Innovation forecast (2025-2041)
This forecast was first published in November 2022 as part of my article "The information age" in The Astrological Journal.
Combining a timeline with metaphors
The same set of metaphors used to visualize the meaning of past planetary alignments can be applied to draw a general innovation forecast for the near future. The upcoming milestones in the timeline of alignments between Saturn, Uranus and Neptune (1988-2045), should coincide with:
🌊💡New waves of innovation, around the time of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction of 2026: it could coincide with new theories, inventions and core technologies that enable new generations of digital(ised) devices and services.
⚡️🏬Market disruptions, around the time of the Saturn-Uranus conjunction of 2032: this could be the next period of major disruption in the computing industry but also for older industries, such as banking and automotive, that are being challenged by digitally native players.
🏁🎬A shift to the next techno-cultural era: we would expect the invention of major new artefacts, that are currently perceived as “science-fiction”, at the time of the next Uranus-Neptune squares of 2039-41. Those new artefacts could generate major cultural shifts throughout the current 1993-2165 Uranus-Neptune cycle.
Next generations of cars (2025-2041)
Cars are a particularly interesting example of the impact of digital technology on a modern artefact that used to be purely mechanical. Indeed, a modern car is increasingly becoming a “computer on wheels”. Three threads of innovation can be distinguished:
Digital: the evolution of dashboards and head units into touch-screens that integrate seamlessly with the user’s smartphone. Apple and Google are currently leading this trend.
Electric: the shift from internal combustion engines to electric engines. This trend is led by Tesla.
Self-driving: the development of an entirely new technology that enables self-driving cars, led by Tesla and Luminar. However, this is much more long-term development than the shift to digital and electric.
In the years 2025-27, around the time of the Saturn-Neptune conjunction of 2026, we can expect a new generation of cars focused on the three threads mentioned above. The remarkable alignment of August 2024 to June 2025✨, when Jupiter will square the Saturn-Neptune conjunction, should mark a climax within this timeframe of about three years. Those would be the most auspicious months for the release of a major innovation such as the highly anticipated 🍎Apple Car.
The next major period of renewal of the automotive industry should occur around the Saturn-Uranus conjunction of 2032, in the years 2031-33, when a new generation of “electric digital cars”, based on the innovations of the previous Saturn-Neptune conjunction of 2026, will rapidly replace previous generations. That conjunction will overlap with the Saturn-Neptune square of 2033-34 which should bring yet another wave of innovations. This suggests a time of crisis for the established manufacturers that won’t successfully shift to the new generation of “electric digital cars”. In fact, the European Union has already decided that internal combustion cars can only be marketed until 2035, which suggests that this forecast has good chances of being accurate, at least in Europe.
By the time of the Uranus-Neptune squares of 2039-41, the landscape of the automotive industry will be dramatically different from today both in terms of technology and consumer behaviour.