The Contrafabulists – Kin Lane and Audrey Watters – monitor predictions that technologists and marketers make about the future of technology. No surprise, most of the predictions are made about AI, a development whose future folks have been predicting incorrectly since the 1950s.

Here are the predictions made this week:

The future of Mars:

Elon Musk was one of the stars of SXSW (that’s a low bar, but whatever). Apparently, he’s still committed to getting to Mars. According to reports from GeekWire, “First Mars spaceship is being built, with flight tests set for 2019.”

Also headed to Mars, according to Futurism: the new Cold War. “Putin Plans to Put Russians on Mars in 2019.”

The future of higher ed:

The new governor of New Jersey says that the state’s community colleges will be tuition-free by 2021.

From the BBC: “University place demand to grow by 300,000 by 2030.”

The future of the military:

“Army Wants Armed Ground Robot Prototype by 2019,” says Breaking Defense.

The future of sports:

The Motley Fool wonders, “Esports: A $5 Billion Industry by 2020?”

The future of inequality:

Via The Guardian: “Austerity will have cast an extra 1.5m children into poverty by 2021.”

The future of cars:

Via CNBC: “Ford says it will beat Toyota in hybrids by 2021 with Mustangs and trucks.”

RIP Stephen Hawking:

Via Futurism: “Stephen Hawking’s Most Dire Predictions for the Future.”