What major changes we MIGHT see in the next 100 years ?

[gsethi]

I was just wondering on this question today...Lets just keep it to the next 100 years...meaning till 2100 (not beyond) Something that our kids/grandkids will use.

During the 1900s:
Basic Necessities:
Improved food quality & quantity
Improved Water quality and availability
Improvised Housing

Other Necessities:
Transportation - Airplanes & Cars becoming Mainsteam
Electricity, Fuel, Nuclear fission - Energy sources powering our lives

Life Improvement:
Medical Field - Surgeries, Medicine, transplants

Luxury items becoming routine items/Entertainment:
Telephone becoming mainstream - Landline first and now Cellular/Wireless
TV - Antenna and Cable
Computers & Internet
other misc Electronics that we use daily and take for granted

So far, I am thinking the following that are quite possible:
Transportation - traveling through Space
Energy - Fusion becoming our main energy source, also solar and wind ?
Medicine - Synthetic organs instead of transplants, cloning etc.
Entertainment - a Combined portable super computer that links to everything ?? (Probably some kind of helmet/glasses as the main screen ? think Robocop )

Also, A.I. becoming mainstream - we relying on A.I. to do the thinking and planning for us ??

 

[tfinch2]

If I knew, I wouldn't be posting on ATOT at 1:24 on a Saturday night.

 

[Chaotic42]

I think we'll see:

-Probably fusion power
-First cloned human
-The desalination process refined
-More routine space travel
-The decline of using traditional building materials infavor of highly complex composites

Really, I could die happy when the first fusion power plant switches on and starts selling electricity to homes and businesses.

 

[pcslookout]

Finally learn the truth of ETs.

 

[Colt45]

run out of oil, go back ln time.
Lots of disease too, we'll say.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Colt45
run out of oil, go back ln time.
Lots of disease too, we'll say.

I hope so. It would be perfect karma.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Chaotic42
I think we'll see:

-Probably fusion power
-First cloned human
-The desalination process refined
-More routine space travel
-The decline of using traditional building materials infavor of highly complex composites

Really, I could die happy when the first fusion power plant switches on and starts selling electricity to homes and businesses.

I too think that fusion power is the key to our future energy needs. Improved desalinization would be quite beneficial, too - and if fusion power were available, we'd have the ability to power large desalinization plants.

As fusion power gets cheaper, perhaps aluminum prices would also decline, as producing pure aluminum or alloys takes a lot of electricity.

Transportation: Something that doesn't burn fossil fuels. Fuel cells, improved battery technology, or some other hydrogen-fueled engine. Source of hydrogen: electrolysis of water, powered by, you guessed it, fusion reactors.

Concerning space: hopefully there'll be some way of cleaning up lower Earth orbit. From what I understand, it's kind of getting to be a bit of a mess up there, with pieces of rockets and spacecraft stuck in slowly decaying orbits.

 

[LordMorpheus]

I just finished reading World War Z. The zombie war will be devastating.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

automation

 

[NanoStuff]

Originally posted by: gsethi
Transportation - traveling through Space

Depends. How far and why? We will send robots as usual, but we ourselves? No.

Originally posted by: gsethi
Fusion becoming our main energy source, also solar and wind ?

Hard to say which will dominate at this point. All bets are off, but probably at least one of the three will be used extensively.

Originally posted by: gsethi
Medicine - Synthetic organs instead of transplants, cloning etc.

Nope. That's 2010-2040 range. 2100 will be long past that.

Originally posted by: gsethi
Entertainment - a Combined portable super computer that links to everything ?? (Probably some kind of helmet/glasses as the main screen ? think Robocop )

Definitely not. That's 2010-2040 range, and when I say 2040 that's really pushing the bounds of what by then will be retro technology.

Originally posted by: gsethi
Also, A.I. becoming mainstream - we relying on A.I. to do the thinking and planning for us ??

What is mainstream? AI would have long exceeded human intelligence, assuming we even allow AI to get that far considering moral and existential concerns.

