Index

Introduction --
 
* Predicting the next century
* Understanding the law of nature
* 2100: becoming the gods of mythology
* Why predictions sometimes don't come true
* Cave man principle
* Science as a sword
 
1. Future of the computer --
 
Present - 2030:
* Internet glasses and contact lenses
* Driverless car
* Four wall screens
* Flexible electronic paper
* Virtual worlds
* Medical care in the near future
* Living in a fairy tale
 
2030-2070:
* End of Moore's law
* Mixing real and virtual reality
* Augmented reality: a revolution in tourism, art, shopping and warfare
* Universal translators
* Holograms and 3-D
 
2070-2100:
* Mind over matter
* Mind reading
* Photographing a dream
* Ethic of mind reading
* My fMRI brain scan
* Tricorders and portable brain scan
* Telekinesis and the power of the gods
 
2. Future of AI --
 
* The end of humanity?
* ASIMO the robot
* History of AI
* Is the brain a digital computer
* Two problems with robot -- pattern recognition & common sense
* Man versus machine
 
Present - 2030 :
* Expert systems
 
2030 - 2070 :
* Modular robot
* Robot surgeons and cooks
* Emotional robots
* Reverse engineer the brain
* Modeling the brain
* Taking apart the brain
 
2070 - 2100 :
* When machines become conscious
* When robots exceed humans
* Most likely scenario: friendly AI
* Merging with robots
* Star Wars robotic hand
* Surrogates and avatars
* How far the merger with robots?
* Roadblocks to the singularity
 
3. Future of Medicine --
* Three stages of medicine
 
Present - 2030 :
* Genomic medicine
* Visit to the doctor
* Stem cells
* Cloning
* Gene therapy
* Coexisting with cancer
 
2030 - 2070 :
* Gene therapy
* Designer children
* Mighty mouse gene
* Side effects of the biotech revolution
 
2070 - 2100 :
* Reversing aging
* Caloric restriction
* Fountain of youth?
* Do we have to die?
* Biological clock
* Immortality plus youth
* Population, food and polution
* Some hope for world population
* Resurrecting extinct life-forms
* Bring back the neanderthal?
* Bring back the mammoth?
* Jurassic park?
* Creating new life-forms
* Ban all diseases?
* Brave new world
* Germ warfare
 
4. Nanotechnology --
* The quantum world
* Walking through walls
* Moving individual atoms
* MEMS and nanoparticles
 
Present - 2030 :
* Nanomachines in ourbodies
* Zapping cancer cells
* Nanocars in our blood
* DNA chip
* Carbon nanotube
* Post-silicon era
* Atomic transistors
* Quantum computers
 
2030 - 2070 :
* Shape-shifting
 
2070 - 2100 :
* Holy grail: the replicator
* Building a replicator
* Grey goo?
* Social impact of replicators
 
5. Future of Energy --
* End of Oil?
 
Present - 2030 :
* Solar/Hydrogen economy
* Wind power
* Here comes the sun
* Electric car
* Nuclear fission
* Nuclear proliferation
 
2030 - 2070 :
* Global warming
* Carbon dioxide -- greenhouse gas
* Visit to Iceland
* Flooding Bangladesh and Vietnam
* Technical fixes
* Fusion power
* Hot fusion
* NIF -- fusion by laser
* ITER -- fusion in a magnetic field
* Tabletop fusion
 
2070 - 2100 :
* Age of magnetism
* The magnetic car and train
* Meglec trains and cars
* Energy from the sky
 
6. Future of Space Travel --
 
Present - 2030 :
* Extrasolar planets
* Europa -- outside the goldilocks zone
* LISA -- before the big bang
* Manned missions to space
* Canceling the Moon program
* Landing on an asteroid
* Landing on a moon of Mars
* Back to the Moon
* Permanent Moon base
* Water on the Moon
 
2030 - 2070 :
* Mission to Mars
* Terraform Mars?
* Economic benefit?
* Space tourism
* Wild cards
 
2070 - 2100 :
* Space elevator
* Starships
* Nuclear rocket
* Ramjet fusion
* Antimatter rockets
* Nanoships
* Exodus Earth?
 
7. Future of Wealth --
 
Present - 2030 :
* Four stages of technology
* Why bubbles and crashes?
 
2030 - 2070 :
* Winners and losers: jobs
* Future of entertainment -- wisdom
* The matrix
 
2070 - 2100 :
* Impact on capitalism
* From commodity capitalism to intellectual capitalism
* Digital divide?
* Entry-level jobs
* Winners and losers: nations
* Taking advantage of science
* The future is up for grabs
* Lesson of Singapore
* Challenge for the future
 
8. Future of Humanity
* Ranking civilizations
* Type I, II and III civilizations
* From Type O to Type I
* Terrorism and dictatorships
* Type II civilization
* Type III civilization
* SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)
* New classifications
* Ranking civilizations by entropy
* From masters of nature to conservators of nature
* Most dangerous transition
* The search for wisdom
* Key to the future: wisdom
* Future as a freight train