What technological advances do you see in the next 15-20 years?

Question

I think the last 15-20 years has seen advances in Internet, portables, telecommunications, genetic engineering..What do you predict in the next 15-20? Thanks for your input.

Answer 1

I think the biggest areas of improvement will be in medicine, especially the molecular biology and genomics of it, and maybe alternative energy. Why? because that's where all the major research topics are. When you see a science article in the news, a lot of the time it's about some kind of medical breakthrough; something that may help us find a solution to cancer, or a new development in stem cell research. There is a huge emphasis on medical research nowadays, and that's why i think in the future biomedical fields will increase greatly. I also think alternative energy will probably make leaps as well, but not in the immediate future; give it a decade or two. Developmental biology and genetic engineering and genomics, of humans this time, also probably will make huge leaps and bounds in the next 2 decades.

Technology will probably become way more widespread, and computers, global networking and such will definitely continue to increase, although now i think the advancements will become more steady, and not suddenly change the way the world works like it did in the last 15 or so years.

Answer 2

Near instantaneous 100% genotyping for all humans.

Direct electronic - biological interfaces

A slowdown in the progression of electronic computing power, with the next major break though maybe as soon as 20 years.

Near perfect electronic and orbital surveillance. Downright frighting fast, precise weapons targetable absolutely anywhere. Use of mininukes in warfare becomes commonplace as an equalizer in the technology gap.

Post-industrialization of most of Asia; Industrialization of much of Africa.

Implantable electronics are practical, but an ethical minefield with the religious right, which retards their introduction to the American (but not global) markeplace.