Futurism

Could nuclear disarmament actually increase our chance of an apocalypse?

Most everyone agrees that humanity needs to get rid of its nuclear weapons. It’s only through complete relinquishment that we can eliminate the threat of deliberate or accidental nuclear war and the ongoing problem of proliferation. But at the same time, a strong case can be made that these apocalyptic weapons have eliminated the possibility…

io9 George Dvorsky

Will We Have Cognitive Computers That Feel And Smell in The Next Five Years?

At the end of each year, IBM releases its “5 in 5″—five technology predictions that IBM researchers foresee coming to fruition within the coming five years. These predictions are based on everything from emerging market trends to cultural and social behaviors to actual technologies IBM has incubating in its many labs. And if this year’s…

Tech News Clay Dillow - Popular Science

Popular Mechanics makes 110 predictions for the next 110 years

To commemorate its 110th anniversary, Popular Mechanics has put together an epic list of 110 predictions for the next 110 years. And as editor-in-chief Jim Meigs admits, making predictions is not easy — so to that end, the PM editorial team consulted with over 20 different experts (including our own Annalee Newitz) from diverse backgrounds.…

io9 George Dvorsky

How the L5 Society Tried to Use a Quirk of Physics to Colonize Space

The 1970s weren’t just the dark ages of paisley and bell-bottoms. Some people were trying to rise above their tragic circumstances – and go to space. And they wanted to use a quirk of physics to help them live there. Right now we’re looking to the moon or to Mars to set up a settlement,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell

China’s plan to build a massive 120 million-square-foot city — from scratch

The Chinese government has approved the final design for a massive planned city scheduled for construction along the rim of a 3.85 kilometer (2.4 mile) lake. Upon completion, Meixi Lake City will provide home to over 180,000 inhabitants and occupy a space that’s 120 million square feet in size. The design, which was developed by…

io9 George Dvorsky

What comes after the end of factory farming?

Factory farming only really began 40 years ago, and it seems unlikely to continue for another 40 years in its current configuration. Even leaving aside the massive, huge ethical problems with abusing our fellow sentient creatures, the logic behind factory farming is based on some assumptions that won’t be true for much longer. So how…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders

Oculus Rift VR headset to be used in Sinful Robots ‘erotic encounters’ video game

Fully immersive brain-jacked virtual reality sex may still be a few decades away, but we’re inching closer with each passing year. The latest news on this crucial technological front comes in the form of a new collaboration between software developer Sinful Robot, an Irvine-based startup, and Oculus, a hardware company that’s developing an advanced virtual…

io9 George Dvorsky

Why we should send uploaded astronauts on interstellar missions

The awesome 100 Year Starship (100YSS) initiative by DARPA and NASA proposes to send people to the stars by the year 2100 — a huge challenge that will require bold, visionary, out-of-the-box thinking. One possible solution is mind-uploading — what could give rise to highly versatile and resilient software-based astronauts and their e-crews. And at…

io9 Giulio Prisco - KurzweilAI

U.S. spy agency predicts a very transhuman future by 2030

The National Intelligence Council has just released its much anticipated forecasting report, a 140-page document that outlines major trends and technological developments we should expect in the next 20 years. Among their many predictions, the NIC foresees the end of U.S. global dominance, the rising power of individuals against states, a growing middle class that…

io9 George Dvorsky

9 Ways Humanity Could Bring About Its Own Destruction

It won’t be because of a Maya prophesy, but humanity may actually meet its doom someday. There is no shortage of threats from the natural world, including asteroid impacts and the eruption of supervolcanoes. But who needs natural disasters when you’ve got human ingenuity? Here are the top nine ways humanity could eventually bring about…

io9 George Dvorsky

Things From Thomas More’s Utopia That Have Come True Today

You probably think we’ll never actually live in Utopia — because Utopia is a perfect society that can never be achieved in real life. But think again. Thomas More’s Utopia, the book that gave us the word for a perfect society in the first place, contains a large number of somewhat wacky descriptions of how…

Books & Comics Charlie Jane Anders

Your future awaits — but is this what you want?

