In developed nations it is a commonplace to remark that adults will have four or five careers in their lifetimes, sometimes because their previous job has disappeared. Tomorrow's problems may be similar to yesterday's once they are well understood but they will present themselves in mysterious forms. Once a problem has been framed, it must then be solved. Increasingly often, both the framing and solving of problems will require the use of powerful information technologies. Framing and solving problems will sometimes be simpler, often more difficult than before.
Cultural differences are increasingly salient, within as well as between nations.
Yet without certain common values and shared insights, political and social life become impossible, and combat and human waste on a grand scale result. As interdependence increases, collaboration, like communication, will become even more universally important. Modern information technology will often furnish the means for learning. And every educated person will need to spend a certain fraction of his or her life keeping up with changes in that technology. Meanwhile, the compelling demands of other sectors such as health care and support for the aged are growing swiftly, faster than the growth of economies or population.