By Dick Pelletier
Scientist and entrepreneur Ray Kurzweil claims that biotech and
nanotech advances expected over the next two decades will be
sufficient for humanity to slow down aging and make a realistic
stab at ending death. 
Kurzweil should not be taken lightly. Called “the ultimate
thinking machine” by Forbes magazine, his enthusiastic fans range
from Bill Gates to Bill Clinton, and a recent Time magazine article
compared him with the genius of Thomas Edison.
Kurzweil believes that unraveling the human genome has enabled
researchers to begin development of powerful technologies that
promise to re-grow cells, tissues, and organs; reverse aging;
correct bad genes; and build nanobots the size of blood cells that
will roam through our bodies keeping us forever young and
healthy.
In his bestselling book, Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to
Live Forever, co-authored with Terry Grossman, M.D., Kurzweil says,
“Whereas some of my contemporaries may be satisfied to embrace
aging gracefully as part of the cycle of life; that is not my view.
It may be ‘natural’, but I don’t see anything positive in losing my
mental agility, sensory acuity, physical limberness, sexual desire,
or any other human ability”.
In a recent interview with CNN’s
Fredricka Whitfield, Kurzweil revealed steps outlined in his book
that bridge the gulf between today, when medical help focuses more
on treating symptoms than cures; and tomorrow, when biotech and
nanotech revolutions promise so many miracles. Kurzweil divides
these steps, which he says anyone can take, into three bridges.
(cont.)
Continue Reading
June 24 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Energy Year: General Rating: 7 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
Energy is the life-blood of America – it affects our economy,
standard of living and national security. Our prime energy source,
oil, is a product we can no longer afford. Four-to-five dollar per
gallon gas prices, air pollution, and global warming has brought us
to the point where we must find a better energy source. 
Experts predict that by 2030, new energy technologies described
below could drastically cut our oil consumption, and slash reliance
on electricity-producing fossil fuels like coal and natural gas
almost entirely. Added to our portfolio of existing nuclear and
hydroelectric power, these new energy sources could virtually
eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels to run our homes and
economy.
Bio-fuels – in the nation’s heartland, scientists are working to
turn agricultural waste or ‘biomass’ such as switchgrass, wheat
straw, cornstalks and miscanthus into a fuel called cellulosic
ethanol that could be produced commercially. Department of Energy
(DOE) officials believe that by 2030, bio-fuels could meet 30
percent of our transportation fuel needs.
Hydrogen – this new technology stores energy more effectively
than batteries, burns twice as efficiently in a fuel cell as
gasoline does in an internal combustion engine and leaves only
water. It’s plentiful, clean, and capable of powering cars, homes
and factories. The DOE predicts an
all-hydrogen vehicle could become price effective by 2020; and by
2030, this renewable non-polluting energy could power ten percent
of our cars, homes and factories; by 2050, 50 percent. (cont.)
Continue Reading
By Dick Pelletier
Imagine a machine that sets the table, creates and serves
dinner, cleans house, and never complains. This may sound like
something out of The Jetsons, but in labs everywhere, scientists
believe that one day, we will share our homes with loyal robot
servants that enthusiastically tackle mundane chores, freeing us
for more fulfilling activities. 
Carnegie Mellon’s Hans Moravec believes that by 2020, we will
create robots in humanoid form, able to express reasoning and
emotion, and eager to perform household tasks. These “smart”
machines will walk the dog, put groceries away, find and fetch
things, mimic human feelings of compassion and love, and become
friends with family members.
2020s robots will appear amazingly human-like. Moravec suggests
they could be powered by fuel cells that are cooled by a squeeze
pump which beats like a heart while circulating alcohol as a
coolant. They would “drink wine” for fuel, and breathe air like
humans.
Design tricks like these, along with soft “nanoskin” will make
tomorrow’s ‘bots seem uncannily human, encouraging us to perceive
them as friends. Author Ray Kurzweil says tomorrow’s ‘droids could
quickly learn to flesh out positive feelings, which would provide
an allure difficult for humans to resist.
How about robo-love? Jason Nemeth, in his essay,
Should Robots Feel, believes love-companion robots will be
practical in the future and could easily fill the role of a
partner, satisfying our intimacy needs. Nemeth is not sure whether
human/robot love would experience higher success rate than love
between two humans; but he says technologies will unlock the
possibilities, and human curiosity will make it happen. (cont.)
Continue Reading
June 23 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Other Year: General Rating: 9 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
The World Health Organization describes good health as “a state
of complete physical, mental, and social well-being”. This sounds
like utopia, but what does it actually mean? 
Besides family, friends, a faithful pet, and plenty of clean
air and sunshine, what else contributes to our well-being? We could
add feeling happy, feeling smart, and being in control of our
bodies.
