Perth 2050 Report: Four day work weeks, AI assistants, space industry… flying cars!?

A four day work week, personal AI assistants, virtual schools and a booming space industry, Perth is looking like a pretty exciting place to be in 2050!

The results of a wide ranging survey are in, with the question; “What do we want to be when we grow up?”

The Committee for Perth teamed up with Scitech to paint a picture of what we can expect in 25 years time, when the population is predicted to reach 3.5 million.

More densification and active transport, along with a massive ferry network in Perth. There’ll also be a shift away from mining to other key industries in WA, including space tourism and research.

Around 1,400 West Aussies were surveyed, from political and business leaders to high school students, and the results show residents are cautiously optimistic about 2050, with 68 per cent saying they’re excited about the future.

Respondents think biometric security, personal AI assistants and driverless cars are the top technologies we’ll have in place, while 59 per cent believe we’ll be flying supersonically and nearly half say flying cars will be a possibility.

“While Perth residents love their city, the world is changing and they don’t want to sit still as it changes around them,” says Futurist Dr Ben Hamer. “They want to be imaginative, they want to push the boundaries and adopt these new technologies.”

“I’m in a privileged position where I look beyond what is right in front of us and gaze decades into the future,” Dr Hamer adds. “I had a clear brief: take a bold look into the future and imagine what is possible, articulate what Perth could look like and identify what it will take to get there.”

Some key priorities include diversifying the economy, decarbonisation and improving digital literacy, and many think we need to move away from mining, saying our economy has been far too dependent on it for far too long.

“We’re going to see a more diverse economy, so mining will still be a key pillar of that but we’ll see things like defence and space industries play a big part,” says Dr Hamer.

Scitech CEO John Chappell agrees, saying the next generation has to be ready for emerging careers, many which we can’t even imagine.

“I think we’re going to find that there are just some things that are almost impossible to anticipate, careers that don’t even exist right now. A 10 year-old who visits Scitech today will be 36 and engaging in a vastly different world in 2050.

“We need to act now to ensure they are prepared by equipping our young people, and the rest of the community, with future-ready STEM skills.”

But some of the high school students we spoke to were also a little worried about AI taking over our jobs. (Yes, me too!)

80 per cent say sustainability is their number one concern, but more than half have no confidence Australia will hit net zero by 2050.

“People want Perth to be a much more sustainable city and for Perth to be a global leader in renewable energy,” says Dr Hamer. “We want to preserve Perth’s unique and natural beauty.”

So – supersonic flights, flying cars and 3D printed homes, all expected by 2050…

We have 9,000 days to make it happen.

Image Credit: Supplied, Shutterstock