From the Hyperloop to Space Vacations, today we look at 9 Crazy Things That Will Happen
Before 2050!
Number 9.
"Hyperloop" Before the first half of the 21st Century
is over we could see one of the biggest innovations in the way people travel.
The Hyperloop.
This vacuum and magnetic powered tube transportation system originally proposed by Elon Musk was
once just some scribble on the proverbial napkin but recently it has made some significant
strides that could lead to feasible application in the future.
While Musk is busy gathering a team to build his own version, the Virgin Hyperloop One
be has already been testing their own prototype in the deserts of Nevada.
Recently they had a pod reach speeds over 200 miles per hour.
If a functioning hyperloop is built you can expect to be able to travel to and fro between
cities like Los Angeles to San Francisco in only 35 minutes at a speed of 760 miles an
hour.
This would make travel time shorter than it is with modern airplanes.
Number 8.
"Mission to Mars" Preparations for the first manned mission
to Mars are already underway and it is almost guaranteed that someone whether it is SpaceX
or MarsOne with their famed one-way trip plan will be headed towards the red planet before
2050.
Both companies have their goals set at launching missions to mars in 2024 with hope reaching
the planet by 2025.
MarsOne has gone so far as to say they believe they can establish a permanent colony on the
planet by 2032.
The race to mars has seen dramatic improvements in rocket and spacecraft technology of recent
and though 2024 is only 6 years from now it isn't hard to see the back and forth competition
of these two companies springboarding technological developments as fast as they were during the
first space race.
Number 7.
"Internet of Things" Imagine a scenario where you spill the last
glass of milk on your shirt and the ground, then almost instantaneously a new shirt it
delivered to you, milk is added to your shopping list and the floor is cleaned.
This fantasy may soon be a reality with the Internet of Things.
The Internet of Things or IoT, something that many companies like Intel are trying to create.and
it basically involves making everything from appliances and electronic devices to cars
and houses smart and able to communicate with each other.
You can already see steps towards the IoT in devices like Alexa and Google Home that
can connect to your T.V.
radio and certain features of your home.
By 2050 almost everything in your home and the world around you may be connected and
able to make mundane things like taking out the trash when its full or ordering toilet
paper before you are down to the last roll something you won't even have to worry about.
Number 6.
"Gender Equality?"
Something that should have been part of society since its inception, gender equality has taken
significant leaps in bounds in the last decade due to the changing of the guard in business
and politics and the unwillingness of younger generations to adhere to the outdated and
sometimes chauvinistic guidelines for women in our culture.
Sadly at the rate that the United States is progressing it may not reach gender equality
by 2050, as researchers speculate the more accurate timeline for this monumental effort
to reach its head would be in 138 years from now.
That being said countries like Norway and Sweden are already closing in on gender equality
and it is likely, barring major setbacks that they are completely equal sometime between
2030 and 2050.
Not only does a primitive notion of gender inequality need to go for moral reasons countries
that are actively trying to bridge the gap have seen incredible economic windfall.
Research has shown that these countries have seen a reduction in their unemployment rate
and even an increase in gross domestic product.
One of the more obvious reasons that having more women and diversity in general in workplaces
and in politics is the fact that more perspectives and more minds involved usually means fast
solutions to problems and more innovation.
Number 5.
"Robo-workers" Ever since the Industrial Revolution more
and more jobs that were once done by humans were taken over by machines, sometimes people
were able to adapt and find a job in one of the many new careers that advancing technology
brings while some were left behind, forced to take jobs they were overqualified for that
pay substantially less.
At the rate that robotics is progressing it isn't just blue-collar factory workers that
will be replaced but almost any job imaginable from pizza delivery drivers to corporate CEOs.
One of the biggest workforces that will surely be impacted by advancement in technology is
that of vehicle operators.
Whether it is automated cabs or driverless tractors, operators and drivers may soon be
out of work.
Truck Drivers may be the workers that are hit the hardest and there are already machinations
at work to replace these people who were once 'kings of the road'.
Tesla has already created several models of Electric Semi-Trucks that have enhanced auto-pilot
systems.
Though they aren't fully self-driving, if the technology has already come this far,
it won't be long before the driver is completely unnecessary.
Truck-drivers aren't the only ones who should be keeping an eye on the classified ads though,
as even white-collar jobs like that of software engineers and wall-street bankers could potentially
be done by robots equipped with artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence could progress so fast in the next 20 years that its capabilities
to learn and perform anything from practicing law to brain surgery would theoretically make
humans expendable.
