Futurism

Hip-Hop From the Future: Inside Deltron’s First New Record Since 2000

In May of 2000 three legends of hip-hop formed a supergroup and created something nobody saw coming: A futuristic, sci-fi rap album. Over the years, Deltron 3030 has developed an almost fanatical cult following. The long awaited sequel—officially released today—is likely to do the same. Deltron’s debut was different. It was weird. It was awesome.…

Black Kirby and Janelle Monae: The New Cutting Edge of Afrofuturism

Afrofuturism, the movement that puts people of African descent at the center of futuristic and science-fictional ideals, has gotten a new avatar in the form of singer Janelle Monae. But there’s also a new book coming out, two new art shows, an Octavia Butler graphic novel, and much, much more. A terrific article in Ebony…

Amazing Concept Art Shows How We Fixed the World By 2050

There’s tons of bleak, dystopian science fiction about our terrible near future — so instead, author Jonathon Porritt decided to write an upbeat novel about how we dragged the world back from the edge of disaster. Check out a book trailer that’s also an uplifting documentary from 2050. Porritt is the author of The World…

Are there any realistic scifi scenarios for space travel that could come to pass in the 21st century? Futurist Peter Schwartz says there are — and over at Forbes, Elise Ackerman lays them out for us.

An unexpected way that old media is being destroyed by the future

You see a lot of rants about how social media is destroying venerable old TV news and newspapers. But there’s another force that’s wrecking the old media way of doing things: crime. In San Francisco, there has been a rash of people stealing equipment from TV news reporters. There have been several instances in the…

What Item Would You Put in a Time Capsule?

The business of predicting the future is a tricky one. But it’s almost as difficult to imagine what life was like in the past. Today, we want to know what one item you would drop into a time capsule for people 500 years from now. Would you leave behind something technological? Perhaps a book or…

This fashion show is like a glimpse of the future

Fashion designer Rick Owens debuted his new line in Paris this week with this incredible, futuristic show featuring steppers. It’s absolutely mesmerizing, and reminds me of Afro-futurist art or the movie Born in Flames. Just gorgeous.

This android’s muscles and tendons allow it to move like a human

You know how the original Terminator looks like a human — even on the inside? Well, that was probably a good design decision. As the designers of this android undoubtedly know, the best way to get a robot to look and move like a human is to give it an actual musculoskeletal system. Everyone, say…

Pentagon invests $10M to make this scary robot silent and bulletproof

Boston Dynamics has just received a serious injection of cash to upgrade its Legged Squad Support System (LS3) pack mule. The challenge now is to make it quieter and resistant to small arms fire. Yeah, about that… The LS3 is currently capable of hauling 400 pounds of supplies over 20 miles on a single tank…

The world’s first mind-controlled robotic leg is ready for prime time

Late last year we told you about Zac Vawter, recipient of the first mind-controlled prosthetic leg. Now, after extensive testing and a series of important tweaks, the device is ready for actual clinical applications. Your cyborg future awaits. https://gizmodo.com/bionic-man-scales-willis-tower-with-the-worlds-first-ne-5957772 Until now, the only thought-controlled prosthetics available to amputees were bionic arms. But the new leg…

Breakthrough: The World’s First Carbon Nanotube Computer

It’s only got 178 transistors, but it’s an important proof-of-concept that’s poised to keep Moore’s Law right on track. The breakthrough, in which a basic computer was powered by microscopic chains of carbon atoms, means we may have finally found a viable alternative to silicon chips. Back in 1965, Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore famously…

What Will the Classroom of the Future Look Like?

From slates and chalk all the way to laptops and videogames, schools reinvent themselves for every generation. Today, we want to know what you think the classroom of the future will look like. Will pens and paper become completely obsolete in favor of tablets? Will the rise of online tutorials like Khan Academy make home-schooling…

Why drugs that treat psychological disorders may be doomed

Neuroscientists are increasingly seeing the human brain as a series of modifiable brain circuits. As a result, a lot of money is being spent on the development of biotechnologies that manipulate brain networks. Psychiatric drugs, it would appear, are on the way out. This observation comes to us via Vaughan Bell, who has penned an…

Here’s an incredible statistic that will give you hope for the future

Deforestation is causing some of the world’s worst environmental problems. So it may shock you to discover that deforestation in Brazil, one of the worst-hit regions, has dropped by 80% in the past 8 years. Photo via NASA This week, the Economist has a big package of stories devoted to how economic growth and environmental…

The Unexpected Places Where Artificial Intelligence Will Emerge

We often imagine that artificial intelligence will be created by mad engineers who build a big box that starts thinking. But is that really how would AI develop in real life? Probably not. AI could emerge from computer systems that are part of our everyday lives right now. Here are some possibilities. Photo: Google/Connie Zhou…

Liquid Fuel, From the Sun

The future of solar energy could be a liquid fuel you put into your gas tank. The New Yorker just published an article I wrote about an incredible lab where scientists making that dream real. They’re building the prototype for a device that could convert water, sunlight and carbon into tomorrow’s gasoline. Here’s how the…

Which of today’s current technologies will be around in 50 years?

Your laptop and phone will start becoming obsolete almost as soon as you take them out of the box, but some of the tech we use — like radio, and the QWERTY keyboard layout — has stood the test of time. What current tech do you think will still be around in 50 years? Make…

A new crop of literary novels explores our internet dystopia

Not long ago, it seemed like every literary author was doing a book about the apocalypse, possibly involving zombies or werewolves. But now, there’s a new wave of beloved authors tackling our bewilderment with the internet-dominated world we live in. Top image: Ed Yourdon/Flickr. The literary wave may have started with Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad…

Google wants you to live forever

Google has announced Calico, a new company that will focus on health and well-being. But its ultimate purpose is to radically extend the human lifespan. As TIME put it, “That would be crazy — if it weren’t Google.” By launching Calico, Google CEO Larry Page hopes to tackle some of health care’s most pressing problems.…

Soldiers are developing relationships with their battlefield robots

Robots are playing an ever-increasing role on the battlefield. As a consequence, soldiers are becoming attached to their robots, assigning names, gender — and even holding funerals when they’re destroyed. But could these emotional bonds affect outcomes in the war zone? This is the concern of Julie Carpenter, a Ph.D in education at the University…