Asimov’s predictions for 2019

In 1984, Isaac Asimov made a series of predictions about the year 2019.

Assumption: No nuclear wars will occur before 2019, which would render all the predictions below moot.
Verdict: So far, so good!

Prediction: Industry will become increasingly automated, and computers will “penetrate the home”.
Verdict: Check!

Prediction: Automation will cause some jobs to disappear while others will appear, with a net gain overall. ” The jobs that will appear will, inevitably, involve the design, the manufacture, the installation, the maintenance and repair of computers and robots, and an understanding of whole new industries that these “intelligent” machines will make possible. “
Verdict: Some jobs are disappearing and others appearing almost exactly as he predicted, but the jury is still out on the net gain.

Prediction: “Schools will undoubtedly still exist, but a good schoolteacher can do no better than to inspire curiosity which an interested student can then satisfy at home at the console of his computer outlet. There will be an opportunity finally for every youngster, and indeed, every person, to learn what he or she wants to learn. in his or her own time, at his or her own speed, in his or her own way. Education will become fun because it will bubble up from within and not be forced in from without.
Verdict: This is almost certainly as it should be, but the education system has been slow to adapt.

Prediction: “it may well be that the nations will be getting along well enough to allow the planet to live under the faint semblance of a world government by co-operation, even though no one may admit its existence.”
Verdict: Again, this is as it should be but not as it is. There are episodes of cooperation, but at the moment this seems to be rowing upstream against a strong current of nationalism and isolationism.

Prediction: “more and more human beings will find themselves living a life rich in leisure. This does not mean leisure to do nothing, but leisure to do something one wants to do; to be free to engage in scientific research. in literature and the arts, to pursue out-of-the-way interests and fascinating hobbies of all kinds.”
Verdict: This may be true for some, but certainly not for the majority. It could happen if we chose to share the wealth more and/or to live more simply. But again, this is not the direction things are going.

Prediction: moon mining and orbital factories
Verdict: This still seems pretty far away, although there are advances in new types of rockets and satellites that could be baby steps in this direction.

Future Yada Yada Yada