According to a recent article in New Scientist Magazine, most
people enjoy the conveniences in today’s modern homes – air
conditioning, entertainment, appliances, etc. Cars also provide
freedom and joy on the open road; and the Internet empowers us with
easy access to information and new ways to communicate with
friends.
Modern drugs prevent or delay the onset of heart disease,
cancer, and mental disorders, which give us greater control over
our bodies.
But life has not always been this good: 100 years ago, average
lifespan was in the 40’s. Child mortality, malaria, TB,
malnutrition, and warfare were the most common culprits that
brought life to an end. Yet, in spite of living short,
disease-ridden lives, our ancestors survived.
My great grandmother lived from 1855 to 1946. At a young age,
she left her home in Indiana and headed west. She married,
homesteaded a farm, and gave birth to 15 children. This would be
difficult for many, but Grandma was tough. Fortunately for me, she
survived and our lineage continued. (cont.)
Continue Reading
June 20 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Other Year: General Rating: 10 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
University of Connecticut’s Dr. Ronald Mallett thinks he has
found a practical way to build a time machine using light. He hopes
to verify the concept within 10 years, and expects a machine built
this century. “No known laws of physics forbids time travel”,
Mallett says, “and in theory, shunting matter back and forth
through time shouldn’t be that difficult”. 
But what about wormholes, those clever little tunnels in
spacetime that supposedly enables travel from one moment to
another? Though wormholes seem a perfectly respectable way to
travel through time on paper, developing them would require
capturing energy from all 400 billion stars in our galaxy, a feat
that for now remains far out of reach to say the least.
Mallett however, who is a theoretical physics professor believes
he has found a route to the past that uses something much more down
to earth: light. His team discovered that light beams can create a
vortex that force the past, present and future to circle one
another until the future precedes the past.
Their research suggests that tiny bits of matter can be moved
from the present to the past. And if it works for matter, in
theory, it can transport us.
As you enter Mallet’s futuristic time machine, your mind senses
that you are moving forward, but because of the spacetime vortex,
you are actually going backwards through time. You can exit the
machine at a preset time and place yourself somewhere in your
past.
But journeying to the past opens controversies. Say for example,
we travel back in time and prevent our parents from getting
together: this would prevent us from being born; therefore we would
not exist and our journey in time couldn’t happen. This creates a
paradox – a past different from one that already exists.
(cont.)
Continue Reading
June 18 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Other Year: General Rating: 11 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
As our “miracle” 21st century begins to unfold, a statement,
which has been an eternal truth for most of human history, is now
being seriously challenged: Humans will always be battling
sicknesses. Many scientists believe this statement could be
overturned within the next three decades, and most of the credit
for this feat would lie in our ability to increase computer power.
Today, medical researchers, in efforts to cure heart disease,
cancer, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease, and many other human ills,
perform trial and error experiments in labs, and conduct human
clinical trials that yield excruciatingly slow results. Cancer
deaths are predicted to not end for another seven years, and cures
for other diseases are projected to be even more elusive.
But researchers say we could speed medical research progress by
first using Clinical Trial Simulations (CTS). If we preceded actual
human trials with high-speed computer simulations, the end results
would be reached much faster. Ronald Gieschke, of Hoffmann-La Roche
in Switzerland, claims CTS will have a
significant impact on the way in which drugs are developed in the
future. “Human clinical trials will still be necessary,” Gieschke
says, “but CTS will make them faster and
more accurate”.
In addressing the need for increased computer power,
IBM’s new “Roadrunner,” built for the US
Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory has achieved
performance of 1.026 petaflops (more than one quadrillion floating
point operations per second) and is now rated as the fastest
supercomputer in the world.
The DOE announced that this computer
will link its facilities to other government labs and major
research centers around the world. Scientists will find easy access
to this new supercomputer later this year, according to a
LANL spokesman. The new machine will
enable breakthrough discoveries in biology that will fundamentally
change medical science and its impact across society. (cont.)
Continue Reading
By Dick Pelletier
A recent World Future Society report states that technology is
definitely a job killer. The whole idea of tools, machines, and
systems is to do things easier, faster, or better than barehanded
humans can. Industry, by its very nature, out-sources itself.
Businesses are quick to adopt new technologies that reduce
operation costs. While this practice usually results in eliminating
some jobs, it often creates new higher-paid opportunities that
require new skills. A recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report
predicted the highest employment demands between now and 2020 will
be in healthcare, education, accounting, and computer services; and
these jobs will require Internet-proficient employees skilled in
computer security, databases, privacy, and new media.
Baby boomers held an average of 10 jobs between ages 18 and 38,
according to government statistics. These career jumpers continue
to take short-duration jobs even as they approach middle age: 70%
of jobs started between ages 33 and 39 ended within five years.
