We close the first quarter of the twenty-first century and begin the second. Beyond the calendar and its meaning, the changes and innovations experienced during the first twenty-five years place us at the beginning of a new era. Welcome aboard! Fasten your seatbelts and enjoy this journey where some will be actors and others spectators. We’re taking off! Our first stop is an open-pit copper mine where all tasks are automated, the mechanical shovels and the trucks that haul the material are controlled from an elevated central station like airport control towers. At the next station, we enter a robotic manufacturing plant for solar panels based on perovskite and graphene. The ship takes off and we cross the stratosphere to reach satellite orbits and arrive at a site where long robotic arms are building a space station to house thousands of satellites; We descend towards Earth and once on the Earth’s crust we enter through a wide tunnel 10 kilometers below the surface, to walk through a very wide Community development under construction with a controlled atmosphere. We return to the surface; our ship reaches the ocean, flies over it, and at a certain point, submerges to the seabed where we visit the so-called New Atlantis, a pilot city with controlled lighting and pressure. We return to the surface and arrive at a port where enormous ships, like floating greenhouses, cultivate vegetables during their voyage that will be consumed there. We disembark and, in an entertainment center, observe various competitions where the professional athletes are trained automatons. Individual transportation is by air using specially designed suits. From above, we observe people walking through parks with their robotic pets and taking them to centers of Virtual reality training. In hospitals, gene editing allows patients to successfully recover from autoimmune diseases. With cosmetic surgery, they can implant muscles, tendons, bones, and tissues designed and produced by the patient’s own cells, as if they were replacement parts.
We board the ship and return to December 2025, with 2026 ahead of us.
Economy: Moderate growth is expected, led by India and Southeast Asian countries. The United States is unlikely to reach the 3% growth target for 2025. Europe will experience lower growth compared to 2025. China, with an undervalued yuan, is trying to maintain its growth through exports, despite the difficulties posed by tariffs to the United States and other countries. Latin America will also experience moderate growth. Inflation has not been contained due to high transportation and logistics costs, and this may be the barrier that hinders the decline in interest rates.
The demand for clean energy, rare minerals for manufacturing high-tech chips, and nearshoring will provide fertile ground for investment and development.
Geopolitics: Undoubtedly, current and future conflicts will continue to affect international trade. The tariffs imposed by the United States in 2025 will force exporting countries to seek new markets; the confirmation of strategic alliances and treaties between third parties will be the norm. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will mark its fourth year in February; the progress and setbacks in reaching a peace agreement between the two countries must include not only the United States but also the European Union to bring them to a successful conclusion. The Israeli-Hamas conflict remains unresolved due to the parties’ unwillingness to comply with agreements. President Maduro and his government, faced with a lack of credibility in the results of the last elections, will lead Venezuela toward regime change, compounded by attacks in the Caribbean Sea against vessels transporting drugs. China will continue to strengthen its Naval presence in the South China Sea. Presidential elections will be held in various countries, and perhaps the most interesting and important will be the midterm elections in the United States, given the polarization that has developed since the end of 2024. These elections will determine whether Congress will have a Democratic or Republican majority, which will shape the course of the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency.
Technology: Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and other advances in digitalization have permeated all sectors of the economy, as the internet did in its time. They stand as the main technological shift of the new era and are causing substantial changes. Governments will promote new legislation in this area, and companies will also invest significant resources to avoid falling behind.
Talent: Mastering digital and automation tools will eliminate some jobs but will enhance others and create new ones; the key for executives will be understanding and leveraging them to do more effective, efficient, and profitable work that allows organizations to remain competitive in the market.
Article written by Jorge Segovia CFR Global Executive Search Mexico
Photo source: Pixabay