I'm showing my age here - but I was wondering...

[Gekko71]

...what new, upcoming technology gets you most excited about the future?

Here's why I ask:

The first computers I ever used in high school were Trash 80s, Vic 20s, Commodore 64s and a couple of Apple IIs (the old-timers here will already have guessed my age ). I thought these were the coolest things since sliced bread at the time. Then I saw the Amiga 128s and was massively blown away again.

I first used the internet via Gopher, Archie etc. in '89. and discovered the net in '95. Again - blown away by the potential of it all.

Nowadays ...that thrill is gone. Yes we have quad cores, broadband, mobile telephony and 'net acess up the wazoo, blah blah blah ...but that buzz - that wonder and excitement of future possibilitites is completely gone - and lately I've really missed it!

I want to get excited by the future again - to uncover technological marvels and future visions that will astound and excite me all over. So what am I missing? Where does the most exciting future for us all lie technologically?

All comments welcome.

[Bet51987]

...what new, upcoming technology gets you most excited about the future?

A robot that would do my chores and a car that would drive itself once you told it where you want to go.

Those would really turn me on.

Bee

[Floyd]

self driving cars would be pretty boring. you could as well go by train, meet new people, walk around, answer nature calls etc., all without stopping the travel. no car expenses and maintenance, just train tickets. if that was not enough, it would even save energy and keep the air cleaner!

that robot though sounds intriguing. since robots already walk, dance, drive skate boards and talk, this day is probably not too far away.

oh and Gekko, i think it's du to the fact that once around 1990 you've had a little rest between new sensations of technology (in that category), while they nowadays come one after another. and as far as i can see it, the current technology is \"only\" getting faster, while the underneath inventions are invisible to the user. there is not much new to the eyes and ears, just always more.
since i've gotten used to this constant stream of news i can't keep up with, i think that's the reason there are no more hypes like back in the day. also, all this technology seems already taken for granted nowadays.

[Krom]

The future development that I am hoping for the most would be cheap, clean, safe and abundant fusion based energy. It would probably be a revolution that would rival or exceed the industrial revolution.

After all, where else are we going to get the energy to run a robot so a certain slacker doesn't have to do her chores herself...

[Flabby Chick]

Things that excite me now, are not the the things that would have done fifteen years ago.

I'm excited...(bad word) about things that preserve your memories. Whether through photography, video, permanent net storage ect ect.

[WillyP]

I would agree with Krom about energy, but I would not require it to be 'fusion based'. If any technology comes along that could be competitively priced with existing technologies, and be healthier for the environment, this would be a good thing.

And personally, I like driving, but at times it does seem so wasteful. Our society is built around it.

[Red_5]

Personal Gyrocopters. Those things look cool!

That and holographic displays and ultrathin laptops/multimedia devices.

And then there's the flexible iPod (which must happen or I will be sad.)

[roid]

A great blog for cutting edge stuff and how it relates to our lives is http://nextbigfuture.com/ by futurist Brian Wang


what excites me the most is self-assembling assemblers, and nanotechnology.

because most other inventions will just be controlled and leaveraged for profit by patents and copyright, they will be designed with planned obscelecence and marketed to specific demographics so as best to get their money.

Most new technologies now - i get excited for a few seconds, then i realise it'll only be a toy for the rich - and it'll barely make the life of you and me better.

Self-assemblers though, they seem to offer the most plausible way to escape this existance of SCARCITY we find ourselves in on this world. When everything is free, and no-one wants for anything.

A machine that can make anything - even another of itself. It can build self-contained farms, it can build water pumps and purifyers. All you need are the plans for what you want to build (and they can be open source) and the machine can build it.

no more hunger.
no more scarcity.
no more capitalism.

THEN i can get excited about other inventions - because then they will actually mean something to my life. Something new gets invented - instantly i will be able to replicate it.

It will tie every person on earth into the advancement of technology. New rocket propulsion device: We populate space within a week as every person on the planet instructs their \"fabbers\" to build them.

[WillyP]

Nano tech is a pretty amazing concept: How much force does it take to move one atom?

