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Technology Innovation Areas For 2025
Kyle Spector writes "A global futurist research firm convened an expert panel to forecast the major areas and potential advances in technology innovation through the year 2025. This blog entry contains the full list of 12 areas and some details about each, including personalized medicine, distributed energy, pervasive computing, and nanomaterials."
What a conjob
"# With the initial mapping of the human genome, scientists are moving rapidly toward the following likely breakthroughs for gene-based products and services:
* creation of an individual's genome map for a retail price of less than $1,000
This was announced last week...no waiting. Come on down.
They are not saying anything too futuristic about the Universal water. What they say is almost here (with a good margin for improvement). However, what they don't say is that all those expensive cool ways to get water only matter to the first world, and not third world countries. We'll be lucky if they have a couple of drops of bleach to put on their drinking water to prevent waterborne diseases for 2025. That would save 1.8 million lives a year. Without any cool ways to get the water, just some basic water treatment for everybody.
Tis women makes us love, Tis Love that makes us sad, Tis sadness makes us drink, And drinking makes us mad.
Every single one of the points mentioned in each of the 12 areas is something that's happening now. This is a 5 year outlook, not an 18 year one. I was hoping to read about the 'next big thing'. 18 years ago it was cell phones and the internet. 18 years before that it was space (satellite), computers and materials science. 18 years before that it was the transistor and rock and roll. Each one had radical, far flung implications that had revolutionary effects, not evolutionary ones.
creation of an individual's genome map for a retail price of less than $1,000 - try $985
advanced electric storage devices and batteries at all scales - lithium? Supercaps?
very simple and inexpensive computing devices with integrated wireless telephone and Internet capabilities - www.nokia.com?
the "semantic Web," - Google? Netflix?
multiple variable and inexpensive sensors linked with computers - your door is ajar?
ultra-fine filters (probably from nanotechnology) - semipermeable membranes? Reverse osmosis?
affordable and effective carbon capture and storage technologies and systems for coal-burning power plants - riiiight... why not just re-burn the carbon after you capture it? Oh that's right, perpetual motion and all that.
identification of specific genomes for desired growing and use qualities - you mean ones that Monsanto hasn't already patented?
radio frequency tags for people and valuables - been shopping lately folks?
onboard sensors and computers for smart vehicles - your door is... we know, we know
advanced high-speed rail - presumably the high speed (400 km/h) rail we have now isn't advanced.
This reads more like someone's current R&D budget.
I mean, back in 1989, how many (few?) people could envision the Internet in its current form?
I've been on the Internet since 1989. It hasn't changed much. We just have prettier pictures now.
I can't decide if this post is interesting, funny, insightful, or flamebait.