One thing I'd expect is that the field of biotechnology and medicine would be obsolete, considering that by then complete biological substitution will be possible, it's doubtful a substantial amount of humans would prefer to remain biological at that point. Those that do would have likely died due to biological mortality anyways. The lack of biology implies minimal upkeep footprint and the complete virtual reality naturally suggests effectively infinite goods at no cost. Considering that at this point practically no physical goods are required to be sustainable, it necessarily suggests that an economy as we know it would no longer exist, and would largely be limited to artistic creations.

 

[DangerAardvark]

We should be using more fission right now.

I really think that the last 100 years to present are unique though. I mean the Industrial Revolution can only happen once (barring some sort of cataclysm). The quality of life has risen incredibly in 100 years. The main quality of life change I can predict would come about through globalization.

 

[miketheidiot]

in 100 years civilization will have collapsed, and humanity with be on the verge of extinction.

 

[WildHorse]

Eventually, stem cell research will lead, someday, to the ability to coax some body cells back toward a more "plastic" state. It'll become possible to regrow injured or missing body parts.

World War 3.

Strengthening trend of people turning to real sincere deep spiritual seeking within themselves, less fossilized empty rituals of organized old time religions.

China will aggress on neighbors instead of relying on trade with them.

China will try to expand more into South America, which has already begun.

China will cause death of millions of people questing for Taiwan, N. & S. Korea, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Spratley Islands, maybe even Japan.

Maybe another American revolution, if this Cheney-type stuff keeps up.

 

[Pliablemoose]

The next 100 years is going to suck for the US.

Increasing energy costs will ripple through the economy and our standard of living is going in the toilet.

Scarce resources will become more scarce and there will be more competition for them, ie: food/water/shelter.

Corporations will have an even larger impact on our lives than they do now as a result of mergers, globalization.

Think of a normal distribution curve (for people/resources) & we're just to the right of the peak now, it's all downhill baby

Normal distribution curve

There will be no flying cars nor will there be a Star Trek type replicator for food or water.

Space travel will not progress because it will be so resource intensive & impractical.

 

[RichardE]

Was the different between 1800-1900 as great as 1900-2000? (I mean compared to people who lived in 1900 not compared to us?)

 

[ch33zw1z]

We won't be here.

 

[MmmSkyscraper]

Originally posted by: miketheidiot
in 100 years civilization will have collapsed, and humanity with be on the verge of extinction.

Woohoo! I mean doh!

 

[George P Burdell]

Africa will still be poor, hungry and diseased.

 

[Jawo]

Flying cars.....oh that was predicted 50 years ago that we would have them now

Who really knows....but those who guess correctly will become our new masters.

 

[her209]

China will be a superpower. The US will become what Europe is now.

 

[Juno]

south korea over japan in technology

 

[mrrman]

massive increase in fuel prices and very little oil reserves left

 

[AbAbber2k]

Nanobots.

 

[Fritzo]

THREE WORDS: FLYING FREAKING CARS


Stupid jerks were supposed to have those 10 years ago. George Bush doesn't like flying cars.

 

[3NF]

1. The Elohim will return, and reveal the real truth about our origins.

2. One "Earth" government, one language, and the concept of money will no longer exist. The world government will be based on humanitarianism and geniocracy. A total democracy is not good, because it allows stupid people to make decisions. Voting should be limited to those with above average intelligence.

3. Human cloning will be a reality, and if so, the possibility of immortality through science will be achievable.

4. If immortality is possible, then the concept of marriage will no longer exist. Couples can and will exists, the concept of marriage (contract) between two people should end. If you could live 200 years, would you really want to stay married to the same person all that time? No! If the person you love wants to love another, then you should be happy, not jealous. Jealousy is the opposite emotion of love and is useless - a sign of weakness.

5. Monotheistic religions will die, because we will understand that all life on this planet was designed and engineered by aliens.

6. Raelianism will be the new "religion".

7. Militaries will no longer exist, because the earth will have been unified under one government.

8. Chemical education will need to become a reality, because the amount of information each generation needs to learn grows exponentially. Traditional school systems will no longer exists, because they will simply become inadequate.

9. Racism will no longer exist, because we will eventually all become the "same" race, after mixing together and essentially becoming mutts.

10. People will be free of the slavery of work, and will be able to blossom in whatever it is they makes them happy.

If the above doesn't happen, it will be because humanity will have destroyed itself - which is certainly a possibility before the year 2100.