/r/Futurology

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A subreddit devoted to the field of Future(s) Studies and evidence-based speculation about the development of humanity, technology, and civilization.

-------- You can also find us in the fediverse at - https://futurology.today

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    Welcome to r/Futurology

    A subreddit devoted to the field of Future(s) Studies and evidence-based speculation about the development of humanity, technology, and civilization.

    We're in the FEDIVERSE
    Posting Rules
    1. Be respectful to others - this includes no hostility, racism, sexism, bigotry, etc.
    2. Submissions must be future focused. All posts must have an initial comment, a Submission Statement, that suggests a line of future-focused discussion for the topic posted. We want this submission statement to elaborate on the topic being posted and suggest how it might be discussed in relation to the future.
    3. No memes, reaction gifs or similarly low effort content. Images/gifs require a starter comment.
    4. No spamming - this includes polls and surveys. This also includes promoting any content in which you have any kind of financial or non-financial stake.
    5. Bots require moderator permission to operate
    6. Comments must be on topic, contribute to the discussion and be of sufficient length. Comments that dismiss well-established science without compelling evidence are a distraction to discussion of futurology and may be removed.
    7. Account age: >1 day to comment, >5 days to submit content
    8. Submissions and comments of accounts whose combined karma is too far in the negatives will be removed
    9. Avoid posting content that is a duplicate of content posted within the last 7 days.
    10. Text posts need to encourage in-depth and detailed discussion. Avoid generalized invitations to discuss frequently discussed topics. Submissions with [in-depth] in the title have stricter post length and quality guidelines
    11. Titles must accurately and truthfully represent the content of the submission
    12. Support original sources - avoid blogs/websites that are primarily rehosted content
    13. Content older than 6 months must have [month, year] in the title

    For details on the rules see the Rules Wiki.

    For details on moderation procedures, see the Transparency Wiki.

    On Futurology

    If history studies our past and social sciences study our present, what is the study of our future? Future(s) Studies (colloquially called "future(s)" by many of the field's practitioners) is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to hypothesize the possible, probable, preferable, or alternative future(s).

    One of the fundamental assumptions in future(s) studies is that the future is plural rather than singular, that is, that it consists of alternative future(s) of varying degrees of likelihood but that it is impossible in principle to say with certainty which one will occur.

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    /r/Futurology

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    15

    Humanoid robots: Guesstimate how many years until they can function as human caregivers for elderly and disabled

    With elderly parents to think of, and with demographics indicating that there will not be nearly enough caretakers to help them, I am wondering if robots could become a useful solution within their lifetime.

    No one knows this for sure. Here's an article that says 15-20 years:

    https://www.rethinkx.com/blog/rethinkx/the-disruption-of-labour-by-humanoid-robots

    Any opinions on this? Unknowable at this time?

    86 Comments
    2024/10/10
    15:08 UTC

    0

    what are new techs coming 2024-2026?

    hi i am doing assignment on new tech emerging to help old people and wondering if anyone knows of any new cool gadgets or any coming in the next couple of years

    1 Comment
    2024/10/10
    14:34 UTC

    34

    Teeth Regrowth Trials

    Has anyone heard any updates on Japan’s human teeth regrowth trials? There was a lot of talk about it up until two months ago, and they were supposed to begin human trials last month. However, I haven’t seen any news about the trials starting. I hope trials go well and we get to see real teeth replace implants.

    33 Comments
    2024/10/10
    14:19 UTC

    0

    Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining: A Positive Look at the AI Revolution

    Hello everyone!

    Amidst all the buzz and speculation about artificial intelligence (AI), I wanted to take a moment to highlight the incredible positives that the AI revolution is bringing to our world. 🌟

    Empowering Innovation

    AI is fueling innovation like never before. It's helping us solve complex problems in healthcare, like early disease detection and personalized treatment plans. In environmental science, AI models are predicting climate patterns, enabling us to take proactive measures against natural disasters. The possibilities are endless when machines and human creativity come together.

    Enhancing Our Daily Lives

    From smart assistants that streamline our daily tasks to recommendation systems that personalize our experiences, AI is making life more convenient and enjoyable. It's not about replacing humans but enhancing our capabilities and freeing up time for what truly matters - innovation, connection, and growth.

    Creating New Opportunities

    The AI revolution is also creating new job opportunities and industries. As routine tasks become automated, there's a growing demand for roles that require critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence. This shift allows us to focus on more meaningful work and continuous learning.

