[Screwston]

Let's say in the next 500 years or less. Will the world look like Blade Runner, Minority Report or another movie? Sometimes I daydream about this kind of shit but who really knows what cities will look like. I think computers and new technology will make a lot more people depressed. It was better in the late 90's wasn't it

[RichieP]

Man some crrrrazy shit is coming. I think some big things:

-Life extension. People are really going to get a handle on this. There's something like 1000's of things that cause aging, 100's of effects, but only 7 mechanisms by which the causes cause the effects. Researchers are circling in on how to mitigate these mechanisms. Rich people scared of their mortality are going to pump this full of money IMO.

-Neuroscience and applications. We're starting to get a handle on what is really going on in the brain on a system-level and a neuron-level. I think you could see treatments like Neurofeedback becoming way more mainstream, making it much easier for people to heal depression, anxiety, trauma, ADD, etc. The possibility of making your brain "functional" again will becoming widely available + accepted. This is a great thing.

-Synthetic biology. This one is bewildering and scary as fuck... especially considering how unregulated the commercial labs are, and how much influence the big biotech companies have, and also easy it is becoming for the average joe to start playing around with DNA, cells and virus components in his garage. It's a real worry IMO and it might take an outbreak of something serious before we realise just how bad this could be. I hope we dont wipe ourselves out... that really would be a fuckin cosmic joke.


One thing I know is things are changing faster and faster, and the stakes getting higher and higher in many areas. We really could make it to a utopia of sorts - especially if we get mental health, poverty and population growth handled. OTOH there's plenty of chances for it to all go wrong. We've made it this far though, I hope we're not stupid enough to fuck it all up..!

[deathtofatties]

I think a more important question isn't just technology, but how it will be utilized. I mean, technology isn't really helping us as a society if we all have to worj an extra 10 hours to pay for a smart phone. So hopefully technology in the future will be utilized like this:

Jacque Fresco (founder of the Venus Project, the guy in this video) is a total Genius. A lot of things we use today were invented by him, but he wasn't given credit. He survived the great depression, and is still alive today!

[Sourcecode]

Google

[Duke Castile]

I read in an interview with one of the founders of google years ago that he wants to be able to put a chip in your brain so you can think a question and google will answer.

[IpsaScientiaPotestasEst]

Ok so saying all of this, I will just state this first-the U.S. created Stealth bombers in the 1980s and then unveiled them to the public. Just...imagine what the hell they are engineering now that we don't exactly know of yet or haven't found out about. Ok, sooo....

-Nanotechnology-This is something in the current stages as of right now, but lord knows how the heck its gonna shape things in the future-because there are a VARIETY of applications it will be used for.
-Pharmaceuticals-As already mentioned in a previous post, its gonna be downright scary how much the human genome and genetics will be studied over the next 50 years.
-Robotics-We are already seeing the initial robotics arms race with drones. They are already creating robots that straight up look like something out of Star Wars now (Im talking about the two foot walkers, not fucking C3PO...and while these types are highly advanced now, its a bit scary to think about what they will do in the future)-so lord knows what will we have in the future. But these robotics will vastly also affect civilian lifestyle whether in the home, or increasing labor-once again leading to more loss of jobs but also increasing productivity.
-Transportation/Electromagnetics-In all likelihood there will be vast improvements in transportation, whether its planes that can go coast to coast across a continent in minutes-or even stations that orbit earth-electromagnetics is likely to have a part in it. This is also not to mention levitation and cities that will be built to 'float' above land or the ocean if necessary due to the increase in population.
-Energy-HOPEFULLY, by the next 50 years a solution is found to low cost-renewable energy. If not, seriously plan on major conflicts in the next 50 years-whether it is another world war or several proxy wars.
-The geopolitical landscape is likely to change as well, we are already seeing current tensions across the world likely/possible to go bad in a matter of time. While war has vastly changed and is much more micro currently, there is still a vast possibility for another major war to occur-and while we wouldn't like it to, it is highly possible and probable.
-Cybertechnology-This will also be another area of tensions, as is starting to happen currently, because it will be the next frontier for countries to militarize or attack others. Like it or not, whats the need for a missle/bullets when you can turn off the electricity to an entire city with a well programmed/thought out virus? Thats also not to mention the capabilities of EMP.

-Maybe the major biggest change, technology/media/tv(or whatever it will be) will become increasingly microfocused and personal for people, and will force people to be less dependent on others for social interaction. Its already happening now with ipods, all the tablets, videogames and what not-and it will only grow stronger with whatever new technologies to come. People will be more enabled to 'tune in, and tune out'-and less necessary to rely on others to get there kicks or even socialize. HUGE ramifications for game and the way people interact with each other in the future.

