The Future
All Stories
Drones and AI recover a meteorite for the first time
Aerial drone footage was sent to an AI trained to track down space rocks.
Future evolution: from looks to brains and personality, how will humans change in the next 10,000 years?
Discussions of human evolution are usually backward looking, as if the greatest triumphs and challenges were in the distant past.
MIT’s new plant-based material is made from cellulose nanocrystals and could replace plastics
Using cellulose from trees and a synthetic polymer, MIT researchers have created a material that "is stronger and tougher than some types of bone, and harder than typical aluminum alloys."
Edible electronics: When will we be eating technology?
Edible electronics, devices that can be broken down and digested, could perform many useful functions inside the body.
The Turing test: AI still hasn’t passed the “imitation game”
A computer that could decidedly pass Alan Turing's test would represent a major step toward artificial general intelligence.
How China could become the world’s largest economy much sooner than expected
Some economists predict China's economy will overtake the U.S. economy by 2028.
Diamond-like starfish skeleton is unlike any discovered in nature
The knobby starfish skeleton has diamond-like properties and could inspire new designs for lightweight, highly resilient ceramics, with widespread applications in engineering and construction.
Mind of its own: Will “general AI” be like an alien invasion?
According to surveys, approximately half of artificial intelligence experts believe that general AI will emerge by 2060.
Robot morphs shape using material inspired by origami
Outfitted with wheels and rotors, the bot can morph from a land drone into a quadcopter in seconds.
Techno-optimism and the rule-of-threes: why the world will soon enter an era of mass flourishing
Historically, periods of mass flourishing are underpinned by technological revolutions. Currently, we are undergoing a technological revolution unlike anything the world has ever seen.
When should someone trust an AI assistant’s predictions?
Researchers have created a method to help workers collaborate with artificial intelligence systems.
Is a lack of creativity already ruining the metaverse?
With this unique opportunity to create a totally new world, why does the metaverse already feature such old-world concepts?
New space plane would fly directly into orbit from a runway
Space planes could radically lower the cost of spaceflight.
See a futuristic flying car’s first untethered flight
This flying car — more properly called an "electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle" — will seat five and fly up to 135 mph.
Genesis Machine: Synthetic biology will allow us to program living organisms like computers
The book "The Genesis Machine" outlines the promise and peril of synthetic biology, a powerful tool that will allow us to program life like a computer.
What AI cannot do
It is often assumed that AI will become so advanced that the technology will be able to do anything. In reality, there are limits.
3 global risk areas that demand cosmic action: Space, the metaverse, and Planet Earth
Can space ever be safe? What about the metaverse?
VR vs. AR vs. MR vs. XR: What’s the difference?
It's no longer just VR vs. AR. There is an alphabet soup of metaverse acronyms, often used imprecisely. So, what do they all mean?
SpaceX’s Starship is ready for its first trip into space
The massive craft could carry 100 humans to Mars and revolutionize space exploration.
How biomining could sustain space colonies
Coupled with 3D printing, biomining the Moon or Mars with microbes could sustain human colonies without constant re-supply from Earth.
There are two kinds of Metaverse. Only one will inherit the Earth
The Virtual Metaverse will be for gaming and other short duration uses, while the Augmented Metaverse will revolutionize society.
Machines that see the world more like humans do
A new “common-sense” approach to computer vision enables artificial intelligence that interprets scenes more accurately than other systems do.
Hypersonic flight: coast-to-coast in 30 minutes
One day, we could fly across the U.S. in half an hour. A state-of-the-art hypersonic flight testing facility at UTSA could help make that dream a reality.
Batteries are the lump of coal in futurism’s Christmas stocking
A century ago, electric cars were common. The fact that they were almost entirely replaced due to the internal combustion engine is a testament to the glacial pace of battery breakthroughs.
Goodbye, rubber. These new steel tires last a lifetime.
Steel tires may be better for the planet and could replace rubber.
Humanoid robots are waking up — and they look eerily real
Humanoid robots are coming, and Ameca is designed to be the ideal platform to study human-robot interactions.
Space sex: the trouble with joining the 62-mile-high club
Whether NASA likes it or not, humans eventually will be having space sex.
Bye, paper currencies: How blockchain and fintech will soon transform money
Digital currencies are set to upend paper currencies, but it likely won't be the decentralized utopia some hope it will be.
Finally, a sex robot that wants to be your friend
The AI remembers that you are 32 years old and like to eat sushi, except on Thursdays.