[Kiran]

Hmm... new, upcoming technology that would get me excited about the future... nothing really. I agree with Roid on account of the new stuff goes to the rich. They're always so expensive. I guess what I could be excited about is whether or not it would help the less fortunate.
It's really weird that I wouldn't be excited about what possible new, improved technology would take me, because I depend on technology to help me hear the world. I could care less.
Huh. Imagine that, a hard of hearing person who depends on aids to help hear the world isn't interested in new improved technologies for the future. Wow that is very suprising to me, Gekko... I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

[roid]

Every technology i see, i get excited about what if EVERYONE COULD HAVE ONE OF THESE. But that is generally not condusive to making money - most companies try to leverage scarcity of their product to make the most money - so nothing is cheap, and nothing is TOO useful (planned obsolescence).

This ends up killing the world-changing potential that a lot of new technologies PROMISE, and therefore reduces most technologies to pointless unexciting consumer garbage. Not to mention the disappointment makes you soul weary and jaded.

[Grendel]

The only tech that would get me excited is the one that would allow us to move into the universe.

[Spidey]

I’m a little old to get excited about Technology…but I would like have a cyborg body to replace this worn out thing.

[TIGERassault]

I'm looking forward to any spectacular improvement in PC hardware. Or more specifially, in PPUs.

[mistercool2]

Where does the most exciting future for us all lie technologically?

I've wondered about space travel and life from other worlds since I was a kid.

You probably didn't mean this far in the future but this is what gets my wheels turning -

http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Int ... ace_travel

[Zantor]

...what new, upcoming technology gets you most excited about the future?

A robot that would do my chores and a car that would drive itself once you told it where you want to go.

Those would really turn me on.

Bee

Autonomous vehicles are not that far off. A research and development group at Carnegie Mellon University has taken a Chevy Tahoe and turned it into an autonomous vehicle that obeys traffic laws and interacts with other vehicles on the road. It's really quite an accomplishment; GM is sponsoring them, too.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/ces-boss-su ... -1048.html

[roid]

Where does the most exciting future for us all lie technologically?

I've wondered about space travel and life from other worlds since I was a kid.

You probably didn't mean this far in the future but this is what gets my wheels turning -

http://nostalgia.wikipedia.org/wiki/Int ... ace_travel

That's actually what gets my wheels turning too.

But i honestly don't think we can get there until these other enabling technologies such as Universal Fabricators (and perhaps Nanotechnology) are developed.

I think that only during/after the economic shakeup caused by such technologies will we be able to AFFORD going to space. I can't envision is any other way - other than with closed corporate-funded expeditions, but that's no fun and doesn't excite me.

[Wings]

If we develop fusion, we'll have more then enough energy to have colonies in orbit and on the moon. Interstellar travel probably wont happen for 10s of thousands of years.

[Sirius]

Interstellar travel could happen within 20 years (of course the trip would take at least that long again) if it were desirable enough, but it really isn't.

I would say tens of thousands, regardless, is a gross overestimate. Within the next two hundred years, I would be surprised if at least unmanned probes weren't sent out to other systems... manned expeditions will probably take much longer, though.

Truth be told, as far as space travel goes I expect reductions in the cost of reaching space to precede having so much energy we don't really need to care any more. Fusion won't be widespread for at least several decades, and I don't think it'll supply ungodly amounts of power for several more.

Basically, more reusable spacecraft and lower energy requirements to reach orbit are the most important targets for now. There are more than a few hypothetical ways to achieve that; not all will be practical, but soon enough someone will come up with something.

[mistercool2]

So what's the big deal? I mean all we have to come up with is an anit-gravity device and a warp drive.

[Gekko71]

All good stuff - thank you people.

I agree with the nano-tech suggestion and the prospect of interstellar travel being worthy of excitement.

I've had a bit more time to ponder the question myself - and I realise that where once I was excited about the advances in technology, now I'm more interested in the benefits that technology will deliver.