Most people will experience five or six careers during their
lifetime, and many will study for their next occupation, while
working their current job.
Career consultant Eileen Gunn, author of Your Career Is an
Extreme Sport offers the following tips on how today’s workforce
can stay competitive:
1) Become aware of popular technologies. Know the difference
between instant messaging and text messaging; participate in blogs
and read newsfeeds relevant to your field. Social networking
websites can also help you land a new job or scope out potential
customers. Your own website might be worth the trouble if there’s a
lot of personal work for you to showcase. (cont.)
Continue Reading
June 16 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Other Year: General Rating: 8 Hot
By Dick Pelletier
Cognitive computing (computers that process information the same
way a brain does) has been a dream for 50 years. Artificial
intelligence, fuzzy logic, and neural networks have all experienced
some success, but machines still cannot recognize pictures or
understand languages as well as humans do. 
Despite the many false starts however, forward-thinkers like Dr.
James Albus, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
believe cognitive computing research is at the tipping point,
similar to where nuclear physics was in 1905. The following
projects underway now describe the progress of this new
research:
‘Smart’ cars: Auto makers are now investing heavily in
collision-warning systems and vehicles that drive themselves;
DOT officials believe that robotic
vehicles with safety warnings will likely save more lives than
airbags and seatbelts combined.
Future military: DOD planners predict
that by 2015, auto-fly drones and other computer-driven systems
could remove most soldiers from battlefield dangers.
Modeling the brain: Scientists at the Blue Brain project, a
collaboration of IBM and the Swiss
government; can zoom inside a single cell and examine exactly how
each neuron fires. This research will help repair damaged brains
today, and in the future could allow robots to mimic human
consciousness. (cont.)
Continue Reading
By Dick Pelletier
In the future, your car will detect danger possibilities and
protect you as you encounter other cars on the road. It will
automatically display a happy, sad, or angry look to convey
appropriate feelings to other drivers in response to their action.
This is the vision of four Toyota Motor employees in Japan who
recently patented this creative technology. 
Car modifications include a hood with slits and designs that
resemble eyebrows, eyelids and tears, which glow with different
light shades and colors to reflect desired moods; an antenna that
wags like a puppy dog’s tail to show happiness; and a body that can
crouch low on its wheelbase when timid, or stand tall to express
displeasure.
By 2015 or before, “cars with feelings” could be arriving at
dealer showrooms everywhere. These cars can display a wide range of
expressions to help us interact with other drivers on the road.
Today, we can only honk horns, tap brakes, flash headlights, or use
turn signals. It’s difficult to thank another driver for letting us
enter the lane, or to show disapproval at someone who cuts us
off.
The intelligence system on these new cars with personalities
calculate road and vehicle conditions such as steering angle,
braking, and speed. It also correlates driver reactions, road and
car conditions, and automatically creates correct color and
position for the eyebrows, antenna, lights and vehicle height.
If a pre-set number of points indicate an approaching careless
or hostile driver, the system creates an anger reaction. The
headlights glow red, the eyebrows light up, but the antenna and
height remains in a standard “cool” position. A happy, satisfied
look is displayed to reward a courteous driver. A friendly “wink”
shows that you agree with a driver’s action, or it could also be an
attempt at flirting. (cont.)
Continue Reading
June 12 2008 / by futuretalk
Category: Space Year: Beyond Rating: 5
By Dick Pelletier
What will life be like in 2200? Of course, nobody can predict
the future with absolute certainty that far ahead; however, by
multi-tracking technology advances and mixing reality with a dash
of imagination, we can create a plausible scenario of what life
might be like 192 years from now. 
2200 citizens enjoy intelligence-multiplied a trillion-fold over
2008 biological brains. During the last 150 years, no one has
experienced aging, unwanted death, or poverty; and in 2200, more
people make their homes in space than on Earth.
The world was astounded in 2050 when NASA/EU probes discovered life on a planet five light
years away. Inhabitants of this faraway world were sending similar
probes to Earth during this same time period; each planet detected
the other’s signal and both civilizations experienced their first
contact with intelligent alien life.
By 2075, utilizing newly-developed wormhole messaging systems,
we had exchanged numerous communications with our new friends from
planet “Darth”. We discovered many common interests as both worlds
had recently experienced huge intelligence growth, which resulted
in the transformation of their species into non-biological beings.
It became obvious that cooperation would yield benefits to both
worlds; thus Earth and Darth were first to join what would one day
be known as “The Federation”.
As early as 2050, most humans sported non-biological bodies with
powerful minds. Those who remained “biological” often found
themselves struggling to find happiness and success; so by 2075,
nearly everyone had switched to the stronger, but still considered
to be human, non-biological body. The few conservatives who still
resisted this technology eventually died out. (cont.)
Continue Reading
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
16
...
