What will the future be like? If you’ve spent any time reading this blog, you’ll know a few details: massive cities, robot drivers, and computers that connect directly to your brain. But what about the big picture? What’s the whole world going to be like in 1,000 years? As the saying goes, ask 10 different … Continue reading
Picking January 1st to do all the stuff you’ve been putting off for the past year is an enduring tradition, but the actual resolutions change over time. In the early 21st century, losing weight and saving money were the most popular choices. But now that the future is here, there are some new ones in … Continue reading
Last week, we looked at some reasons why even the most rational individual might feel a touch of dread at the thought of a car that drives itself. This week, let’s zoom out a bit, and imagine a future society where driverless cars are the norm. I think this is a very plausible scenario, but … Continue reading
Ready for more end-of-the-world scenarios? If you missed the first half of the list, click here. Otherwise, let’s start with number 5, which kicks off the more speculative portion. And if you’ve got a favorite that’s not included here, be sure to add it in the comments. Happy apocalypse hunting! 5. Artificial black hole. Back … Continue reading
We’ve all wished for a little more brain power at some point. Maybe it was while trying to make sense of credit default swaps, or wrestling with an especially intractable Sudoku puzzle. Well, what if someone offered you a machine that could boost your cognitive capacity without effort? Would you use it? Would you want … Continue reading
We all know the future is coming (that’s kind of how it works) but sometimes it’s surprising just how fast it shows up. Here are 7 futuristic gadgets you can add to your lifestyle right now. Which ones are on your shopping list? 1. Augmented Reality Glasses. Google’s much-hyped Project Glass may not be available … Continue reading
What’s the future of human civilization? Cosmic Revolutions has looked at a lot of big questions, but this one’s as big as they come. Indeed, everything I’ve posted so far has tried to fill in a piece of the answer. But today, I want to step back, way back, and try to catch a glimpse … Continue reading
Automated systems grow more sophisticated every day. They’re now poised to take on many tasks that we would’ve considered “human-only” just a few years ago. We’ve discussed that trend here several times, from robot nurses and lawyers to robots that drive your car. While these developments are fascinating on their own, today I want to … Continue reading
Step aside, Sherlock: there’s another big brain on the scene. He’s got deep knowledge, pieces together abstract concepts on the fly, and shares a name with your erstwhile partner. Meet Watson. If you watched Jeopardy last February, you got to witness the unusual intersection of cutting-edge intelligence research and popular game shows. In a handful … Continue reading
If you’ve got the latest iPhone (or if you’ve seen an ad for it), you know what Siri is. To whit: it’s a speech recognition interface that lets you control your phone by talking to it. You can tell it to set reminders, find songs, or look up nearby pizza places; it listens to, and … Continue reading
Cosmic Revolutions 