Companies like Waymo and Tesla are pioneering the future of autonomous vehicles (AVs) that have the potential to prevent traffic jams, reduce accidents and render traditional road infrastructure nearly obsolete.
The transportation revolution isn’t confined to the ground. Pioneers like Joby Aviation and EHang are taking to the skies, with air taxis set to become as common as yellow cabs. EHang’s test flights in Dubai offer a sneak peek into a future in which urban mobility reaches new heights – figuratively and literally – reshaping cityscapes across the globe.
Robotic housekeepers will be as common as dishwashers. Robotic writers will recycle ‘content’ at an astonishing rate. Robotic systems will write our prescriptions, and robotic preachers are already delivering sermons, shaping public opinion and rewriting our political agendas.
But costs of the bright, shiny convenience that dangles from a convergence of AI, robotics and IoT may be higher than we can foresee. Widespread use of each of these classes of tech raises critical questions about privacy, security, employment, regulatory integrity and political control. When every appliance is smart, every room is connected and every task is automated, the price of these tantalising conveniences will include risks both unimagined and unimaginable.
We face the prospect of irreversible losses of things we consider most fundamental – freedom, spontaneity, communion with nature, our capacity for unrestrained thought. At risk are our capacities to heal naturally, to think expansively, to express new thoughts and feelings without inhibition, and to act from true generosity.Drones, once military and recreational novelties, are becoming the backbone of logistics networks. Such systemic changes will affect us personally, too. An order for fresh groceries may be delivered by drone within minutes. Companies such as Alphabet’s subsidiary Wing are already piloting such projects in Australia and the US.In healthcare logistics, Zipline is delivering medical supplies to remote regions in Africa and the US. With the potential to disrupt industries, drone usage has sparked heated debates about regulation, airspace management and environmental degradation.
The most spectacular changes are unfolding in medicine and human refurbishment. Use of technologies such as CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) in gene editing has made curing diseases like cancer a distinct possibility, promising precise genetic modifications and the potential to eradicate diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries.
AI doctors, equipped with vast datasets and sophisticated algorithms, are on the verge of outperforming human physicians in diagnosing diseases and crafting treatment plans. Rather than replace human doctors, AI will augment them, reducing errors, accelerating diagnoses and making healthcare more equitably accessible worldwide.
Vionix is developing an affordable home device that analyses a breath to provide results of a comprehensive health check-up to a smartphone in less than 2 mins. Democratising access to advanced diagnostics and placing powerful tools in the hands of consumers isn’t just about innovation, it’s about equity – making health and wellness accessible and affordable for everyone, everywhere.
In surgery, robots such as the da Vinci Surgical System are already performing minimally-invasive procedures with a degree of dexterity, control and precision beyond the most skilled human surgeons. Allowing AI to conduct surgeries autonomously, though, may result in allowing it to wrest vital decisions from human control.
Bionic ‘enhancements’ are now becoming a reality. Devices that amplify sight, hearing and cognitive abilities are on the horizon, promising not just to restore lost functions but to extend human capabilities beyond natural limits. This isn’t just about health; it’s about redefining what it means to be human.
These advancements force us to confront ethical and societal challenges. How do we ensure these technologies be used responsibly and equitably? How do we avoid a future in which only the wealthy can afford to be ‘enhanced’ or even diagnosed? What principles, if any, will guide us in implementing such tools with safety?
In his latest book, The Singularity Is Nearer, Ray Kurzweil posits the possibility by 2045 of merging human intelligence with AI, enormously expanding our cognitive capacities and fundamentally altering personal and societal realities. The prospect of such a convergence raises profound questions about identity, consciousness, power relationships and humanity’s future.
And then there’s the beginning of an era of unlimited clean, nearly-free energy. Dramatic cost reductions over the last 50 years have made RE newly viable and accessible. As energy scarcity disappears, communities and nations disadvantaged by geography or lack of resources can become energy-independent, reducing geopolitical tensions. Cheap, abundant energy may come to power every home, vehicle and factory.
Energy abundance may unlock the next wave of technological growth in fields ranging from AI and quantum computing to space exploration and vertical farming. This is not a time to sit back and let the waves of change wash over us, or to allow one voice to dominate tech choices. It’s a time to stand up, dive in, and help shape the next era of human history. The stakes are high. But the potential rewards are even greater. So, let’s get this right.