Spin-off of other thread... lets make and discuss 'predictions' (for amusement of future generations). My own predictions, assuming no massive thing like nuclear war. today: Oil is running out.Third world countries are making babies like there's no tomorrow (sad pun intended). Worldwide population is growing. "Developed countries" have a lot of excess comparing to bare minimum sufficient to stay healthy (and that excess doesn't make people healthier). While time goes by: Outbreaks of various diseases. Evolution, much speeded up by the number of humans and by travel, out-does our medical research, and/or ability to deploy cures. When oil get expensive enough (2020?) : Third world situation gets so bad that so many people are dying of hunger and diseases that world population starts to shrink. Massive hunger. "Developed" countries are 'practically unaffected', which means, not even poor starve or freeze to death at winter. Just less of that above-mentioned excess. Still enough excess. Technology: Free software shows that people would do complicated but creative technical work no matter what, even if barely having enough food, and doing that for free. So, i don't think research and development would slow down to any significant extent. Though there would be a lot of people moving away from technical positive-sum disciplines such as doing something useful like programming, to negative and zero sum games such as market speculation. When computer technology is such that affordable PC has more raw computing power than human brain (2030 - 2040): even most conservatively, today's AIs that are already helping in research and development(albeit only on dumb tasks) will be improved a lot, and will be used, like already used today, for helping develop better hardware and better AIs. Either engineered AIs or 'scanned' human minds running on hardware become new educated wealthy 'elite' that owns everything, and for once, 'elite' isnt stupid. Technological singularity, future from that point is unpredictable.

???
ps. My own opinion:

">genetics & biological revolution:)

[Edited by - Krokhin on November 11, 2008 8:58:00 AM]

This is a subject I quite enjoy. So much so in fact that I started a previous thread here regarding a similar topic, though focusing on the social issues related to the future rather than tech. I'm linking it instead of retyping everything, since it seems relevant. [it is a long dead thread though, and necromancy is frowned upon]

Quote:Original post by Drigovas
This is a subject I quite enjoy.

And I'm afraid too that we'll have a lot of fun soon:(((

;)