One thing that I believe should be addd to our list of exciting revalations is the upcoming hyper-extension of the human lifespan (this is an area where nano-tech holds out great promise):

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/39

http://www.mfoundation.org/sens

...this would have to be one of the technologies that would make interstellar / interplanetary travel a possibility (a fifty year return flight from earth to another solar system is not such a big deal if human beings had a thousand-year lifespan).


EDIT: Sorry - had to share this with you all. It's a quote from an article in the Washington Post, discussing the eventual possibility of extended life-expectancy ...and those who say it's codswallop.

\"On Oct. 9, 1903, the New York Times wrote:

\"The flying machine which will really fly might be evolved by the combined and continuous efforts of mathematicians and mechanicians in from one million to ten million years.\"

On the same day, on Kill Devil Hill, N.C., in his diary, a bicycle mechanic named Orville Wright wrote:

\"We unpacked rest of goods for new machine.\"

...Classic!

[Red_5]

Nanotechnology gets me excited in the directions of cancer cures. I'm young and healthy, and I'm sure that by the time I might have to worry about that, problems will be solved.

[Neumaennl]

Being a Software developer I'm getting quite excited about the advancements in that area - the open source movement has given all kinds of tools a big boost forwards.
When I take a look at things like NetBeans, JavaForge or the upcoming MIDP3 all I can say is \"boy will it be cool to work with that\"
Those things really make my job more enjoyable.

[Foil]

In college, while taking courses like Quantum Mechanics, I probably would have said something about advances in our understanding of the structure of the universe or future potential energy sources.

Honestly, now the things that get me excited are usually advances in human health. Breakthroughs in Physics are cool, but it's the stuff that has a direct immediate effect on the livelihood of people that makes me say, \"That's awesome!\".

[JMEaT]

Virtual Reality. Tactile feedback. Imagine the rush of playing the latest greatest MMO; slashing a goblin with your buddies and hitting level 20. To FEEL level 20.

Way. Cool.

[Sirius]

Might happen eventually. Right now tactile feedback is often more trouble to implement than it's worth, and it's still imperfect. Jumping off a cliff in a game ... is not going to feel like jumping off a cliff.

[roid]

\"Cool you leveled up! What does level 20 feel like?\" -------------------------
------------------------- \"Oh it feels like level 19, but now i smell strawberries\"
\"Strawberry smells! Awesome!\" -------------------------



Yeah i think nanotech (and thus self-assembling machines) will help a lot with health, and help with fighting cancer that would be sure to develop when we lengthen our lifespans. Longer lifespans will open up doors.

Thus:

Self-assemblers
(then)
Nano-tech
(then)

Longer lifespans AND Space travel!

[Wheeze87]

Nanotechnology gets me excited in the directions of cancer cures. I'm young and healthy, and I'm sure that by the time I might have to worry about that, problems will be solved.

Along with nanothecnology, I find "Genome techonolgy" Fascinating. Dr. Craig Venter, has mapped his entire genome, and has also manipulated DNA sequences and injected them into bacteria, changing the "species" of the bacteria, so that rather than secreting puss.... erugh, it can secrete substances such as Octane... yes, we have bacteria that produce insulin, and perhaps in the future bacteria that can "generate" high grade petrol!

He gave a lecture here in the UK over the christmas, and some of the stuff he was proposing was simply spell bounding, from a biological scientist's point of view at least (I'm doing a Biomedical Science degree a the moment)

[Dedman]

Other than what Krom said, I want somthing to clean my house for me.

[Red_5]

Along with nanothecnology, I find "Genome techonolgy" Fascinating. Dr. Craig Venter, has mapped his entire genome, and has also manipulated DNA sequences and injected them into bacteria, changing the "species" of the bacteria, so that rather than secreting puss.... erugh, it can secrete substances such as Octane... yes, we have bacteria that produce insulin, and perhaps in the future bacteria that can "generate" high grade petrol!

Insulin, eh? Diabetes cure potential, right there!

[roid]

For some time now most medical insulin has come from genetically engineered bacteria - growing in huge vats. There is rarely any need to use bovine insulin anymore.
All my insulin in genetically engineered.

As for it leading to a cure, the key will be to enable it to regulate the amount of insulin produced through feedback. For it to just keep producing insulin inside your body like a machine with it's on/off handle broken - would be very bad.

