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Pop culture oracle “The Simpsons” has predicted more doom and gloom for 2026.
In 2026, eagle-eyed viewers are looking at storylines that could be connected to a new type of flu, artificial intelligence taking over jobs, another world war, smart homes and aliens.
Even if some of the fan predictions aren’t correlated with specific events or dates, viewers have taken notice that some could be hinting at imminent events.
For example, in Season 23, Episode 17, “Them, Robot,” AI starts to take over the jobs of the people in Springfield.
The 2012 episode sees Mr. Burns replacing his employees with robots, who turn on him, and then his laid-off workers have to come to his rescue.
An October analysis, ironically based on ChatGPT findings, found that artificial intelligence and automation could wipe out nearly 100 million jobs in the US over the next decade, including white- and blue-collar roles.
“The agricultural revolution unfolded over thousands of years. The industrial revolution took more than a century,” the report said. “Artificial labor could reshape the economy in less than a decade.”
A recent Stanford University report also found that US job postings for young adults aged 22 to 25 have plunged 13% since 2022 across AI-exposed industries.
A 1994 episode titled “Deep Space Homer” might have predicted the rise of space travel for the general population.
In this Season 5 episode, Homer Simpson is chosen by NASA to go into space with astronaut Buzz Aldrin in an attempt to make space travel more appealing to the average man.
Meanwhile, in real life, an all-female crew, which included Katy Perry and Gayle King, went on a brief trip to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket as part of a tourism flight, sparking the idea that space tourism could happen in the near future.
“The Simpsons” may have also seen into the future with the new “superflu” strain that’s soaring in the US.
The US is experiencing its highest infection rate in nearly three decades, according to flu statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, and New York seems to be getting hit the hardest with the highest number of flu hospitalizations recorded in a single week.
“Marge in Chains,” an episode that aired in 1993, sees a fictional virus spreading throughout Springfield after it came from Japan in shipping crates.
This episode was a popular one that resurfaced during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially as it depicted how the disease caused a societal breakdown and how the town caused an uproar as it searched for a cure.
The beloved animated show, which first aired in 1989, has also shown what it would be like to live in a smart house.
In Season 13, Episode 1, “Treehouse of Horror XII,” the Simpson family moves into a voice-controlled house that manages their day-to-day lives. But the longer they live there, the more threatening the smart house becomes.
This could be a warning, as a new survey found that more than 8 in 10 American homes now contain smart tech, such as refrigerators, doorbells and robot vacuums.
There have been quite a few recent theories about alien life, and a 1997 episode titled “The Springfield Files” could be giving fans some insight into the future.
In the episode, two FBI agents come to investigate an alien that Homer claims to have seen in the woods.
There have been several references to a World War III in the run of “The Simpsons,” and fans are taking note this year.
In 1995, the “Lisa’s Wedding” episode shows her fiancé, Hugh Parkfield, in the future, talking about World War II with Homer and Bart as well as a succeeding global conflict.
Another instance in a 1987 short shows Homer persuaded that World War III has already started, demanding that his family take shelter.
Homer was also convinced that the world was ending in an episode titled “Thank God, It’s Doomsday,” which aired in 2005.
