The Future of Technology

The general consensus of people since the advent of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, is that the future is going to filled with amazing technology from flying cars to vacations on the moon. I'm sorry to say that generally speaking technology isn't going to go much farther in the next half century than it is in 2009.



Cloning - There will be developments in food cloning and animal cloning, but human cloning will prove unsuccessful. There will be neurological problems with the clones causing low intelligence and a short life-span.

Robotics - Developments in robotics will be limited to manufacturing, but we don't have human shaped robots that walk around doing human jobs.

Transportation - Mag-Lev trains will become very popular and even replace local subways and buses. However, cars won't float or fly in the future, at least to any great degree. They were tried, but the inability to break quickly in the air proved an insurmountable obstacle. Cars still run on the ground on tires, but the tires don't wear out.

Time Travel & Teleportation - Time travel is discovered by accident by a group of scientists trying to develop a way of teleporting. Both were created but because the amount of resources required for either one, they're only used by the government large shipping companies.

Gadgets - This the area where there will be the most advances. They won't change life or society much, but they're fun. The most common gadgetry will be PCs that people carry around in their pockets. They have laser optic keyboards, mice and digital displays that will allow people to work anywhere. These "PC"s will also be music players, phones and network with families and houses.

The real future of technology is more complex and tied to our social and political future, at least that of the US. In the future technology will taper off until the second civil war. After that innovation will come to halt. The economy will be such that disposable income which won't allow the population to purchase gadgets therefore research and development for new devices will no longer be funded by technology companies.

Furthermore, in the future, common knowledge about technology will begin to wain. The number of people who understand the complexities of devices will decrease as will the number of those who can repair them. For this reason, technological developments will come to a plateau and in 2064, we are still in it.