Futurism

Finally, Intelligent Sliding Doors Like The Ones In Star Trek

Conventional automatic doors are are pretty basic — and a far cry from the the intuitive doors portrayed in Star Trek which seem to know when someone’s coming — and even how fast they’re going. It’s taken a while, but Japanese researchers have now made these doors a reality. These doors only open if you…

Mind-controlled Exoskeleton Opens World Cup, But You’d Never Know

Talk about dropping the ball. Earlier today, Juliano Pinto — a 29 year-old paraplegic — successfully kicked off the 2014 FIFA World Cup by using a mind-controlled exoskeleton. But sadly, most TV networks failed to show it. After months of hype, the official broadcast of the opening ceremonies showed only a fraction of it, while…

12 Futuristic Forms of Government That Could One Day Rule the World

As history has repeatedly shown, political systems come and go. Given our rapid technological and social advances, it’s a trend we can expect to continue. Here are 12 extraordinary — and even frightening — ways our governments could be run in the future. 1. Noocracy Similar to Plato’s “government of the wise,” a noocracy would…

An armed robber caught by facial recognition software has been handed a 22 year jail sentence. His image was captured by Chicago Transit surveillance cameras, and compared to a database of 4.5 million criminal booking images. Biosignatures are increasingly being used by law enforcement. (RHIMAGE/Shutterstock)

The Chinese Tea Study that the Tea Party Wants to Suppress

Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) just cut funding to a science program that he says “didn’t pass the laugh test” — a long-term study on how climate change is affecting Chinese tea crops. But this study isn’t funny. Instead, it offers the darkest picture yet of how our crops will change in the years ahead. The…

Why The Turing Test Is Bullshit

As many reported yesterday, a chatbot has passed the Turing Test, though under some very convenient conditions. The announcement has led some to declare that the age of AI is finally here, but that’s nonsense. Here’s why the Turing Test is a very poor way of measuring machine intelligence. A quick recap of yesterday’s announcement:…

What Europe Will Look Like In 2035 If Russian Tabloids Have Their Way

Two years ago, the Russian tabloid Express Gazeta published a series of maps depicting its vision of Europe 23 years hence. Given the recent tensions in Ukraine and elsewhere, the maps are proving disturbingly prescient a mere two years later — which hasn’t gone unnoticed by Russian nationalists. According to Express Gazeta, the maps were…

NASA has approved funding for 12 futuristic projects, including a submarine to explore the methane lakes of Titan, an aerial drone for Mars, and a probe to analyze the surface of Europa. You can learn about each individual project here. Image: Ron Miller, who wants to call this “Lake Bonestell” after famous Titan artist Chesley…

These Are the Mining Robots That Will Colonize the Solar System

How are we going to convince governments and corporations to fund the colonization of space? Probably by promising them riches from mining operations. Here are the space robots that will make that possible. They won’t just be mining, either. They’ll be building and replicating themselves. Above, you can see one kind of robot, called RASSOR,…

Is It Time to Give Up on the Singularity?

Some futurists and science fiction writers predict that we’re on the cusp of a world-changing “Technological Singularity.” Skeptics say there will be no such thing. Today, I’ll be debating author Ramez Naam about which side is right. A recent article by Erik Sofge in Popular Science really got my hackles up. Sofge argued that the…

Why A “Sex Chip” Could Be Considerably More Trouble Than It’s Worth

The ability to trigger feelings of extreme pleasure on-demand is a prospect that’s fascinated both scifi writers and scientists for decades. Indeed, the day is coming when we’ll be able induce orgasmic-like sensations at the flick of a switch — a prospect with obvious appeal, but with some serious downsides. Back in 2008, neuroscientists Morten…

Another Massive Geoengineering Experiment is Underway in China

Several new cities in China will be geoengineering experiments, where developers are leveling hundreds of mountains, filling valleys, and building on top of the newly-flattened land. Now, Chinese scientists and engineers are saying these projects are based on shoddy research, and must be stopped. Since 2010, several mountainside cities in China, including Lanzhou and Shiyan,…

The University of Michigan is building a mock town to test self-driving cars. The vehicles will confront all the normal obstacles of a bustling city: traffic signs, stoplights, merge lanes, construction work, streetlights, sidewalks and even “mechanical pedestrians” that dart out into the street in front of traffic.

Why Settle For Two Arms When You Can Have Four?

Researchers at MIT’s d’Arbeloff Laboratory have unveiled a pair of wearable robotic limbs that would make Dr. Octopus proud. Supernumerary Robotic Limbs (SRLs) are wearable robotic limbs that, instead of replacing missing limbs, endow the user with an extra set. And unlike conventional exoskeletons, these limbs augment the workspace and skills of the user. The…

The 5 Biggest Threats To Human Existence

In the daily hubbub of current “crises” facing humanity, we forget about the many generations we hope are yet to come. Not those who will live 200 years from now, but 1,000 or 10,000 years from now. Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Energy | CC BY 2.0 I use the word “hope” because we face…

Introducing HeroX — A Way To Crowdfund Your Very Own X-Prize

Imagine being able to come up with your own insanely futuristic idea — and then having teams race to achieve your goal. The recently launched HeroX platform could make this happen. HeroX is essentially a cross between XPrize and Kickstarter, enabling the crowd to create their own challenges and then eventually crowdfund them. It’s described…

Google is going to make its own self-driving cars. With a maximum speed of 25 mph (40 kph), the cartoonish vehicle only has a stop/go button — so it has no steering wheel, accelerator, or brake pedal. Users can chart their progress with a touchscreen. You can see the car in action here.

Why Everyone Is Obsessed With This Academic Book on Economics

Sometimes a relatively dense academic book breaks out of the Ivory Tower and takes the world by storm. Such is the case with French economics professor Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Here’s one reason why the book is capturing people’s imaginations — and fueling speculation about our global future. In a recent review…

Should People Without Licenses Be Allowed To ‘Drive’ Autonomous Cars?

Self-driving vehicles are starting to appear on our streets, and it’ll only be a matter of time before they’re commonplace. Which brings up an interesting question: Just who, exactly, should — or should not — be allowed behind the wheel? This question was recently posed by the fine folks at the Open Roboethics Initiative via…

Why Tomorrow’s Conservatives Will Reject The Death Penalty

Politicians going after Republican votes know from the polls that opposing capital punishment is a career-ending decision. But, a growing group of conservatives say it’s time to reject a policy that they describe as an anti-life intrusion by big government. Is this the future of conservative politics? Writing in the Boston Globe, Leon Neyfakh profiles…