likely to transform into another job that requires some engineer skills to configure the AI/robots that works with the industry. Hybrid work is for some industry or people that need time for transition to fully remote. For those job required to work in a certain place are still exists, but will start to replace by automation robots (AGV, AIoT, Applied AI, self-driving car and so on)
Zero-trust security is crucial. Like E2E encryption, blockchain, NFT and so on.
With the embrace of VR and AR technologies. The terms of “virtual human” or “digital human” like @lilmiquela will become the norm just like the KOL, internet influencer or YouTuber in the next 5 years.
The future of programming? Maybe Software 2.0, Copilot, GPT-3, etc?
For internet and computation industry, I believe 5G and ARM chips will be the future.
For Android and iOS, I think a web base PWA app is more realistic in the next 5 years. People are now less likely to install lots of app into their phone even their phones are getting more powerful every single year.
For things like Windows 11, the WinUI3 seems very promising. I think Windows 11 might be another big thing in the next 5 years.
I think people will have more time to travel and work. Things like “Workation”, “Staycation”, “digital nomad” will get popularize. Live, work, and travel used to be separate, but now they are all integrated.
Look ahead for the 5 to 10 years. I believe something like metaverse, omniverse, AR, VR, all kind of 3D stuffs (Simulation,3D/4D printing,3Dmovie/news, Technologies) and so on will be popularized and became another norm. Electric vehicles will be enforced. Save the planet without more gasoline! Flying car seems very promising too! Until that time, I think I will start to look at something like biomachine, biocomputing and so on.
Original Source: Instagram Post (December 5, 2021)