Web 3.0

What technologies are currently shaping our world…and which will continue to mold our future? In this special posting, we'll take you on a tour of many wondrous web sites and other resources that aim spotlights at the future

David Brin , 04/09/2015

One of the things that happens when you write books about the future is you get to watch your predictions fail. This is nothing new, of course, but what’s different this time around is the direction of those failures.

Used to be, folks were way too bullish about technology and way too optimistic with their predictions. Flying cars and Mars missions being two classic—they should be here by now—examples. The Jetsons being another. But today, the exact opposite is happening.

STEVEN KOTLER, 07/02/2015

One expert predicts—or should we say, warns—that artificial intelligence will be fully operational in just 30 years.For years, the development of full artificial intelligence has been the brass ring of computer science. So many of our machines already “think” for themselves in terms of repetitive duties based on human programming, of course. But when the day comes when computers can actually interpret our emotions, or get the punch line about the chicken and the road without our help, we’ll know the future has truly arrived.

08/12/2014

Ray Kurzweil is sitting in an office in San Francisco’s tallest building overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Over 45 minutes, speaking rapidly in monotone sentences dense with facts and ideas, Google’s director of engineering has outlined a future for the world that would seem incredible, were it not that this man has a 30-year track record of making seemingly bonkers predictions that have proved to be accurate. Among other things, Kurzweil predicted that the internet would become central to our lives when it was still a niche and unreliable network in the Eighties...

Sexbots, or sex robots can come in two forms. Fully digital incarnations with AI, viewed through Augmented Reality visors, or as physical robots — advanced enough to pass off as human surrogates. The porn industry has always been at the fore-front of video and interactive innovation, experimenting with means of immersing the audience into the “action”. Gonzo Porn [3] is one such technique that started off as a passive linear viewing experience, then progressed to multi-angle DVD interactivity and now to Virtual Reality first person point-of-view interactivity.

From the Darmouth Conferences to Turing's test, prophecies about AI have rarely hit the mark. But there are ways to tell the good from the bad when it comes to futurology

Inventing the Future is a live news program featuring coming trends that will shape society. In today's world, success means knowing 'What's Next After What's Next?

What will the world look like two decades from now? Obviously, nobody knows, but some things are more likely than others. Companies and governments have to make informed guesses, because some of their investments today will last longer than 20 years.

Ian Pearson describes the concept of "active skin," which could enhance and expand human sensations.

In the future, a smart “skin” that slots seamlessly over and under your own could give you access to sensations that you can only dream of now. It could sync your nervous system up to the information network, allowing you to record and replay senses, experience orgasms on demand, and switch genders as you wish, according to one futurologist.

EMIKO JOZUKA, 12/1/2015

Human beings have long desired immortality. In his book on the topic, cleverly-titled Immortality, Stephen Cave argues that this desire has taken on four distinct forms over the course of human history. In the first, people seek immortality by simply trying to stay alive, either through the help of magic or science. In the second, people seek resurrection, sometimes in the same physical form and sometimes in an altered plane of existence.

John Danaher, 01/03/2015

Sommes-nous prêts pour la révolution technologique à venir ?

Il y a tout juste deux ans paraissait Global Trends 2030 : Alternative Worlds, un rapport très attendu de 160 pages rédigé et publié par le National Intelligence Council. Formé en 1979, le National Intelligence Council est une agence de renseignement qui produit des analyses stratégiques à moyen et long terme destinées à la communauté du renseignement américain.

Thierry Berthier, 11/12/2014

The Internet is a moving target, constantly changing and evolving. As I contemplate its likely trajectory over the next 10 years, I hope whatever form it takes, it continues to exhibit the original values we established in its earliest years. These include the principles of ethics, trust, openness, free access, and shared content. However, I do fear and worry that we are already seeing trends toward certain governments controlling Internet access, conflicts between privacy and security, content and pricing control by a few large players, and more.

DR. LEONARD KLEINROCK, 18/04/2014

Robots are here to stay. They will be smarter, more versatile, more autonomous, and more like us in many ways. We humans will need to adapt to keep up.

Today's smartphones are much more than phones -- they are powerful, networked multimedia computers, and over the next 10 years they'll get far more advanced.

From Paul Allen, Raymond Kurzweil, Vernor Vinge

The National Intelligence Council's (NIC) Global Trends Report engages expertise from outside government on factors of such as globalization, demography and the environment, producing a forward-looking document to aid policymakers in their long term planning on key issues of worldwide importance.