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Eight Technologies That Will Change the World
lostincyberspace writes "This story looks at existing advanced technologies, and contemplates how they may combine in the future to create the technology of 70's TV shows. Sensors + Mobile Power + Biomanufacturing = ... Bionics. ("We have the technology") The most fascinating part is that all of these new technologies seem like they'll be available in the not too distant future."
transporters and communicators?
But a tractor beam would be nice....
...we are from the government - we are here to help...
/. has recently posted another story on the first technology described here.
:-)
It's about wearable devices. Read more here.
Personally, I think they look cool.
In Belgium (where I live) there was recently an interview with a company making such things (shown on TV, don't remember when).
They made a shirt + scarf + shoes & glass to see it all.
They also showed a working demo version
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You can have little doubt that this will soon be employed by the United States military, as they are usually the first to adopt this type of technology. Due to our current technology and training right now we have something like a 50 or 100 to 1 kill ratio (50 to 100 of their soldiers die for every 1 of ours that is killed) If we have bio-mech soldiers how high do you think the odds will go then? Mess with the USA? I think not.
I doubt it, the FDA will take eons to approve this.
The tech may all be close but medical testing and then approval will make this take a lot longer.
I think it was in the early 30s or 40s that they demonstrated a video phone. Its twenty-o-two, I see no video phones.
How about that molecular manufactering. Sounds like the replicator they had on the Enterprise. Truthfully, I don't see this even being in the lab for decades. Sure, we can theorize about these things that it is possible, but I can also theoretically date Britney Spears, and we ALL know that ANIT gonna happen.
I take these tech preview thingies with many grains of salt.
--sig fault--
Given that technology the rest of the technologies could be achieved rather quickly...
I'd like to have those small red squares to carry data... They're small and solid (no moving parts!!!) I wonder how much Gb you could put on these?
Try it! Library of Babel
This tech will allow people to "drive a car simply by thinking about doing so" Of course, thinking about driving will be an entirely new skill, now only inherent in about 10% of the population.
This nano-army of robots would then begin assembling atoms into any material the laws of physics will allow.
Now, my dear nanobots, build me a Natalie Portman and a fine bowl of... ah, well, you get the picture
The way the article is written , it seems that most of this is just around the corner. But so is cold fusion, and has been, for a number of yeras now. [/sarcasm]
One of the ideas that attract me the most, "cognitronics", as they call them, is reportedly based upon sensors, advanced analytics and smart materials. And none of those will be sufficiently advanced in the next 10 years to allow for any kind of practical widescale use.
free the mallocs!
The big idea:
Providing pleasurable massage sensations without using hands, in the privacy of one's own home.
Image of three intersecting circles, labeled 'Internet connectivity', 'AI', 'ultra-delicate tactile stimulators'
The challenge:
There are two major issues still to be solved: making sure the electrical parts don't get wet and sticky, and hiding the gadgets from the unsuspecting parents.
(I hope I didn't use any naughty words there!)
Right. Which is exactly what they thought in the 70's, too, hence the TV shows.
Key to financial independence: Spend less than you earn. Save and invest the difference. Do it for a long time.
Infrared, UV, etc, etc.. a la Shadowrun.
The simple truth is that interstellar distances will not fit into the human imagination
- Douglas Adams
The companion piece to this article, Untangling the Future, is also pretty interesting.
i think that Duracell and Energizer are probably pissed about remote energy sources, but me want!
I want 2D games back.
Ah! An article about possible future technologies. I see the comments broken down like this:
The standard guff:
1% - "Imagine a beowulf cluster..." posts
2% - "First post" posts
10% - "Off-topic, Microsoft stinks" posts
12% - "Big Business is evil" posts
And the more relevant posts. I predict:
20% - "Very cool and exiting, I want this" posts
25% - "Very dangerous, we do not want this" posts
30% - "Very cool but it'll never happen, people" posts
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Where's my flying car?
But then again, we do have Soma, err, Slashdot :-)
Sig: What Happened To The Censorware Project (censorware.org)
Slashdot + Unsuspecting site + Slashdot users = Server meltdown! wheeeeee!
Seems to me that this technology is limited, not by what it can do, but by the energy it consumes performing its function. Think about it, the SmartShirt that is talked about has electronics embedded in the fabric, but how is it powered? Current batteries in PDAs don't last very long, and it would be easy enough to replace batteries in the SmartShirt, but what about replacing power cells of electronics embedded in a person's skin? Once we are able to miniaturize powercells enough without sacrificing longevity of power, this field will thrive enormously!
