If you have ever wondered what the future of humanity is, futurist Parag Khanna has a one-word answer for you. The future is brown, Khanna, Founder and CEO, AlphaGeo said at the NDTV World Summit 2025.
When trying to understand and decipher the future, Khanna suggests taking a holistic approach instead of looking at technology, geo-politics or social affairs in isolation.
"The literal answer to the future of humanity is through demographics. We the people. We don't have to be philosophical at all. The future of humanity is the young people of today," he said.
Gen Y (millennials), Gen Z (teenagers) and Gen Alpha (toddlers) constitute the young people of the world, Khanna added. People under the age of 40 will roughly fit under this group, the futurist explained.
"The youth of Asia is by far the largest number of young people on the earth. Asia not only represents more than half of the global population, but it also represents an even larger share of the world population of tomorrow. Quiet literally every single day, week, month, year, the world becomes more Asian demographically," Khanna said.
Answering the question on the future of humanity, Khanna said, "The future is brown, the future is also Asians. And wherever Asians decide to go, they take Asia with them."
People On The Move Like Never Before: Parag Khanna
Khanna opines that people are on the move like never before. But why do people move? Khanna listed five key reasons -- demographic imbalances, political upheaval, economic dislocation, technological disruption, and climate change.
"Never in the history of this world, has there been a huge imbalance between where old people are and where young people are - both within nations and across nations. Bridging the gap between old and young to ensure intergenerational balance is a key part of fiscal sustainability," he said.
Elaborating further on the reason people migrate, Khanna said, "When you have tech disruptions, competition, industrial, policies, countries that seize the high runs of the global value chain and supply chains, rendering other places to be deindustralised- jobs get lost, people move, and people relocate. The search for economic opportunity is a constant driver of mobility."
By the end of 2022, two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, migration reached record levels, exceeding the 2019 figure, which had been the highest level then. And since then, the world has seen more migration, Khanna added.
He further urged India to adapt to the reality of climate volatility and find ways to reducing the friction on global mobility that we all face.
