Technology in 50 years

Technology is always getting bigger, better and smarter.

Although many of us may not be around to witness it, my question is:

What kind of technology do you think that we will have 50 years down the road?

Perhaps hydrogen running engines, flying cars, first permanent homes in space, more advanced system of cloning, 3-D televisions, saucer aircrafts, and many more inventions that could benefit us, and/or blow us all to hell.

I think we will have biodegradeable products by then just to satisfy ppls need for the latest stuff.

I think technology will be alot better than today for some people but most of the people in the world will be much worse off than today and the population as a whole will be only about 50% of what it is today based on war over water, oil, other resorces, AIDS, hunger, etc...

If you think the difference between the haves' and have-nots is big today just wait. It'll only get worse. The rich will have access to fancy cures for cancer and AIDS or whatever and 3D TV and the rest of us will be plowing the fields with mules because we wont be able to afford the gas for the tractor or the tractor for that matter.

In 50 years robots will play a much more important role in society. They will be approaching or even surpass a human level of intelligence. Robots in 50 years will be quite mind blowing in what the can do and the various forms they will take.

In 50 years technology it will be alot more advanced. There will be low-cost widely available water purification/desalination tech. Consumer Robotics will be huge by 2054 and it will render most menial and dangerous jobs obsolete much to the dismay of the poor(and the gap gets wider...). Advanced Molecular Technology will be available to the rich(ie Nanobot, Grey Goo weapons etc..). Safe and effective Implants augmenting everything from memory size,hand eye co-ordination to strength and speed, and second skin technologies. Oh yeah and lets not forget Cures for Cancer, AIDS, Diabetes and Aging for the Insanly Wealthy.

By 2054 the first permenant colony on Titan will be up and running and Mars's population is over 100. In 50 years we will probably see the beginning of the new migration from the old world(earth) to the new world(the rest of the solar system). We should also have extensive mining operations on the Moon at this time as well. Hybrid Electric-Hydrogen Fuel Cell Cars will outnumber Gasoline Cars since Cheap Oil was all used up in the 20s forcing a rather bloody and messy switchover that caused alot of people to commit suicide thinking it was the end of the world but it wasn't. Hot Fusion will also be the most used power source on planet. In 50 years Nasa will no longer exist. In its place will be an International Space Agency whose sole purpose is to map the solar system for safety purposes(Sorta like the FAA except for the whole solar system)

EDIT: I got most of these Ideas from an excellent Sci-Fi book called Hyperion Cantos. I recommend anyone whose into scifi to read this book although I should warn you it is exessively bloody.

[edit on 10-7-2004 by sardion2000]

I honestly see technology taking a back seat to spiritual (magick?) development in the next 50 years. It won't disapper entirely, but it won't be the leader of human advancement anymore. I see telepathic/telekenic types of advancements that will make much of technology unneeded. i.e. If we can communicate telepathically there will be no need for telephones or the internet anymore. Travel to other planets and solar systems will be done astrally so no need for space ships and such. Some mystics believe this is possible already. This is just my opinion however, and if certain things happen that stunt or stop our spiritual growth, then it's possble technology will be the dominant factor in mankinds advancement. Only time will tell

cheers,

StickyG

I think we should focus 100 of all science efforts on extending human life beyond 200 then work on other stuff so we can be around to see it in 50 years. Other wise Ill just be dirt. =/

In 50 years, people will look back and laugh at the technology we had now a days.

in the 50s thay said we would have flying cars now . techk is going faster now and by 2020 it could double by day so ho knows what great and bad
stuff will be around then xbox 8 cant wait

My predictions for 2054:

1.)Hovercars based on field effect propulsion; 500-1000 passanger 'wingless' planes.
2.)Intersolar and possibly Interstellar travel via gravity manipulation, colonies on the moon, mars and its moons, Jupiter's moons, and maybe even Saturn's moons. Probes will have explored the entire solar system and reached nearby stars. Multiple Space elevators continously carrying materials to orbit. Many space stations, most a few miles long or longer.
3.)Mastery of the atomic domain; Nanotech, MEMS, maybe even 'picotechnology' used in everday applications.
4.)Very advanced agricultural systems based on robotics and genetically modified foods.
5.)Energy mastery(or getting close) by cold/hot fusion, ZPE, alternatives: wind(360 degree windmills based on old principles), water(both as hydrogen or hydrino and tidal harvesting), Solar(Thermoacustic, Quantum Thermal Tunneling, and possibly multispectral Voltiacs, Satellite beaming stations), Cogeneration(Quantum Thermal Tunneling, Thermoacustic) and Super Efficient appliances.
6.)Advanced robotics used for terraforming of mars and building colonies. Sentient Robots with intelligence near or beyond that of a human.
7.)Highly advanced medicine via genetic manipulation, Nanotech and Eletromagnetic spectrum(precise X-rays, lasers, gamma rays, IR, etc.) Engineering of the Human body and DNA. Development of ESP perhaps.
8.)Quantum Computers, Optical Computers and Organic Computer and various hybrids. FTL data transfer via Quantum duality. Paper thin monitors, Holographic displays and advanced VR.
9.)Military('If' we are still that primative):Energy weapons(Particle, Laser, Electron/UV, Acustic, Directed Solar Weapons, Microwave, Subatomic perhaps), Kinetic weapons(Pulse weapons, "Smart Bullets", Metal Storm) Explosives(Pure Fusion bombs, Anti-matter bombs, Quantum bombs, Singularity Bombs, New compounds of Nitrogen based explosives) Scalar weapons and shields, Electrochromatic camo, Self repairing vehicles, Exo-skeletons with built-in enhancements for occupant(Meds, Intergrated Computers, etc.) Bionic Soldier(built to interface with Exo-skeleton), nurmous UAVs, and ofcourse enough regular atomic weapons to blow the world up many times over!

