“But in the years ahead, new technologies will become much more personalised, and they will closely affect almost every aspect of our lives. We see advances in information and biological technologies brining us into a more intimate relationship with nature and with each other. From cloned human organs, to personalised public transportation to computers and sensors embedded in our bodies, we will become intertwined with technology”.
Here Stephen Millett, Battelle’s leading manager looking into what could change in the next 20 years.
Genetic-based medical and health care over the next 20 years will give us the ability to detect and correct many genetic-based diseases before their arise, even in the earlier stages in the womb. With these new technologies becoming much more personalised we will be in affect receiving the ultimate in individualised care. For example with your doctor having a record of your genetic makeup they in turn may be able to prescribe medication and diets to fit your own needs. Battelle along with many other research organisations looking towards the 2020 decade predicts cloned humans, being able to grow organs and used in transplants, see previous research on health.
High- power energy packages and new energy sources will most definitely be in place as fossil fuels run out. Advanced batteries and fuel cells will make our electronic products and appliances highly mobile. The inability of conventional battery technology to provide sufficient energy to meet future demands is recognised by many sectors; the military and developing nations. For example future military requirements of needing multiple batteries are widely recognised with the DARPA looking into alternatives. The future soldier is likely to have several pieces of electrical equipment with them, for example computers, personal radios, global positioning systems and thermal imaging equipment. The UK future infantry soldier technology program (FIST) estimates that they will need 30 watts each over 3 days. Therefore Batteries of the future will use carbon nano-tubes as electrodes; this will maximise the energy density of devices (see figure 6). Computers will be everywhere, embedded in our clothing and maybe even under our skin (see figure 7).
Figure 6:A nano tube paper battery
Figure 7: A chip embedded into a trainer
Genetically modified food will continue to grow, and our shelves with be filled with designer foods, that will be able to resist disease and pests. Most food sold in the supermarkets will have come from genetically engineered fruits, vegetables and livestock. Even cotton and wool for our clothing will be genetically engineered.
In the future media technology will most definitely be everywhere. The tomorrow project predicts that “smart tags” will be at the heart of this communications media. Smart tags (see figure 8) will use a chip, tiny in size and be able to a number of different jobs, from tracking human movement to informing us of purchases and environmental conditions. Smarts tags could also make electronic cash possible, whereby payment is immediate. This is already being trialled for travel payments by Pilots in London. Smarts tags will also be used for road usage with either the car itself being chipped or the owner sent a bill or a card will be slotted behind the cars tag.
Figure 8:A tracking smart tag of the future
With this tracking idea it will be possible to increase surveillance and security, for example with parents tracking their children. Airports have already implemented this new technology, using RFID tags on baggage. Similarly these tags will help us to care for older people, installing sensor to track their movements and medication taken.
New technology and media products may increasing favour monopolies. As companies grow and increase their market share it allows customers to get a cheaper price for their products and services therefore making it difficult for new media companies to join and innovate. The Tomorrow Network fears for this new surge in media technology and to impact it will have on us a society, for example it may lead to individual isolation. The development of new websites such as my space and facebook alongside fantasy worlds such as new life is encouraging teenagers to spend more time online rather than enjoying real life social interactions. My space is the fifth most viewed website in America, allowing 56 million members to create online profiles meeting people with shared interests.
“It’s about identity information – how I fit into society, who am I? It’s a new forum for hanging out that creates new publics. The burger joints where kids used to meet are done and malls are now banning teenagers who are not with adults. This is the sort of place where they are going instead”.
Here Danah Boyd from the University of California looks into these new websites.
With like minded people being able to meet on the internet, there is also a fear of segmentation. Personalised information, news and entertainment may segment individuals into bubbles of similar people. Therefore news may be filtered specifically to suit your interests. There is a question of whether the internet will open up the divide between different groups through things like blogs and online discussions or will it be harder to build connections between different social groups?
This treat of individual or group isolation poses the question whether or not the virtual world will define the natural one? As media technologies make available more new visual images from around the world, what is natural may be defined as what we see online. People will expect to be constantly entertained.
The invention of nanotechnology is a major contribution to how we will live in the decade 2020. Nanotechnology deals with particles whose size is in the range of 1 -100 nanometres (one millionth of an mm). It is a relatively new breakthrough science, combining the principle of chemistry, biology and physics to propose microscopic devices on a nano-scale that manipulate atoms and molecules. Examples of their unique function are the construction of new materials, eradication of diseases and restoration of the environment – scrubbing the air of carbon dioxide. Nano-medicine can also be along nano robots to repair maladies for example cancer. Robots will also be used for convience, eliminating chores with home robots being the next consumer “must have” by 2020. Competition will however come from smart dressing materials. At the University of New South Wales in Sydney they are developing self-cleaning surfaces. These surfaces will be coated with particles that absorb ultraviolet light at a particular wavelength. These surfaces will be used in kitchen, bathrooms and most importantly hospitals.
Artificially intelligence is also a contender, improving speech recognition and game playing in the future. AI is the science and engineering of making intelligent machines and computer programs. Game playing obviously already exists today, however by the year 2025 game/scenario play will be a common occurrence. This would allow you to play against the best, with the computer having the increased intelligence and knowledge of all the moves.
Speech recognition will also improve, with it already being tested in flights. In addition a computers understanding of the natural language, so a universal translator and speech to text capability will be in place. So we could use text format English, not having to be completely accurate.