Love thinking/talking about shit like this though,

Game on gentlemen

[peterthephoenix]

Sex-bots: As the quality of human females deteriorates over the next 50 years and we will see the sexual rise of the alpha to scoop up the best women and destruction of the omega. Lesser males who cannot get women will turn to other sources to find sexual and emotional fulfillment. This will come in the form of sexbots and the rise of android brothels.

These will be made by the Japanese and look just like real women and with the development of technology will talk and act more like real women everyday.

Sex robots are set to replace real sex workers by 2050: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_2h0-h9M...re=related

[malc]

Real things that exist today, but are not released to market yet:

- RISUG: Cheap reliable male birth control better than any kind of birth control a women could take. It's going to cause an explosion in STDs and a silent sexual revolution in western countries. The demographic squeeze in developed countries will increase even further as 'oops' babies become less prevalent and the manosphere scares even more men from child support.
- Thorium Energy: A non weaponizable clean energy source cheaper than coal and evenly distributed in sufficient quantities all over the world.

Currently Developing:
- Quantified Self & personalized genetic medicine. When you can put a device on your wrist and have your smart phone bug you saying your body is not in fat loss mode, hopefully fat loss will be a bit easier for the average american :|
- Self-Driving Cars: Car ownership, transportation costs and land values will decrease heavily as convient electric cars drive everyone everywhere. Commutes become useful time, kids dont have to be driven to school anymore and switching power sources are more practical, as profit minded businesses will quickly switch to cheaper energy sources for their fleets due to the economy of scale. Look at Uber in SF, 1/5th the price, for the future of the self driving car. Adoption will start in cities where parking and car ownership is a PITA. Logistics will simplify, as you can continue the interaction while the car drives you to where you want to go and gives you a private space with no awkward taxi drivers trying not to look at you making out.

Regulators block this:
- Electric air taxis: For people living on islands (like in Hawaii), the possibility of flying a small electric airplane for 1/10th the fuel cost for a short distance will be a fucking godsend. And there would be no TSA bullshit, since it would be automated like the self driving car.

[Tuthmosis]

I'm not being contrary here, but I think humanity will be back to sticks and stones in 500 years. Major epidemic or catastrophe (probably fucking man-made), with massive deaths, followed by a tribal, semi-primitive state.

Then, bitches will really be able to complain about "rape culture." I hope to god one of my descendants survives so he can say, "told you so" in whatever fucked up Internet semi-language survives the goddamn apocalypse.

   

The alternative is an Idiocracy-like world, if you've seen that masterpiece-of-a-movie.

[kolovrat]

There are several scenarios, not all of them mutually exclusive:

(a) Technological break-thoughts, ranging from radical life extension, to technological singularity. The biggest short-term change we will see it the development of reality-augmenting glasses such as in Google's Project Glass.

(b) Collapse due to overpopulation, exhaustion of resources, runaway climate change.

© Stabilization and zero-growth society after transition to sustainability.

(d) Dysgenics ultimately causing civilizational regression, but this process takes centuries not decades, and I'm sure some version of a or b would have already radically changed the picture.

[porscheguy]

I'd like to hope that we'll all wake up and start looking back into real space exploration that we abandoned for that bullshit space shuttle 35 years ago. It would be nice to see a man (preferably an American) back on the moon before I die. I won't hold my breath.

As fucked up and self absorbed as we've become, I think Soylent Green technology is more likely to be in our future.

[Thomas the Rhymer]

I believe that military grade software like Stuxnet will infesting so many computers that the internet will no longer be viable. The moment you connect to the internet your computer will become a security risk both to yourself and your country. The internet will be so crawling with stuxnet-like programs that it will be too dangerous to use, leading to its collapse. Closed local area nets will continue to exist, but this is the golden age of the internet. It's only going downhill from here. Use it while you still can. I'm guessing that 10 years from you won't be able to access websites across your nation's borders.

[speakeasy]

I think a fascinating technology in the works that will explode in coming decades is 3D printing. That would be as big a change as the industrial revolution. It would mean people could just "print" any objects they want. So far it looks like the objects are limited to plastic, but what happens when you can start printing objects using metals as well as combinations of metals and plastics. Think about how that will revolutionize manufacturing. Perhaps at some point in the future 3d printers will become small enough and cheap enough for everybody to have one, meaning that many things you'd normally need to buy can just be printed. Need a new iPad? Just download the blueprint and "print" it...

[soup]

I think women will grow to be larger than men, but more gelatinous. Oops, that's already happened.

[mistermister]

most of the technological innovations that we enjoy today come from the department of defence.
computing
radio/technology
space based sattelites
internet/networking

look at what the pentagon is developing and you have a roadmap of innovation in our society for the next 100 years.

[Basil Ransom]

Here's a good list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_eme...chnologies

I'm looking forward to male contraception and driverless cars the most. There are other exciting things, sure, but they won't be out for at least a decade.

