If "Moore's" "Law" is accurate, and we manage to keep the ecomic engine running strong nough to support the computing industry, we 20 to 40 years away from the storage/memory/CPU to completely simulate a human brain for $1000 using the least efficient method, a connectivity matrix.
So, yes, humans will likely have some new servants/friends/competition in the next 50 years.
It is difficult to predict how technology will be applied many years in the future. I suspect mechanical and materials engineering will continue to lag behind in the technology curve. If that is the case, I don't think it is the waiters/waitresses that need fear for their jobs. I think information workers do. It doesn't take a body to program...
I think a company of 500 software developers today will be one of 5 human developers by 2050, and will have far better products and productivity for it.
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If "Moore's" "Law" is accurate, and we manage to keep the ecomic engine running strong nough to support the computing industry, we 20 to 40 years away from the storage/memory/CPU to completely simulate a human brain for $1000 using the least efficient method, a connectivity matrix. So, yes, humans will likely have some new servants/friends/competition in the next 50 years. It is difficult to predict how technology will be applied many years in the future. I suspect mechanical and materials engineering will continue to lag behind in the technology curve. If that is the case, I don't think it is the waiters/waitresses that need fear for their jobs. I think information workers do. It doesn't take a body to program... I think a company of 500 software developers today will be one of 5 human developers by 2050, and will have far better products and productivity for it.