    Driving Inclusive Growth

    AI has the power to make education and healthcare more accessible, bridging gaps caused by geography or socio-economic status. By tailoring learning experiences and providing remote medical consultations, AI is fostering a more inclusive and connected global community.

    Embracing the Future Together

    Change can be daunting, but every cloud has a silver lining. By embracing AI responsibly and ethically, we can harness its potential to create a brighter future for all. Let's focus on collaboration, continuous learning, and leveraging AI to address the challenges of our time.

    I'd love to hear your thoughts! How is AI positively impacting your industry or daily life?

    2 Comments
    2024/10/10
    10:27 UTC

    1,439

    Coastal cities need to start taking domed housing more seriously if they want to remain safe.

    For decades there have been architects who have been creating designs for futuristic domed homes. These are homes which, as the name implies, are rounded domes in shape which have no flat surfaces.

    The reason why this shape is important is wind catches on flat surfaces. So roof edges and the flat sides of homes become surfaces for harsh winds to catch and rip apart.

    Domed homes don't have this problem. Because the house is round in shape, the wind naturally wraps around the surface. It helps limit direct wind force damage to a home due to the more aerodynamic design.

    Examples of domed home designs:

    • Example - Large wavy complex built low into the ground.
    • Example - Large concrete structures
    • Example - More traditional wood cabins
    • Example - Bright white domes shrouded in greenery

    Coastal communities need to start taking these seriously. The reality is insurance companies will not be willing to sign off on plans for conventional homes anymore. The risk to more regular hurricanes prevents that.

    Here's a video from 12 years ago where they interview a man who lives in a domed home. He has lived through 9 hurricanes in his home and every house in his neighborhood has been replaced EXCEPT for his.

    These homes really are the only option if people want to continue living on the coast. It's that or accept needing to rebuild every few years.

    304 Comments
    2024/10/10
    06:32 UTC

    0

    What if Earth’s life actually started on Mars?

    I've been thinking about this wild idea, and I wanted to see what you all think. Imagine if Mars was actually the first place where life developed in our solar system. Maybe, millions (or even billions) of years ago, Mars had water, a thick atmosphere, and everything needed to support life. Over time, an intelligent species could have evolved there, advanced enough to predict a catastrophic event on their planet.

    Knowing their fate was sealed, they might’ve taken a drastic step to preserve their legacy: sending life to Earth in a way that could survive the trip. What if they sent single-celled organisms—simple but resilient enough to endure the journey through space? This microbial life could've reached Earth, eventually seeding our own biosphere.

    Fast forward millions of years, and these Martian microorganisms evolve, adapt, and diversify here on Earth, becoming the ancestors of everything we see around us today. This theory would mean we’re all descendants, in a way, of ancient Martians who foresaw their doom and made a last-ditch attempt to keep their legacy alive.

    It’s a crazy idea, I know, but the theory of panspermia (where life spreads from one planet to another) already exists, and scientists have even found Mars meteorites on Earth that hint at the possibility. If true, this would completely change how we view our place in the universe—not to mention our connection to Mars.

    What do you think? Could ancient Mars have been our real origin? And if so, are we technically Martians?

    63 Comments
    2024/10/10
    05:59 UTC

    0

    is it AGI if it has nonhuman tells?

    I know the Turing test is controversial, but can we have AGI that doesn't pass the Turing test? Like, if it lacks human verbal quirks so it comes off as uncanny to an observer, but it can meet or surpass human capabilities for all economic tasks

    38 Comments
    2024/10/09
    22:58 UTC

    0

    What fuel is going to replace jet fuel?

    What fuel is going to replace jet fuel? I hear they are working on hydrogen fuel or Bio fuels being more evermental friendly. But I hear Bio fuel are more expensive than jet fuel. Also with the rising cost of jet fuel now it may be cheaper to switch over to hydrogen fuel.

    So what sustainable aviation fuel be cheaper than jet fuel? As the price of jet fuel is extremely costly now compared to 60 years ago. And if any thing in the next 20 years the price of jet fuel will be even more costly.

    23 Comments
    2024/10/09
    14:54 UTC

    189

    How far out before we have Smart Glasses that are pretty fleshed out like our smart phones today?

    I was caught off guard a week ago when I saw a bunch of Smart Glasses for sale as I’d been interested in the idea for a long time but never heard about these ones that are for sale now.

    However, as I researched into them I couldn’t really find ones that would do what I was hoping for, I.e. translate what someone is saying by putting the text in my FOV, scan text and be able to answer a question if need be by putting the text in my FOV, giving directions by pointing and such in my FOV, etc.