Attention all planets of the Solar Federation! We have assumed control! - Neil Peart
The most fascinating part is that all of these new technologies seem like they'll be available in the not too distant future.
Sure.
"The height technologies that will change the world once you'll be in the grave" sounds less attractive.
How about 90's TV shows? The human/computer topic seemed to be limited to mobility. What about sight? A Geordi visor from ST:TNG would be a valuable invention and a really cool integration of computer technology with the human brain.
Can I trade this old, worn out POS for the new coolness? Or do I need to be Will Smith?
It looks like the next step is near, replaceable bodies and the ability to transfer knowlege. The line from Star Wars could come true, Darth Vader was "more machine than man."
I will wait for the first service pack before trading my bio for bio-machine....
What OS do you want to abuse today?
With regard to the front cover's question, overlayed on possibly the smuggest Bill Gates photo I've ever seen:
"How To Beat Him"
I'm hoping that the answer boils down to "with a large wooden bat, spiked with rusty nails".
Embedded electronics might well have a reather small power requirement. A few solutions (not all too serious)
- Using the heat of ones body to generate electricity.
- A tiny turbine/generator in the bloodstream. Go easy on the cholesterol or you'll clog it up!
- A micro fuel cell. Heat can be dissipated through the normal body functions, and it would run off regular petrol or methanol. When you go to gas up the car, remember to fill up yourself as well.
- Rechargeable batteries with an induction coupled charger under your bed. No worries.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Biointeractive Material: An idea with a lot of potential, and that may see light sooner than we think. The risk here is reverse interaction, that may allow your shirt to be hacked into heating just a bit too much...
Biofuel Production Plants: They mention the risks themselves: using bio-engineered plants for fuel production may create mutated species that grow beyond our control. And on another issue, growing GMO for fuel will legitimise using GMO for food, won't it?
Bionics: A wonderful potential, but so many risks: yes, it can be use to cure the deaf, and the blind, but as you go on it allows you to replace organs, even to enhance them, and in due time it will allow you to slowly become a bit like a cyborg. It sounds great to me, but maybe it will create even a greater divide between the "have"s and the "have not"s. Will humanity (the poor of the world, their strenght being the numbers) rebel against the cyborgs (the bionic we) someday?
Cognitronics: The greatest of all greats, but... If ir can control, can it be controlled? If it interacts, can you read my mind? It kind of redefines the notion of "0wn3d"...
Genotyping: Hmmm... What was this one good for, again? Too much potential for the wrong things happening...
Combinatorial Science: Wow! At last, a way for the government to find all about life, the universe and everything without having to bother with those pesky scientists and their silly notions of "moral" and "ethics"...! Anyway, anything that is comparable to Excel has to be a bad thing. :)
Molecular Manufacturing: One of the coolest technologies ever. And yet, a great potential for being abused. This effectively removes the limit of scale on anything we build, be it large or small. But the planet isn't large enough for us to start building our private megalopolis and robot armies anytime soon. This had better come true after generalized space travel and colonization.
Quantum Nucleonics: Hmmm.. Boom?
free the mallocs!
"I would like the X-10 auxiliary cerebrum please!"
"Oh, we don't have it in stock. It's the only part for which you want to wait for a truck to arrive in the store."
"It figures!"
If any of you have not taken the opportunity (doubtful, but I'll toss it out there in case any one isn't aware of him), Ben Bova has an excellent Sci-Fi series with nanotech as one of the aspects of the near future.
He does a really good job of showing potential applications and FUD spread by political movements.
Check out the first two books:
MoonriseMoonwar
The rest of the series is also very good. Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Asteroid Belt, etc.
Do a search for Ben Bova on bn.com, they have the complete list.Abort, Retry, Fail?
The most fascinating part is that all of these new technologies seem like they'll be available in the not too distant future
They always do!
They never ARE!
This article reads like a Sid Meier game - what I want to know is how did they figure out the technology tree for all these cool things so they'd know what to work on next.
Information wants to be $1.98/lb.
Can't be right all the time ;-)
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
The main difference between the bionic man and the people of the future is that we're likely to be bombarded 24 hours a day by unwanted ads. I wouldn't mind being able to lift 2000 lbs but I'm leery of having an electronic device control what I see and hear.
You could turn lights on and off, mute the TV, or drive a car simply by thinking about doing so.
