Something that will correctly track your calorie intake and how much you burn as you do it without having to enter anything. You wear it on your wrist or something. This is my dream product.
“Oh, I’ll just jog a little so I can have a cookie.” Tada! Obesity solved.
If gene splicing can save the Cavendish banana from extinction, it’ll get a big boost and probably prompt another ag revolution.
You know, for a zombie thread from back in 2006, my post #29 above was not bad when I mentioned:
“I also believe the Internet is still a baby…with tie-ins to cell phones and monitors of all kinds.”…iPhones came out in 2007 and this was long before I had seen a smartphone, which I now own.
“Broadband video is already changing the long range forecasts for major film studios and television broadcasters - no one is exactly sure what is going to happen, but one thing is for sure, people will begin to get their entertainment on-line.” …again, this has pretty much happened already.
Now if I could just predict those Powerball numbers…
Bachelor Chow.
In about 100 years: hunting and gathering.
I think it will be energy related, especially the way we power our vehicles. Some kind of battery breakthrough, or alternative energy source that changes the fossil fuel paradigm. That would be a game changer.
In the next 100 years, I would say genetic recombination - now it might eventually get to engineered babies in the multi centuries from now range, but I predict in the closer future we’ll be able to insert genes to kill most cancers, and as an outgrowth of that start replacing bad genes in the first place - turning BRCA into a gene form that doesn’t cause cancer, swapping out genes for baldness, alzheimers, etc.
2011-2016 -
Increasing wireless ubiquity, everything online everywhere, starts in major cities and spreads from there
Tattoo reversal systems offered, with various pricing and success, to aging hipsters
Twitter has not yet reached the steep part of its growtrh curve…
Smart phones replace wallets, use voice recognition and other biometrics for security
Firts self mending nano materials hit market (lenses will repair minor scratched themselves, paint will not peel or fade, fabrics will “reweave” small tears and holes.
2016-2021
House hold robot acts as concierge… remembers appointments, takes messages, answers doors, house hold security, think of a smart Roomba. It will be an “extension” of the home’s built in computer
Personal computers will hit such a high level of development that the obsolesence curve will begin to flatten out. You wont need to “upgrade your hardware” ever 3 yrs or so.
Fisrt Yottabyte storage system for under $200
Software will be(via wireless) leased by use time instead of purchased. Use Photoshop for 22 minutes to retouch some red eye shots. It will cost you $1…Use it everyday?.. subscribe…
Pop Stars will have 3-4 week “runs”, there will be very few “enduring” artists (Neil Young)
2021 -2025
Special Lanes set aside for driverless cars. Most busses and public transit will be driverless.
Artificial intellegence passes Turing Test
Average life span, for those who can afford it will be 100+ yrs
Increasing amounts of protein harvested from non tradiional sources. Wax worm burgers sold as fast food (Better name will be up to marketers.)
First neurocybernetic implants, probably military
2025-2030
Political revolutions sweep the planet as governments become slow, ponderous dinosaurs compared to a globally connected cyberpopulation (Think Arab Spring, but everywhere)
Education and literacy become moot as direct neural connection eliminate the need for learning and biological storage of knowledge.
Your household robot will be able to wash, dry, fold and put away laundry, do dishes, cook basic foods, order groceries, most household cleaning.
Nanotech changes the way we build our building, bridges, cars, heal our selves and stay healthy - intellegent materials will self recycle and self manuafacture as needed.
Hacking and production of malicious code will be a very serious offense… death penalty, neuro editing or other severe penalties will be applied.
All entertainment will be 3D multi channel “imersive”, often interactive
2030-2035
Those under 10 years of age probably will not have handled cash, and will only have seen it in films or at grandparents’ homes.
Pretty much everything you wear will have been custom manufactured for you
Gravistatic or other inertialless drive begins tio be developed.
Average life span for middle class grater than 120 yrs.
War becoming obsolete, counties are largely symbolic, nationalism is replaced by cultural identity
World population stabalises at 14 billion
Fusion becomes available.
Nanotechnology begins to clean up the worst of the polution and toxicity left over from 20th century.
2035-beyond
Average globallife span = 140+ Those with access to real wealth can live almost indefinitely
First asteroid tugged into Near Earth Orbit and mined for materials. Most of the resources are used in manufacture of orbital and lunar development. Space tourism Booms. First baby born in space.
Moon rock jewelry fad
20th cenutury viewed historically as a cruel and insanely horrific time by most people
Straight Dope drops “fighting ignorance” and begins fighting Boredom. Thrill Posting fad results.
So are you serious or is that a parody of every futurist who ever lived?
I think it was a good parody or at least I hope Full Metal Locus was kidding. It does sound like a lot of the old futurists however and they were serious. I think the people in this thread who posted 5 years ago have done well above average for future predictions as a whole.