What will we see over the next 50 years?

Question

What does science and society tell us to expect over the next 50 years? I was just thinking about what changes or advancements I will see over my lifetime (I'm 25). Or alternatively, what challenges will we face over the next generation? What tragedies do we need to avoid?

Answer 1

I think the biggest challenge in this day and age is keeping someone( especially teenagers)  from completely going nuts in mass shooting suicides. Before it actually becomes a tragedy.

Answer 2

First of all, great question.

I think that the biggest challenges over the next 50 years will be related to the environment and fuels.

Peak oil is already staring us in the face (discovery of new sources is waning, which has led to projects like the Alberta Tar Sands - extracting oil from shale, a very inefficient process).  So, we'll need something to power transportation and to use in plastics, etc.  Demand for fuels is expected to skyrocket as China and India move toward greater use of automobiles.

Hopefully in 50 years' time the hydrogen economy will be in full swing - development has already been started, but it will take time (people aren't just going to throw away their old cars).  Solar technology has also made great strides - so energy will be less of a concern.

We can already create ethanol and plastics from corn, but this brings about rising food prices - so there may be increased volatility here (like we're already seeing).  We have to be very careful about our policies here.  Food is more of a necessity than transportation.

Water may also be a cause of concern - I imagine we'll be seeing a lot of investment in desalinization in the coming years.  Global demand for water has tripled in the past half century and it is needed not only for our own consumption, but also for crops, etc.

As for innovations, we will greatly reduce our energy use through display technologies such as OLED, and these displays will be flexible enough that we'll probably start seeing moving images everywhere (this sounds good, but just wait until the advertisers use it).  

Nanotechnology should not only reduce the size of our computers, but it should allow for other interesting discoveries - researchers are already working on stain-free pants!

Some of the military innovations are also interesting - exoskeletons (think Iron Man) and robot soldiers (or "unmanned drones")...

Answer 3

Hopefully a fourth Matrix movie.

Answer 4

Challenges are obviously going to be food, water, population, and health.  I hope that their will be a focus on needs rather than luxury.  They created this cryogenic seed bank in the event that we need it (like our food supply destroyed) with all these seeds and grains already somewhere in the arctic.  They are working to slow down population growth and to sustain our water supply.  The US is predicted to possibly go through another dust bowl if we don't do something in the plains states etc.  Also the trends show that if we don't get the obesity problem under control for the first time ever our predicted lifespan is actually going to decrease with the next generation.  

Alternative/sustainable energy I see a big part of the future, also alternative building materials.  The trends toward reusable shopping bags, researching solar, wind, geothermal, and hydro power are good signs.  Organics and decrease in pesticides, have picked up also.  My family already partakes in many of these things trying to "go green" as much as possible and reduce it's carbon foot print.  Buying local, carpooling, walking, biking, using canvas shopping bags, using solar power, opening windows, not using air conditioning, recycling or using recycled packaging, not supporting mega stores and mega farms all are catching on and continuing to increase.  It seems small but it can help.  I support technology but not for luxury items.  I want to see research go to helping the environment and ensuring us health and physical well being.

I see more and more computer use and online business, although it has been predicted by some that the Internet will cease to exist if it is not updated/upgraded soon.  I also think that the war and conflict is not going anywhere.  It has been around since before writing and will continue on long after we are dead.  I don't see any big advances like hover cars or time travel but hey you never know what the government is hiding from us.  The technology could even already exist!

Answer 5

I predict that energy problems will soon be solved, and renewables will become economical. This will place the next big economic strain on land. Just like how when oil became incredibly cheap, people started fighting over land in WWI and WWII, the same thing will happen when renewables take over. I predict major conflict areas: Middle East, Africa.