Sounds dangerous to me, you have to be carefull what you think instead of being carefull what you do, escpecially when these devices have lethal uses, like a car.
What if you bionic arm would act on your impulsive first toughts after being annoyed or arroused by someone.Instead of pulling your middle finger to another roaduser, the car might try to hit this person.
Thinking is not a crime might not be true in such a future.
I think someone in 1957 would be pretty impressed with home computers, cell phones, big screen TV's, VCR's, etc...
Halfnium amplifying X-Rays "exponentially"?? OK, I realize that this is a e-mag for PHB's, but come on - that reads like something straight out of Star Trek: "I know - we'll use a sheet of halfnium to amplify the X-Rays exponentially" "Shut up, Wesley" (no offense intended, CleverNickName...) Ignoring the fact that "exponentially" makes no sense in this context (after all, .9^n 1, you cannot define this without stating your units), but more importantly the energy must come from somewhere - either you are causing fission or some other form of decay in the halfnium, or you aren't getting any more energy out than you put in.
Secondly, did anyone else feel like they were reading the Great Library from any of the Civilization games - "Domestication + Iron working = Stirrup" "Bio-informatics + Genetics = Enhanced crops"?
I agree - the tech of the future will come about as combinations of what we have: I'm far too big a fan of James Burke to dispute that. But this article was "a crock of excrement, and none may abide the odor thereof".
www.eFax.com are spammers
Biofuel production plants? It'll never work on a large enough scale.
Why not? What part of the chain do you think will fail?
If you read through to the end of the article (a rare thing around here, I know) you will find this:
Quantum Nucleonics
The big idea: A portable, safe, nonpolluting source of nuclear power
As long as we're being fanciful, why not use these amazing portable nuclear devices to power our whiz-bang portable devices?
Do not read this sig.
Will humanity (the poor of the world, their strenght being the numbers) rebel against the cyborgs (the bionic we) someday?
;^)
For some insight into that question, may I recommend you view Episode 6 of Sealab 2021--I, Robot. An insightful debate on the issue is contained within.
Do not read this sig.
Agreed. Plus, this sounds like some bad Cosmo article headline:
Eight Technologies That Will Change the World
Eight Makeup Tricks to Make You Look Thinner
Eight Ways to Keep Your Man Interested
Eight Hot Looks for Summer
Not too long ago, the top list of techs that would change the world were typically all about computers and the internet, focusing on how people interact with each other and get information. The big internet bubble kinda grew out of this whole excitement over computer and internet technology as an end in and of itself rather than a means to another end.
Now it seems like the general populace have tired of thinking of computers and the internet as they did before. This lack of interest and the recession have fed each other to a downward spiral. It seems that now the populace is getting more excited about biotech things, as reflected in this article. e-everything and fast communications got boring, but now people see biotech as having the potential for enhancing and extending life in a very real and pervasive way.
So are we about to see a "biotech" bubble like the "internet" bubble we saw in the past few years? Are bio-engineering, genetics, and biology programs about to reach record high enrollments like computer science and engineering programs saw a few years ago (when the general populace thought computer knowledge = big bucks).
Anyway, though boring to the public in general, botany research could have great impact on our lives. Things like spider silk and insulin from plants, as well as enhancing foods to feed more people could offer further reaching impact than anything mentioned in the article, in terms of reaching third world countries, for example. It's pretty exciting. Before long, they expect to be able to produce enough insulin to supply all the world's diabetic population in a few farms. Pretty cool stuff, just hope this stuff doesn't get lost in the noise of "bionic man" super-hyped research.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
A Slashdot proof server.
Made up of Linux and about fifty Beowulf Clusters of the latest 'wunderkind' hardware this server will one day almost be able to withstad the force of several thousand people attacking it simultaneously. Thus destroying googles popular Cache service forever.
Slashdot Math 50+5-3= More Karma than I have
Read Errant Story.
Man, I'd cut my hand off for a neural interface :)
:) ) Maybe they could just interecept and block input to the leg temporarily, rerouting it to the computer interface. I remember reading about a study that showed there is some mechanism in the body that blocked input to your body from your brain during sleep, as an explanation for people who don't have control over their body for a couple seconds after waking up. (never happened to me though)
Although, it says in the article, that someone with a paralyzed leg was able to move the mouse by attempting to move the leg. Makes me wonder how it could work for someone with a complete, healthy body. I remember reading a case study about a person who had two fingers melded together (naturally) at birth. They did an MRI on his brain before and after separating his fingers and the results showed that his brain changed slightly. Their hypothesis was that it made new connections to deal with more input resulting from the extra skin and nerves. So, I wonder if it'd be possible to help the brain make new facultys for input/output. (although, i'm clearly not a neurosurgeon.
