November 3, 2043

Location: Home.

After a peaceful eight hours of sleep, I am jolted awake at exactly 7:00 AM by Siri, my home system that controls my in-home operations from electricity to laundry, to communications, and more. I tell Siri “I’m awake,” but she doesn’t stop beeping until I confirm I am out of bed by placing my finger on the scanner on my closet door.

My day begins with Siri presenting me with my “Monday outfit options” on the screen inside my closet. She is programmed to know my schedule, so she picked out a professional, yet comfortable outfit for me today as I have to teach my class and then will be returning home to work for the rest of the day.

The Siri screen in my kitchen provides me with some optimal breakfast options and their respective preparation and cook times. I decide to make scrambled eggs and toast with the 20 minutes I have before I must begin my commute to the history department wing of the University of Virginia’s Ryan Hall. Following my breakfast, I pack my notes and presentation tablet in preparation for today’s History of Media lecture.

Siri calls my car and within three minutes it is waiting in the street in front of my house. I watch as all my neighbors with 8:00 AM commute times walk outside and step into their respective cars adjacent to mine. The car is already programmed with my schedule and information, so I sit in the front seat and it immediately drives me to the school. Thanks to the new self-driving individual transportation system, travel times are faster than ever and it only takes five minutes to commute what used to be a twenty-minute manual drive in traffic.

Go to: The University.