by Mark Ollig
Copyright © 2016 Mark Ollig
Our friends from across the big pond are making some bold predictions for the next 20 years.
One includes humans being outnumbered by artificially-intelligent robots.
In 2036, it will be common to hear the overhead buzzing of an aerial drone delivering a package, or a pizza to someone’s front door.
How will we feel about sharing the highway with autonomous, self-driving cars; which some say, will outnumber human-driven automobiles by 2036?
More than 2,000 British adults were polled for their insights on what life might be like 20 years from now.
A not-for-profit private partnership called London & Partners did the polling for London Technology Week.
London was last week’s venue for bringing together high-tech companies, and celebrating its innovators and entrepreneurs during the city’s technology event.
London Technology Week focused on the city’s effort to be the “forefront of developing the cutting-edge technologies, which are creating growth for the city’s economy.”
Commercial space flights using major airports are considered a real possibility by 2036, according to 37 percent of the Brits interviewed.
NASA says humans aboard the Orion spacecraft will arrive at Mars in the early 2030s, so it may be possible we will be able to book a commercial space flight for traveling to the moon.
It’s 2036, and I find myself sipping coffee, while comfortably seated aboard a luxury passenger commercial space flight, orbiting the moon.
Looking out a window, I notice our spacecraft slowly beginning to descend; the moon is getting closer.
I am able to see details of the lunar surface.
My first impression is how very grayish in color it is, at times resembling charcoal.
There are large, and many small craters, along with various-sized boulders and rocks.
The surface we are hovering above appears to be very finely grained.
The lunar topsoil looks almost like a powder.
A pleasant voice is heard from the spacecraft’s overhead speaker, “We are now passing over the Sea of Tranquility . . . we are coming up to Tranquility Base, which is the site of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.”
Ah yes, I can see the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle descent stage, with its footpads resting on the lunar surface.
There’s the lunar television camera, seismometer, retroreflector, and the footprint trails Neil and Buzz made while walking on the moon’s surface.
Sadly, the American flag looks to have been blown over, as it’s resting on the surface, not far from the descent stage.
I remember Buzz Aldrin saying he saw the flag blow down when the Eagle’s ascent stage blasted off from the moon, and the exhaust struck the flag.
Everything else appears to not have been disturbed by time.
Maybe, someday, we really will be able to take this trip to the moon.
Another prediction calls for replacing a human with an artificially-intelligent mechanism on the board of directors within large corporations, according to 23 percent questioned.
Having computerized “avatar girlfriends and boyfriends” could become commonplace in 2036, says 19 percent of the Brits polled.
For those of you who are not up on your computing avatars, I checked one definition which says an avatar is “an icon or figure representing a particular person in computer games, Internet forums, chatrooms, etc.”
An avatar should not be confused with an anime.
I learned computing animation animes were created in Japan; however, an avatar isn’t considered an anime based on the opinions expressed by many online.
Another prediction has 37 percent polled believing we will be placing some sort of communication device inside our body by 2036.
A number of the Britons surveyed, believe in 20 years, they will no longer need to travel to see their doctor when they are ill.
If you’re feeling ill in 2036, you’ll have an in-home, face-to-face doctor appointment, using virtual-reality technology.
Those polled also believe if it is determined you need a human organ replacement, 3D printing machines will be able to manufacture one for you in 2036.
My personal prediction: The use of medical chip implants for human health tracking, and treatment will become routine 20 years from now.
London Technology Week used the Twitter hashtag “#LDNTechWeek” for folks attending the event, to tag messages sent out over the social media network.
I wonder what using Twitter will be like in 2036.
Maybe by then, they will have finally decided to increase their 140-character limit.
The webpage for London Technology Week is http://londontechnologyweek.co.uk.
For the foreseeable future, you’ll be able to follow me on Twitter via my @bitsandbytes user handle.
Copyright © 2016 Mark Ollig
Our friends from across the big pond are making some bold predictions for the next 20 years.
One includes humans being outnumbered by artificially-intelligent robots.
In 2036, it will be common to hear the overhead buzzing of an aerial drone delivering a package, or a pizza to someone’s front door.
How will we feel about sharing the highway with autonomous, self-driving cars; which some say, will outnumber human-driven automobiles by 2036?
More than 2,000 British adults were polled for their insights on what life might be like 20 years from now.
A not-for-profit private partnership called London & Partners did the polling for London Technology Week.
London was last week’s venue for bringing together high-tech companies, and celebrating its innovators and entrepreneurs during the city’s technology event.
London Technology Week focused on the city’s effort to be the “forefront of developing the cutting-edge technologies, which are creating growth for the city’s economy.”
Commercial space flights using major airports are considered a real possibility by 2036, according to 37 percent of the Brits interviewed.
NASA says humans aboard the Orion spacecraft will arrive at Mars in the early 2030s, so it may be possible we will be able to book a commercial space flight for traveling to the moon.
It’s 2036, and I find myself sipping coffee, while comfortably seated aboard a luxury passenger commercial space flight, orbiting the moon.
Looking out a window, I notice our spacecraft slowly beginning to descend; the moon is getting closer.
I am able to see details of the lunar surface.
My first impression is how very grayish in color it is, at times resembling charcoal.
There are large, and many small craters, along with various-sized boulders and rocks.
The surface we are hovering above appears to be very finely grained.
The lunar topsoil looks almost like a powder.
A pleasant voice is heard from the spacecraft’s overhead speaker, “We are now passing over the Sea of Tranquility . . . we are coming up to Tranquility Base, which is the site of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.”
Ah yes, I can see the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle descent stage, with its footpads resting on the lunar surface.
There’s the lunar television camera, seismometer, retroreflector, and the footprint trails Neil and Buzz made while walking on the moon’s surface.
Sadly, the American flag looks to have been blown over, as it’s resting on the surface, not far from the descent stage.
I remember Buzz Aldrin saying he saw the flag blow down when the Eagle’s ascent stage blasted off from the moon, and the exhaust struck the flag.
Everything else appears to not have been disturbed by time.
Maybe, someday, we really will be able to take this trip to the moon.
Another prediction calls for replacing a human with an artificially-intelligent mechanism on the board of directors within large corporations, according to 23 percent questioned.
Having computerized “avatar girlfriends and boyfriends” could become commonplace in 2036, says 19 percent of the Brits polled.
For those of you who are not up on your computing avatars, I checked one definition which says an avatar is “an icon or figure representing a particular person in computer games, Internet forums, chatrooms, etc.”
An avatar should not be confused with an anime.
I learned computing animation animes were created in Japan; however, an avatar isn’t considered an anime based on the opinions expressed by many online.
Another prediction has 37 percent polled believing we will be placing some sort of communication device inside our body by 2036.
A number of the Britons surveyed, believe in 20 years, they will no longer need to travel to see their doctor when they are ill.
If you’re feeling ill in 2036, you’ll have an in-home, face-to-face doctor appointment, using virtual-reality technology.
Those polled also believe if it is determined you need a human organ replacement, 3D printing machines will be able to manufacture one for you in 2036.
My personal prediction: The use of medical chip implants for human health tracking, and treatment will become routine 20 years from now.
London Technology Week used the Twitter hashtag “#LDNTechWeek” for folks attending the event, to tag messages sent out over the social media network.
I wonder what using Twitter will be like in 2036.
Maybe by then, they will have finally decided to increase their 140-character limit.
The webpage for London Technology Week is http://londontechnologyweek.co.uk.
For the foreseeable future, you’ll be able to follow me on Twitter via my @bitsandbytes user handle.