Ansi's and stupid tricks!
I remember hearing a quote a while ago in a book I read titled "The year in 1980". The book was a collection of predictions from scientists, engineers, and other academics about what the world would be like in 1980. The quote went:
"The problem with predicting the future is that you either predict that we can do far too much, or that we can do far too little."
I think this applies to these predictions. A good number of them, humourously enough, were in this book that I just quoted from. Eventually, they'll come, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
(IMHO, as always)
~ kjrose
A common theme of the posts Iv read so far seem to moan about how so much was promised years ago, and how nothing much has come of it.
:o) and be amazed at how little they think of even a few of these things, and just pass them of as nothing new or impressive at all.
Which at a glance, might seem right. But thats only because Im guessing there is a pretty youngish age group of readers here (Ie, under 40?) how have grown up with technology to the point, they see it as normal, not gee-wizz. Since its going from 'old computer to better computer' not no computers, to computers etc.
Im sure in some years to come Ill be talking to my kids(Maybe
I saw the light at the end of the tunnel... But it was just someone with a flashlight bringing more work.
Hmmm... having done a few stints in the USAF, the term "Brillian Pebbles" comes to mind. Only one country in the world can threaten the US with nukes (okay, two if you count Ukraine, but only for a year or so more thanks to us buying them up), that being Russia. And, given that they have not built a new bomber or ISBM since 1990, nor do they have more than three working SSBMs, that may not even be true, and we would BURY them if that happened.
Vietnam... read up. We could take them in a week these days, they are broke, dispirited, and brutalized. You equate a political situation and blunder from the 60's to the reality of today... it just doesn't hang.
A united Europe? LOL. YOu have no shipping for invasion, only two good french and one old brit carrier, a divided political base, a limited amount of nukes, no intercontinental ranged strike AC. Two dozen ICBMs and it is over pally. Worse still, the US wouldn't even resort to that, we would just park 10 nuclear carriers and two dozen top notch attack boats around the edge and blocade your butts while we economically bury you. And finally, you do have the French and Italians, who while nice people (my mom is french), couldn't fight their way out of a wet paper bag with a shotgun and a map when it comes to war and only know how to wave white flags (must be taugh in basic training), and France is one of your nuclear nations and has the two decent carriers!
unless by date you mean 'frantically and repeatedly masturbate to'...
The Venn diagrams of the article remind me of the pretty pictures I see whenever I get a new technology in Alpha Centauri or Civilization. How long do I have to wait for Matter Transmission?
Careers should combine three things: what you can do, what you want to do, and what you can get paid for.
They didn't even mention the Ginger/IT/segfault^H^H^H^H^Hway
The real interesting stuff--the advances that will really shake things up--aren't readily apparent to mainstream business writers. This cluelessness is to be expected, and is compounded by a well-engrained fear of going out on a limb. Instead we see these sorts of articles, with these sorts of lists, i.e. those that most people really won't complain about, and that you can find in any good scifi overview. They are safe. Less so are the 'future technologies' that will drive enormous transformations in basic industries (industries BTW that will continue to be important for the foreseeable future), the development of new technologies of death (first for the military and then as denuded civilian applications), and ubiquitous connectivity at the level of the individual. The aggravating thing is that any good review of current research suggests a multitude of alternative views that don't include Star Trek tech.
Hey, yes, your brain really *does* rewire itself when something about you changes drastically. I know. I have cerebral palsy, which results from a combination of predisposition, circumstance, and brain damage, and if brains didn't fix their own "short circuits" to a certain extent, I wouldn't have walked into the office this morning, and I wouldn't be typing this to you now. Granted, it takes a hell of a lot of work, stimulation (the important bit), exercise, and determination, but in general, it's possible.
In short, believing that everything in the brain is absolutely hard-and-fast controlled by *one place* and *one place* in your brain alone is nonsense. Some of those places that should control various parts of my body (the "default settings," if you will) are long since dead. Other parts picked up the slack, more or less. I wouldn't mind a little cognitronic jolt to the rest to get up to 100% functionality, though...
Cheers,
Interrobang, upright and striving for a reasonable hand-drawn facsimile of "able-bodied" since 1978
I'm not a geek, I'm just a clever script.
