The future on screen · Netflix
What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates: what the evidence says about AI, misinformation, climate, inequality and disease
What the series covers, where its subjects stand on the 311 Starburst and what leaders should take from it.
What it covers
About the series
A five-part Netflix documentary series, released in September 2024, in which Bill Gates looks at some of the biggest questions facing the world: artificial intelligence, misinformation, climate change, inequality and infectious disease. It was made by Tremolo Productions.
- Broadcaster
- Netflix
- Made by
- Tremolo Productions
- First shown
- 18 September 2024 (Netflix)
- Episodes
- 5
Episodes
Episode by episode
What the evidence says
Where AI, misinformation, climate, inequality and disease stands in 2026
The 311 Starburst maps when each emerging technology and trend is expected to reach wide use. These are the entries that match this subject, with their status today.
- Technology · IntelligenceLarge Language Models
Large language models are AI programs trained on huge amounts of text. They can write, answer questions and translate, and they power chatbots such as Claude.
- Expected wide use
- 2024
- Status in 2026
- Act now
- Readiness
- TRL 9 of 9
- Technology · GeoengineeringDirect Air Carbon Capture
Direct air capture uses machines that pull carbon dioxide out of normal air. The gas is then stored underground or used to make other products.
- Expected wide use
- 2045
- Status in 2026
- Watch
- Readiness
- TRL 7 of 9
- Technology · BiotechDNA Vaccines
DNA vaccines carry a small piece of DNA that tells your cells to make part of a germ. Your body learns to fight it without meeting the live germ.
- Expected wide use
- 2035
- Status in 2026
- Explore
- Readiness
- TRL 9 of 9
- Trend · TechnologicalArtificial Intelligence
- Expected wide use
- 2024
- Status in 2026
- Act now
- Trend · SocietalTruth Decay
- Expected wide use
- 2020
- Status in 2026
- Act now
- Trend · EnvironmentalClimate Change
- Expected wide use
- 2015
- Status in 2026
- Act now
- Trend · EconomicWealth Inequality
- Expected wide use
- 2008
- Status in 2026
- Act now
- Trend · SocietalEpidemics and Pandemics
- Expected wide use
- 2020
- Status in 2026
- Act now
Source: the 311 Starburst, researched by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit (data built 2026-10-28). Status rings: Act now means wide use by 2027, Prepare 2028 to 2030, Explore 2031 to 2035, Watch 2036 or later. Explore the Starburst Centre.
311 analysis
What leaders should take from it
- Four of the five subjects are Act now trends on the 311 Starburst; this is a list for this year's board agenda, not the next decade's.
- The subjects are connected: AI shapes misinformation, inequality and the speed of science, so plan for them together.
- Optimism about technology is useful only with a plan for its side effects; ask what each solution breaks.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit.
Next steps
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Answers
Common questions
How many episodes are in What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates?
Five, covering AI, misinformation, climate change, inequality and infectious disease.
Who made What's Next? The Future with Bill Gates?
Tremolo Productions made it for Netflix, which released it in September 2024.