The Simpsons' 'predictions' that could be bad news for the world in 2026
When it comes to predicting the future, there are few better places to look than old episodes of The Simpsons.
The long-running animated series is perhaps always likely to have called a few things given it's been running for over 35 years, with over 36 seasons and more than 800 episodes.
However, Matt Groening and the gang seem to be eerily accurate with some of their more outlandish predictions, and there's no doubt that their correct calls regarding Donald Trump's presidency and Lady Gaga's Super Bowl entrance will go down in TV history.
While you might argue that if you keep throwing mud at a wall, eventually it might stick, even the likes of Baba Vanga probably cannot compare to The Simpsons CV of predictions, and you'd be a fool to rule out them getting a few more right now we're in 2026.
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There are probably thousands of predictions that I could mention here, but the show's focus on technology, space, aliens, and potentially even doomsday feels most relevant right now, given the state of the world.
One of the biggest concerns people have right now is the growth of artificial intelligence and how it could end up stealing a lot of people's jobs.
Well, in 'Them, Robot', the 17th episode of Season 23, that's exactly what happens.
The Simpsons predicts AI taking over jobs
You won't be surprised to hear that it was Mr Burns who made that decision, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see fellow rich company owners continuing in that vein in 2026, especially as AI gets more and more powerful.
We've already got the robot Olympics taking part in China and people using AI in their everyday jobs, so a robot workforce certainly doesn't seem out of the question in the same way it might have done back in 2012 when the episode first aired.
The Simpsons' take on space tourism
Space tourism is already becoming viable for the mega-rich, as we saw in the early months of 2025 when Katy Perry headed up above the Earth's atmosphere on a Blue Origin flight, and given Jeff Bezos also has plans to turn the International Space Station into a hotel, maybe 2026 is the year we see that happen.
It was all the way back in 1994 that The Simpsons suggested space travel for the general public as a possibility, as Homer (who else?) headed up there as an astronaut.
In 'Deep Space Homer' (season five episode 15), the dad-of-three is sent to space as part of a NASA public relations effort to make space travel more relatable to the public.
Other psychics all seemed confident that aliens would make themselves apparent in 2025 but that seemingly fell through, unless the government is keeping some things secret, that is.
What about alien contact?
We might have all been hoping that 3I/ATLAS would turn out to be aliens, but The Simpsons suggested in episode 10 of season eight, titled 'The Springfield Files', that we're more likely to stumble across aliens by accident, with Homer enlisting the help of a UFO fanatic before others are finally made aware of its presence.
So perhaps we need to take UFO sightings more seriously.
Other episodes set in the future of the show have seen youngsters plugged into digital worlds, as we've seen with the introduction of META headsets, or people using AI-powered healthcare or home appliances, which again feels like it's already sneaking in.
World War Three references
It wouldn't be a prediction list without reference to WW3, which continues to loom over the whole world with geopolitical tensions at perhaps an all-time high.
Since The Simpsons aired, there have been a few references to a potential World War 3.
In one 1987 short, Homer is convinced that WW3 has started and insists the family rush to a homemade shelter in the garden.
Meanwhile, a separate scene from 'Lisa's Wedding' sees Lisa's British fiancè, Hugh Parkfield, visit Moe's Tavern with Homer and Bart in the future.
Moe acknowledges that Hugh is British and tells him that they 'saved their a** in WW2', to which Hugh responds: "Well, we saved your a**e in WW3."
Eerily, Moe simply says: "That's true."
Topics: The Simpsons, TV, Artificial Intelligence
James Moorhouse