Well, yes, but ... Your kitchen cabinets and most of your cheap, assemble-it-yourself furniture are made of particle board (wood fibers glued together in a plastic matrix). Your countertops are particle board and formica if you're a working joe, and Corian if you're a yuppie. Your subfloor -- and your roof sheeting -- are Oriented StrandBoard (wood fibers glued together in a plastic matrix). Your floor is probably "tiled" with either polyurethane or vinyl, and carpeted with recycled polyester. Your exterior walls have an OSB layer (if you're lucky), a polystyrene insulating layer, and more probably vinyl than brick to face the elements. Your bathtub is either acrylic or fiberglass (silica fibers in a polyester matrix). Your deck is quite likely to be either sheathed in plastic, or simply made of plastic. Your couch is upholstered with polyurethane foam covered with polyester fabric. Your patio furniture is, of course, resin (plastic). Your LOTR chess set is resin (plastic).
etc.
And let the angel whom thou still hast serv'd tell thee ...
You heard it hear first!
chamelic outer coverings
I saw it did you?
'In pusuit of the greater good!
That was $6,000,000 in 1976.
It would be nearly $19 million today.
[Inflation calculator at http://www.westegg.com/inflation/ ]
Money is the biggest obstacle to all of this. We've had the technology to build a lot of this stuff for a while, just not cheaply. If there's money in it, and a profit margin, then it'll get built. Otherwise, it's just 70's TV-show fodder...
They won't change a damn thing, they'll never even get a chance to, because they'll all violate either the DMCA, the CBDTPA, a EULA, somebody's Terms of Service Agreement, UCITA, a patent, the Bern Convention, the Patriot Act, or some as yet unknown restrictive legislation yet to be enacted.
The technology future for the U.S. was yesterday. It's all over, man. We're rushing headlong into third-world status at breakneck speed and there's nobody out there to stop us.
Sure, create more SPAM subject lines....
- - - - - - - - - - -
I am a programmer. I am paid to produce syntax not grammar. Deal with it.
it's called gravity
Kilroy was here!
Of course the real problem with a rifle that fires 1500 RPM is keeping the soldier equipped with enough bullets!
Can I have a jetpack now?
Best wishes,
Mike.
uh oh.
I can't believe it's not lard!
When are we goona be like the Jetsons? When are we gonna fly in cars? Or have robotic maids? Or living in the sky? When?
Business 2.0 certainly does not know....
Coderz 4 Life
Biologic sensing devices will become small enough to reside on or inside people, animals, and crops.
Crops?
built into my retina
I hate how low bandwith spoken language currently is. It takes forever to upload my ideas into others' heads.
never forget a name or face! Play Counterstrike anytime, anywhere.
another perk of the NIC in my nervous system...
Pass advanced calculus in about a week. Older because I don't want any overheating issues... What's that smell
because I can.
fully compatible with the previous device. Get your bionic babe's body and mind off at the same time!
On that note, if there are any bionocists in the house please add me to your waiting list as soon as it's post-beta. Thank you. *g*
Nothing in this list could replace good dependable PI technology like Jim Rockford. The future has a long way to go before it catches up to the 70s.
Hey, give me a break. My note referenced an archetypal "you" -- the average american living on an average wage. The examples you present identify you as someone who either a) makes a lot more money than the average american, or b) chooses expensive, high-quality natural materials and forgoes other varieties of comfort or indulgence that most Americans prefer not to sacrifice.
Drive by any middle-class suburban development and count the houses with vinyl siding versus those with stone walls. In these parts, the ratio is likely to be NAN. A cast iron bathtub (without whirlpool jets) costs $2000. An acrylic tub costs $200. The typical home today is built with a fiberglass tub/shower enclosure, not a cast-iron Kohler tub.
Many people these days can't even tell the difference. The last time I was shopping for used furniture, I saw several particle-board tables that had been advertised as oak by their owners.
And let the angel whom thou still hast serv'd tell thee ...
(heh heh)FLASH Poof! Poof! Poof!...Poof!
D'OH!!!
many applications are being researched at
universities around the world for further
info go to
www.colossalstorage.net
I'm assuming then that the floor is SYP (Southern Yellow Pine) and your oak furniture is Quarter-Sawn White Oak? If its not, then you got scammed into buying trashy furniture made to make people think 'real wood' is better. Whicherver way though I'm sure the parent poster was correct about having OSB subfloors, walls and countless other plastic enabled materials.