Science and Technology in the 21st century

[Civ001]

So, what do you think that Science and Technology will be like in the 21st century? Since so much has happened in the last 11 years, what will the 88 years of the 21st century be like?

Please I want a serious discussion, please no answers such as: We will all see a sport called mutant football in which we will watch. There will be meteors that strike the earth and wipe out all life or etc like that.

[Shneckie]

Well a lot can happen in 88 years from now, really hard to tell. At the current trend, I reckon:
Renewable sources will account for the majority of the worlds energy use.
Most road cars will be electric.
Anyone can view any part of the world from anywhere in real time.
Space exploration will advance at a considerable rate and it's also possible that new industrial interests in space will have developed by then. (just look at the sudden ambition towards space displayed by the private sector)

[removeduser_4536284751384]

Most road cars will be electric.

I'm skeptical. Synthetic hydrocarbons are a much better store of energy.

[Gaidin]

Most road cars will be electric.

We could already do this if we wanted. The problem here is infrastructure. We already have the technology, but for most road cars to be electric we need the electric equivalent of gas stations everywhere.

[John Doe]

3D printing with nano technology

[Morbius Sire]

Difficult to tell. If the current peace/pace continues:
I'd Better wireless technology, more efficient material technology, and more focus on proving current theories (String theory for example). Also, more breakthroughs in biology/genetics.

3D printing with nano technology

Well, that's already in research and in the works probably.

[Timefool]

Manual labor will be performed exclusively by robots.
The average life expectancy (unless we master genetic mutation) will increase to about 130.
Physical devices like phones will begin to be phased out and replaced with personal projectors in the arm or lenses in the eye.

[Morbius Sire]

The average life expectancy (unless we master genetic mutation) will increase to about 130.

well, iirc the human genome was fully mapped in 2000 or 2003. And recently, there's lot of discovery in terms of how DNA is coded and understood by different cells in the body, including ways of splicing DNA groups and potentially revert certain cells back to stem/original cells. The field is called epigenetics.

So full scale genetic splicing/engineering will be reality in the near future.

[AqD]

Life expectancy is meaningless. We can live forever and in perfect shape if we just remove all sort of GE restricts now.




I hope they will make that before the end:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Trax]

Cars will be self-driving, humans driving motorised vehicles outside of sports will be banned across the world.

[SinerAthin]

Abolishment of nations.

It'd be cool if the human race could finally just band together. Conquering the universe as a coalition of individuals might be though

Cars will be self-driving, humans driving motorised vehicles outside of sports will be banned across the world.

I fear this might actually be true

[Shneckie]

Abolishment of nations.

It'd be cool if the human race could finally just band together. Conquering the universe as a coalition of individuals might be though



I fear this might actually be true

Indeed.

[boofhead]

Abolishment of nations.

That would suck balls. Please hold off on this until after around 2050, when current average lifespans suggest I'm going to die.

[DisgruntledGoat]

Impossible to say what will happen this century. Some like to think we are still on track to reach the "technological singularity" within the next 50 years. If that is going to happen then we could be looking at a very very very different society in 88 years.

[Himster]

Cybernetics.
After that anything and everything is possible: immortality, time-travel?, the matrix, unlimited space-travel, designer planets, designer ecosystems, cylons, artificial life/real man-made life................

[DisgruntledGoat]

Cybernetics.
After that anything and everything is possible: immortality, time-travel?, the matrix, unlimited space-travel, designer planets, designer ecosystems, cylons, artificial life/real man-made life................

Essentially what I am referring to. The singularity is the moment mankind creates an artificial intelligence greater than our own. At which point we reach an "intellectual even horizon" as the human mind will no longer be able to comprehend the possible outcomes of such an intelligence. Immortality, relativistic travel, greater and greater machine intelligence. Only the imagination limits us in such a scenario.

[Jack04]

If history is anything to go by, we'll probably develop about 100 new ways to kill one another in ever more efficient ways. With any luck, there'll be a few accidental by-products along the way which might actually benefit mankind. [/Cynic]

Realistically? I'd expect either nuclear fusion or generation IV fission reactors to become viable within the next 50 years, there's a good chance graphene will revolutionise a great deal of contemporary technology and I suspect we'll see an increasing trend towards electric/hydrogen cars (driven, hopefully, by an increase in efficiency). On the science front, its rather more difficult to say. Concentrating of physics, a more developed version of string-theory might be plausible or some other theory of quantum gravity. I rather suspect that the standard models of both particle physics and astrophysics might receive something of a kicking over the next century too. Majorana neutrinos, anyone?

In almost every way we currently consider, the technology of the future will probably disappoint. In every other way, it'll probably astound.

[Calypze]

Essentially what I am referring to. The singularity is the moment mankind creates an artificial intelligence greater than our own. At which point we reach an "intellectual even horizon" as the human mind will no longer be able to comprehend the possible outcomes of such an intelligence. Immortality, relativistic travel, greater and greater machine intelligence. Only the imagination limits us in such a scenario.

Am I the only one here who thinks the singularity is utter nonsense?

[Hakomar]

I think there won't be many scientific breakthroughs now, just frequent incremental increases in our understanding that accumulate over time, as well as increases in technology.

[Moonhoplite]

Everyone's DNA will be sequenced individually, so there can be personalized medical treatment.

EDIT:
Oh and humanity will prepare with advanced military technology, as in 2101 war was beginning.