The Simpsons' most surprising predictions for this 2026

New pandemics, the massive irruption of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment, and a possible new world war.

The animated series 'The Simpsons' once again fueled its fame as an oracle after the reappearance of several episodes that, according to fans, point to disturbing predictions for 2026, indicates the New York Post. Users on social media and specialized forums have unearthed plots broadcast decades ago that, interpreted today, read as warnings about new pandemics, the massive intrusion of artificial intelligence (AI) in employment, a possible new world war, the expansion of smart homes, and even contact with extraterrestrial life.

One of the most cited episodes is 'They, Robot', from season 23, in which Mr. Burns replaces his staff with robots that end up rebelling. The story has been linked to current fears about automation and generative AI, in a context in which recent reports warn that tens of millions of jobs could disappear or be drastically transformed in the next decade. For fans of the series, Springfield would have only put drawings to a labor transition already underway.

Another of the recovered plots is 'Deep Space Homer', from 1994, where NASA sends Homer into space to make the space program more attractive to the average citizen. Three decades later, the story takes on a different reading, marked by the rise of space tourism and suborbital commercial flights operated by private companies, which are beginning to present trips outside the Earth as an experience, although still elitist, within reach of the general public.

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Fans also point out unsettling parallels between the 1993 episode 'Marge in Chains' and the current epidemiological situation. In the fiction, a virus from Japan arrives in Springfield in shipping boxes and causes social chaos, scenes that resurfaced during the covid-19 pandemic and are now associated with the resurgence of an aggressive strain of flu in the United States. The echo with recent headlines about strained health systems and unusual infection rates reinforces the perception that the series 'had already seen it coming'.

The expansion of smart homes is reflected in 'Treehouse of Horror XII', where the Simpson family moves into a voice-controlled house that manages every aspect of their daily lives until it becomes threatening. With surveys indicating that a large majority of American homes already incorporate some connected device, the satire is interpreted as a warning about the risks of ceding too much control to home technology. In addition to this, there are episodes with various references that fuel the idea that, looking ahead to 2026, the Springfield universe could continue to anticipate, or at least channel, collective anxieties about the future.