Check out this horrifying yet strangely compelling futuristic vision put together by artist Miles Johnston. Called “Substitution,” it’s the portrayal of a man who’s brain-jacked himself into a fully immersive virtual reality — one so compelling that he has completely detached himself from the outside world. Johnston writes, “I was thinking about how creepy it…

io9 George Dvorsky

This video strongly indicates that parrots will use robots to conspire against us

Sure, making robots for our animal companions seems like a good idea right now — but just wait until this bites us in the ass. The latest experiment in animal/machine integration comes from an electrical and computer engineering student from the University of Florida who has designed and built a mobile robot that’s controlled by…

io9 George Dvorsky

The Architect Who Gave the Future “Sensual Curves”

Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer passed away last week at the tender age of 104 (he died two weeks shy of his 105th birthday). Regarded as a pioneer in the development of modern architecture, he will be primarily remembered for his design of Brasilia’s civic buildings — the planned city that became Brazil’s capital in 1960.…

io9 George Dvorsky

Is the Pentagon developing a stealth drone?

The U.S. Air Force’s use of unmanned aerial drones is typically regarded as one of the more futuristic ways in which the Pentagon goes about its business in the 21st century. But as a recent article in Wired suggests, the era of the combat drone has only just begun. According to reports, Lockheed Martin and…

io9 George Dvorsky

A 3D printer that manufactures new cancer drugs with drag-and-drop DNA

Researchers from Parabon NanoLabs have developed a new drug for combating a lethal brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme. But what makes this particular drug unique is that it was printed — molecule by molecule — using a DNA self-assembly technique. And even more remarkable is that the DNA was custom designed with a drag-and-drop computer…

io9 George Dvorsky

Introducing Spaun — the world’s largest functioning model of the human brain

Cognitive scientists have yet to create a functional, working model of the human brain. Our computers are way too slow, and our understanding of the brain is way too primitive. But that doesn’t mean we can’t create a model of the functioning brain at a much smaller scale. And in fact, this is exactly what…

io9 George Dvorsky

Japan’s new ‘communications robot’ will prevent astronauts from getting lonely in space — by being absolutely adorable

It may look and act nothing like David from Prometheus, but big things come from humble beginnings. Tokyo University researchers and robot creator Tomotaka Takahashi are developing a tiny humanoid robot that will talk to and provide company for a Japanese astronaut during an upcoming six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. The 34-centimeter tall…

io9 George Dvorsky

Meet the Milli-Motein, a tiny, reconfigurable robot that could “become almost anything”

MIT’s media lab compares it to a “real-life Transformer” — a highly adaptable, infinitely scalable machine that can assume almost any shape imaginable. It’s called the Milli-Motein. Think of it as programmable matter, the latest development in the growing digital fabrication revolution. The line that separates the biological world from the synthetic one is growing…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez

Your next sex toy could come out of a 3D printer (NSFW)

Finally, a use for 3D printers that we can all get behind! Two services are now available that can help you generate a sex toy from scratch by using a 3D printer — which can produce preconfigured dildos of various shapes, sizes, and colors. There’s even an option to create an exact replica of your…

io9 George Dvorsky

Could nuclear disarmament actually increase our chance of an apocalypse?

Will We Have Cognitive Computers That Feel And Smell in The Next Five Years?

Popular Mechanics makes 110 predictions for the next 110 years

How the L5 Society Tried to Use a Quirk of Physics to Colonize Space

China’s plan to build a massive 120 million-square-foot city — from scratch

What comes after the end of factory farming?

Oculus Rift VR headset to be used in Sinful Robots ‘erotic encounters’ video game

Why we should send uploaded astronauts on interstellar missions

U.S. spy agency predicts a very transhuman future by 2030

9 Ways Humanity Could Bring About Its Own Destruction

Things From Thomas More’s Utopia That Have Come True Today

Your future awaits — but is this what you want?

This video strongly indicates that parrots will use robots to conspire against us

The Architect Who Gave the Future “Sensual Curves”

Is the Pentagon developing a stealth drone?

A 3D printer that manufactures new cancer drugs with drag-and-drop DNA

Introducing Spaun — the world’s largest functioning model of the human brain

Japan’s new ‘communications robot’ will prevent astronauts from getting lonely in space — by being absolutely adorable

Meet the Milli-Motein, a tiny, reconfigurable robot that could “become almost anything”

Your next sex toy could come out of a 3D printer (NSFW)

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