[Gekko71]

Nanotechnology gets me excited in the directions of cancer cures. I'm young and healthy, and I'm sure that by the time I might have to worry about that, problems will be solved.

Along with nanothecnology, I find "Genome techonolgy" Fascinating. Dr. Craig Venter, has mapped his entire genome, and has also manipulated DNA sequences and injected them into bacteria, changing the "species" of the bacteria, so that rather than secreting puss.... erugh, it can secrete substances such as Octane... yes, we have bacteria that produce insulin, and perhaps in the future bacteria that can "generate" high grade petrol!

He gave a lecture here in the UK over the christmas, and some of the stuff he was proposing was simply spell bounding, from a biological scientist's point of view at least (I'm doing a Biomedical Science degree a the moment)

Thank you so much for posting that link Wheeze87! My youngest child has a genetic disorder which will present him with multiple health problems as he ages. Being told by a world expert that we could potentially have a map of his genome within five years is an incredibly heartening piece of news!

[Red_5]

For some time now most medical insulin has come from genetically engineered bacteria - growing in huge vats. There is rarely any need to use bovine insulin anymore.
All my insulin in genetically engineered.

As for it leading to a cure, the key will be to enable it to regulate the amount of insulin produced through feedback. For it to just keep producing insulin inside your body like a machine with it's on/off handle broken - would be very bad.

Right, but now that we have a way to make it "artificially" inside a body, the bacteria in question here could maybe be engineered to sense a lack of insulin and make up for it... just an idea, I still think there is potential here somewhere.

[Alter-Fox]

For some time now most medical insulin has come from genetically engineered bacteria - growing in huge vats. There is rarely any need to use bovine insulin anymore.
All my insulin in genetically engineered.

As for it leading to a cure, the key will be to enable it to regulate the amount of insulin produced through feedback. For it to just keep producing insulin inside your body like a machine with it's on/off handle broken - would be very bad.

Right, but now that we have a way to make it "artificially" inside a body, the bacteria in question here could maybe be engineered to sense a lack of insulin and make up for it... just an idea, I still think there is potential here somewhere.

Of course, you'd have to stop your immune system from destroying the bacteria.

[Red_5]

Pills, maybe.

[Alter-Fox]

And when you're repressing your immune system in order to stop it from destroying the bacteria, if you caught a cold (or anything else), you could get really ill.

I'm sure there are ways to do it, I just haven't heard of them yet.

[Red_5]

Pills that would only repress the destruction of that particular bacteria. That would be possible.

[roid]

maybe you could engineer the insulin producing gene (with feedback from blood glucose sensing) into some other existing (Non-islet) cells in your body.

[Aggressor Prime]

The two most promising technologies are quantum computing and nanorobotics.

Quantum computing allows an exponential increase in processing capability. This makes processing a realistic virtual world in which the whole world can be immersed possible within this century (think Matrix). D-Wave Systems already has a 28-qubit processor.
http://www.dwavesys.com/

Nanorobotics still has some work needed to be done, but these little devices will give almost unlimited power to the one controlling them, from curing diseases to mind controling his subjects.

Both of these technologies are extremely powerful, and therefore can be used for great good, but also for great evil. We have to ensure we use them correctly or else we can destroy humanity.

[Alter-Fox]

The two most promising technologies are quantum computing and nanorobotics.

Quantum computing allows an exponential increase in processing capability. This makes processing a realistic virtual world in which the whole world can be immersed possible within this century (think Matrix). D-Wave Systems already has a 28-qubit processor.
http://www.dwavesys.com/

Nanorobotics still has some work needed to be done, but these little devices will give almost unlimited power to the one controlling them, from curing diseases to mind controling his subjects.

Both of these technologies are extremely powerful, and therefore can be used for great good, but also for great evil. We have to ensure we use them correctly or else we can destroy humanity.

And what does this have to do with insulin... Don't tell me you're doing it again.

And Red... the only drugs I've heard of repress the whole immune system. It's possible, but I don't think it's been done yet.