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The World Ahead | Wild cards

Ten implausible-sounding scenarios for 2025

To navigate the future, it can help to anticipate the unlikely

Illustration of a solar storm with satellites colliding
Illustration: Leon Edler

In the modern age, the unbelievable has become commonplace. Entire countries are shut down by a global pandemic. Cajoling an artificial intelligence to do useful things is a real job. A giant rocket returns to Earth and is caught by steel “chopsticks”. Bombs hidden in exploding radios kill dozens of people. Self-driving taxis are a hit with tourists in San Francisco. To navigate the future, it can help to anticipate the unlikely. Here are ten unbelievable-sounding things that could happen in 2025.

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This article appeared in the Wild cards section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2025 under the headline “Wild cards”

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