    How far out before we have fairly intelligent smart glasses that can do the more minimalistic stuff like that, and how far out do you think it’ll be before they’re fleshed out like how smart phones are to us today?

    94 Comments
    2024/10/09
    18:56 UTC

    0

    I feel like military of the future will start hiring gamers that play first person shooter and other action games

    There was no flair for military so I chose Discussion as that flair tends to cover most categories of posts.

    In the future when war will be machine based, I feel like the best person to be fit for military would be gamers that play first person shooter and action games. We are already starting to see that with drones. In the future, they will start to manufacture humanoid or sorta humanoid fighting robot that can shoot and attack and some gamer who has been playing a shooting game in their mom's room will be much more equipped to handle that with some training compared to veteran military personnel. I dont know how they do it now but someone who has alot of experience playing video games, particularly the ones where you fly helicopter and shoot will be much more equipped to handle drones than those who dont.

    At even further point that may also be replaced by AI but in the closer future, I see scope of gaming in the military.

    If you feel like wasting time playing these types of games, you are actually, atleast for our time. Imagine a 13 year old defending the motherland from foreign invaders.

    69 Comments
    2024/10/09
    14:23 UTC

    0

    In the future, will everyone make their own bespoke entertainment? A Case Study

    I have set up a philosophy podcast! It was far easier than I thought it would be. Each episode is a chat about an article from the SEP — The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Hence the title, ChatSEP. I believe that this will be the primary podcast that I listen to for the next year. It really makes concrete the possible future where everyone makes their own bespoke entertainment.

    Here is a link: https://open.spotify.com/show/2pUm5OK4sG8RzDDcXUhOvQ?si=979e18a49090472d

    And to the SEP article: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/descartes/

    I am releasing 7 ten-minute episodes per day and will thereby cover all of the 1803 SEP articles in about 9 months. So far the episodes are about philosophy of religion, medieval philosophy, and most recently a series on Descartes.  Later episodes will be about philosophy of science, logic, aethetics, ethics, Kant, Plato... literally every topic in philosophy. Here is a random SEP article.

    I have already generated all of the content (350 hours, 60Gb) using Google’s NotebookLM. After automating the procedure it took only 2 minutes to generate each episode, so 60 hours total. It then also takes about 2 minutes to schedule each episode to appear on Spotify. (I am doing this manually atm). Of course, I shouldn't take any intellectual or artistic credit for these things myself. The human effort that went into this project is as follows:

    1. scraping links to all the SEP articles,
    2. writing up a paste-in source to give it authorship information (this doesn't appear on the SEP article itself).
    3. scraping which article reference each other,
    4. coding up a nice walk through this graph (i.e., the episode order),
    5. automating the content generation,
    6. manually scheduling the episodes.

    I find two things crazy. Firstly, the quality of these episodes. Secondly, how one man in the course of a week can generate a years worth of podcast content. As I noted above, I believe that this will be the primary podcast that I listen to for the next year. It really makes concrete the possible future where everyone makes their own bespoke entertainment. And right now is the worst that this tech will ever be. Crazy!

    47 Comments
    2024/10/09
    07:53 UTC

    265

    Are AML Regulations Turning Crypto into Government-Controlled Assets?

    I've been thinking a lot about how Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations are messing with the crypto world, and honestly, it's starting to feel like cryptocurrencies are becoming government-controlled assets. The whole point of crypto was to have a decentralized system where we could transact without middlemen or excessive oversight, right?

    But with these AML laws, we're seeing increased surveillance and control over what we do with our crypto. Exchanges are now required to collect tons of personal info, which not only kills our privacy but also creates huge databases that could get hacked or abused. It's like we're moving back towards the same centralized systems we were trying to avoid.

    Plus, smaller projects and startups in the crypto space are getting hit hard. They might not have the resources to comply with all these regulations, which means less innovation and more power to the big players who can afford to jump through all the hoops.

    And let's be real, while stopping illegal activities is important, these regulations often end up affecting regular users more than actual criminals. It feels like an overreach that's stifling the growth and potential of crypto.

    I'm worried that if this continues, we'll lose the decentralized and open nature of cryptocurrencies, turning them into just another extension of traditional financial systems controlled by governments.

    What do you all think? Are AML regulations going too far and hindering crypto's future? How can we balance the need for security with the principles of decentralization and privacy that make crypto so revolutionary?

    Would love to hear your thoughts!

    153 Comments
    2024/10/09
    00:44 UTC

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