[Enfant_Terrible]

Sex:
-Agreed on the RISUG.

This article was posted here before, good read:
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/04/ff_vasectomy/

-an all-purpose after-sex spray to prevent all sorts of VD's

Transportation:
Vehicles that use water as fuel.

Flying cars? I want flying motorcycles.

Motorcycle tech:
-helmets and suits that have Iron Man tech (with weapons maybe? ) where you can cool/heat yourself, call people, order take out, play music, and turn by turn directions using voice.

Roads:
-more dedicated freeways for bicycles.

I'm hating on cars nowadays as an LA resident.

Fashion:
Adjustable, customizable suits without tailors

Food:
I don't know, I just want some policies/production methods to change.

Phones/TV/Computers/Tablets:
I'm conflicted with this one...I like using them but I also don't like people kept glued to shiny, distracting things that I can't talk to them anymore. But this won't stop.

Internet:
Fiber connection to as many people as possible. Ridiculous that we're stuck with the speeds we're getting now (in the USA). https://fiber.google.com/about/

[Roosh]

Yup, 3d printing will be a major disruptor.

What the internet did to music/movies and eventually books, 3d printing will do the same to physical products. Download schematics and print.

[soup]

(08-11-2012 03:30 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

Yup, 3d printing will be a major disruptor.

What the internet did to music/movies and eventually books, 3d printing will do the same to physical products. Download schematics and print.

This brings up an interesting question: what is something that can't be mechanically reproduced or downloaded? These will become more valuable in the future:

Acoustic music performances
Live theater

[Kitsune]

(08-11-2012 03:40 PM)soup Wrote:  

(08-11-2012 03:30 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

Yup, 3d printing will be a major disruptor.

What the internet did to music/movies and eventually books, 3d printing will do the same to physical products. Download schematics and print.

This brings up an interesting question: what is something that can't be mechanically reproduced or downloaded? These will become more valuable in the future:

Acoustic music performances
Live theater

Good luck with those.
Live music is becoming deader than dead. There won't be any money to be made from it in the future, because the mechanism behind the massive crowds will be gone.

Music has had its golden age, economically speaking.

Anyway; I've been reading this site for years:

http://www.futuretimeline.net/

You can get quite a lot of good ideas from this for potential investment opportunities.

That said, I'm 90% sure there is going to be an economic 'collapse' in the next 50-100 years; it is almost an inevitability, in my mind. My main goal for the next 30 years or so is to have my potential children be in a good position for after the rebuild.

[Basil Ransom]

(08-11-2012 03:30 PM)Roosh Wrote:  

Yup, 3d printing will be a major disruptor.

What the internet did to music/movies and eventually books, 3d printing will do the same to physical products. Download schematics and print.

Will this change day to day life much? 3D printing is interesting, but I've never felt the need to own more rapidly built pieces of plastic. It seems like the main benefits are cutting down the time and expense of doing something we're already doing. It's revolutionary to anyone in related industries, but is it revolutionary for consumers? For all the hubbub about media piracy, is the actual media being pirated much different for it?

A lot of these technologies fit into this category of 'revolutionary for producers, but consumers may never notice.' Eg, even if wind power magically became competitive today, would it change your life much? I'm guessing not.

Or, they're entertainment technologies that are just more efficient forms of 'circus.' I don't think these will make us any happier or genuinely improve our quality of life. They just suck people in more effectively - eg, World of Warcraft, Xbox Live, Kinect, etc.

Also, I'm surprised no one mentioned education. If employers start hiring people on the basis of credentials earned online, or tests completed, that would be something. See Coursera, Udacity, EdX, Khan Academy.

Being able to produce high quality meats and produce for less money would also be a major breakthrough.

[malc]

Contour Crafting, 3D concrete printing for houses.

With 3D printing, we'll still need the raw materials. And specialized items such a microchips will still need to be manufactured.

[jackson.henley]

(08-09-2012 10:13 PM)RichieP Wrote:  

-Neuroscience and applications. We're starting to get a handle on what is really going on in the brain on a system-level and a neuron-level. I think you could see treatments like Neurofeedback becoming way more mainstream, making it much easier for people to heal depression, anxiety, trauma, ADD, etc. The possibility of making your brain "functional" again will becoming widely available + accepted. This is a great thing.

Not at all a sure thing. Even if this was possible, it eliminates the need to deal with these issues through self discipline. Humans would become weaker mentally (we are already seeing this).

[Screwston]

Does anyone think any movies accurately portray the future (from what you've read and guess it will be like)?

I'm kind of glad I'm alive during the last wave of real happiness. I don't like to much crazy technology. Even cell phones get to me since so much info can be acquired with your number.

[tenderman100]

The future is...singularity.