The frontier is no longer innovation but control. AGI in the next five years raises questions of custody and accountability rather than possibility. Quantum shock threatens to upend assumptions about security, computation, and who can access power. Autonomous futures push humans to the margins of decision-making, leaving open the issue of who benefits and who is excluded. Hidden actors already shape outcomes at scale, and superintelligence debates only distract from the concentration of influence happening out of sight. Technology’s acceleration is certain; the real unknown is who sets its direction, under what terms, and what it will mean for us all.

Human behaviour is being engineered in real time. GLP-1 drugs and biotech breakthroughs are recalibrating appetite, health, and inequality, reshaping industries from food to finance. Wealthy elites pursue billionaire upgrades, redefining what it means to age, thrive, or survive. Cultural influence is shifting too: cities designed by women propose radically different models of urban life, while accessibility beyond compliance insists on inclusion as a foundation rather than an afterthought. Health revolutions are emerging in the dark, transforming societies (and businesses) before norms and ethics can catch up. Behaviour is no longer organic; it is being coded, purchased, and redirected.

Data has become the arena where power is contested. Separating signal from hype now determines who can act decisively and who drowns in noise. Legal and political conflicts reveal where accountability truly lies, from lawsuits over ownership to manoeuvres hidden in policy and infrastructure. Better reels or better reality captures the stakes: are we improving knowledge or simply deepening illusion. As power geographies shift, data remains the currency that dictates who gains visibility and who remains invisible. Leaders and strategists must decide whether data is a map toward clarity or a fog that conceals the terrain entirely.