These are a few predictions of mine and the technology could be even more advanced as applications and technologies cross-pollinate each other.

[edit on 11-7-2004 by Sigma]

humans and machines will become one

(sadly)

If you would like some more insights on how robots and computing will evolve I highly recomment a book I'm currently reading.

"The Age Of Spritual Machines" by Ray Kurzweil.

Talks about computers in each decade from the 90's to the 2090's and how computing power will surpass human thought in about 20 years or so. It looks like we will then have to compete or merge with the machines. I think this is exciting and can't wait for my new robot body!



Ray Kurzweil's Homepage of Knowledge

Well in Popular science (the magazine)....every issue has a little box that says a prediction of the future..its very cool...lately they've only been doing 1 or two but they used to do about 5 or 6 but i recommend checking it out...

I also watched this thing on the science channel a long time ago...it was how houses will be like in 25 years and it was very interesting...

The windows will be LCD and can change to basically anything, it can be transparent to see outside, or it can change to a weather that can fit ur preference (and still have ur backyard in it)...Also the windows will be able to turn into a tv , so when your washing dishes, you can check the weather.

Another thing is a 'house robot" that can talk to you from a screen...This robot will be so intelligent that it has a personality for every member of the house. (this scares me a little bit , because it'll remind me of 2001: a space odyssey :-P)...

Also, health related, Organs will be able to be grown to replace old or worn out ones..i'm very excited about this one

Well thats just a little bit of what i saw, theres so many predictions that i forgot a lot of them

[edit on 11-7-2004 by sheaisdumb]

[edit on 11-7-2004 by sheaisdumb]

Originally posted by sheaisdumb
Also, health related, Organs will be able to be grown to replace old or worn out ones..i've very excited about this one

Well, in that area you don't have lack of doing, human body has so much flaws.

Originally posted by Sigma
2.)Intersolar and possibly Interstellar travel via gravity manipulation, colonies on the moon, mars and its moons, Jupiter's moons, and maybe even Saturn's moons.

That would require much better technology than rocket motors.
Plans call first manned Mars flights to around 2030... one reason is that getting to there is still difficult and expensive, and crew will complicate things exponentially.

Probes will have explored the entire solar system and reached nearby stars.

And remember that closest star is four light years away so unless worm-holes can be used for fast travel or some kind of "hyperspace" then there's no change for those happenin.

Really hard to say. It all boils down to computers. 20 years ago it took 5 min. to load a basic program, look what we're doing now. I think that the first BIG thing might be holograms.

if you want to know the tech in 50 year you have to look at the secret and covert tech of us dod which is 50 years ahead of the white world ...
as some one of Lockheed said

It is very interesting to view some of you comments. I to, have many of the same believes that you do.

Originally posted by TexasConspiracyNut
I think technology will be alot better than today for some people but most of the people in the world will be much worse off than today and the population as a whole will be only about 50% of what it is today based on war over water, oil, other resorces, AIDS, hunger, etc...

If you think the difference between the haves' and have-nots is big today just wait. It'll only get worse. The rich will have access to fancy cures for cancer and AIDS or whatever and 3D TV and the rest of us will be plowing the fields with mules because we wont be able to afford the gas for the tractor or the tractor for that matter.

I COMPLETELY DISAGREE.

What you are thinking is called Malthusian Theory, It's named that cause of a guy back in the 1900's thought that with the human population growing at it's current rate that people would be starving to death, but what he and apparently you havn't though of is that technology is a good thing. He was wrong be cause he didn't think that we could make better tractors for farms or grow food better and healthier then ever before, meeting the worlds food consumption demands.
In other words technology will prove you wrong.

Let's just hope I am wrong and you are right. I dont think you are but maybe we'll get together on ATS in 50 years to say "I told you so!", thats if we're still around.

I dont believe in Malthusian Theory because back in 1920 I would have had a much more opimistic outlook toward the future. I am a simple realist. I see it coming because that's the way I see it. I dont think the average person will be saved by technoligy in 50 years because the average Joe wont mean a thing to those in power that can afford the cancer cures and such.

The average person off the street will be a thorn in the side of the upper class. They wont even be needed to mow the grass anymore because the upper class will have robots to mow the grass or grass that doesn't grow over a set height. Unemployment for the lower class will be much higher too because manual labor will be performed by machines and the people that used to do that work will be out of luck. The poor wont be able to afford the fancy new medical cures the rich will be able to pay for because of skyrocketing cost. Personally I think the lower class in this country will be killing each other over rat meat in 50 years.

I hope you're right!