Answer: LEGO Figures

In 2006, 31 years after they introduced their iconic minifigures, LEGO reported that they had produced the four billionth figure. The entire population of the Earth at that moment was around 6.5 billion. Clearly, although we weren’t leading by a huge margin, we had little to fear from the little yellow plastic people.

Recent United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs reports, however, indicate that by 2020, the global population will have only climbed to approximately 7.7 billion while, thanks to calculations performed by Randall Monroe (the physics grad student behind webcomic xkcd), projected manufacturing of LEGO minfigures will well exceed that. At that moment the minifigure take over will be complete and we’ll inevitably be led to greatness by our new cylinder-headed leaders.