As of now we can rest easy on the thought that our robot overlords still need someone
to maintain them...until they figure it out themselves that is.
Number 4.
"Spacecation" Manned missions to mars by qualified astronauts
aren't the only thing to look forward to in the next thirty or so years, you too may be
able to get in on the adventures that the final frontier brings.
We are talking about space tourism which has gone from being a pipedream to a near-reality
in recent years.
Companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX and Blue Origin are already selling tickets for
trips out of the atmosphere albeit unaffordable to the average Joe for now.
The current deposit price for a seat on one of Virgin Galactic's space tours is a quarter
of a million dollars and the total price is believed to well into six-figures.
The exciting thing is these planned excursions are meant not to be only for the physically
fit astronaut-types but for almost anyone.
If these early ventures are successful and the companies catering them find a streamlined
way to build spacecraft and meet safety standards, prices will inevitably drop so that even us
non-millionaires will be able to sip an ice-cold beverage while flying through space.
There are many futurists who believe that these tiny trips into orbit will be quickly
followed by all sorts of space-based vacations.
By 2050 we could see hotels in space and weekend getaways to the moon.
Number 3.
"Bye Bye Coal" At the current rate that our planet is guzzling
oil and burning up all of our fossil fuels, living only on renewable energy by 2050 is
not just the dream of the earth-conscious but a necessity for human survival.
A team of researchers at Stanford University recently released a study that details a plan
which, if followed, could make over 130 countries able to survive only on renewable energy,
and all of the implemented methods are currently within our technological grasps.
The plan relies on several different types of energy: geothermal, hydropower, solar and
wind in the form of wind farms, solar panels and photovoltaic solar plants among other
methods.
The countries that they used weren't just tiny ones like that of Luxembourg but even
large and heavily populated countries like the United States and China, which are among
the biggest abusers of fossil fuels on the planet, could be 80 percent reliant on these
types of energy by 2030 and fully reliant by 2050.
Doing this would reduce the amount of energy needed over 40% across the world.
Of course this was just an exercise on paper, but there are several companies like that
of General Electric who have promised to make sustaining operations on one-hundred percent
renewable energy by 2050 who have given hope that everyone else can get their act together
and resist the earth-destroying and unsustainable status quo of depending on fossil fuels.
For those who don't care about the Earth, there is also a giant economic incentive.
The renewable energy industry could create a 50% increase in jobs globally and save upwards
of $50 trillion dollars, as there would be significant reduction in pollution related
healthcare costs and money spent fighting climate change.
Number 2.
"Insta-Home" Number 3D printing has technically existed
since the 1980s but this amazing technology is finally reaching a point where its applications
can have world-changing effects.
3D Printer can print insanely accurate models, make art and even create artificial organs
but one day soon they might be used to build entire houses in minutes.
In 2017, a small start-up company from San Francisco built a 400 square foot home in
Russian with a 3D printer and it only took them 24 hours!
Though this house is fairly small it shows how far 3D printing has come.
By 2050 we may see entire developments, apartment complexes even skyscrapers built via 3D printing,
because it can generally be cheaper and much faster.
Another benefit to 3D printing is that architects can create designs to limits once thought
impossible using normal building material . They will also be able to design houses
that are perfectly designed to withstand various natural disasters like that of hurricanes
and tornadoes.
3D printing houses also means precision, tiny details in framework, insulation or plumbing
can be created on a computer and then printed out instead of having to be labored over for
days or left haphazard.
Number 1.
"Go-Go Gadget Arm" We have come a long way since the old peg-leg
and hook-hand prosthetics of the past.
We have replacement hands that can grip and perform tasks with the dexterity normally
reserved for natural hands and we have artificial legs that can allow a person to run even faster
than the average man.
But with the lightning quick evolution of robotics and medical technology our natural
features may not be able to hold a candle to prosthetics.
By the year 2050, we might not only have artificial arms far stronger than that of a normal arm
but limbs that can be modified to fit a person's occupation or hobby.
For example, there has already been an arm created for a tattoo artist that has a built
in tattoo needle, and there are several different types of artificial legs that cater to different
sporting activities like skiing, swimming and skateboarding.
But this is only the beginning, one can envision a world where limbs could have gadgets and
tools that are as interchangeable as drill-bits or maybe even limbs that are weaponized.
Medical technology is also advancing so fast that body parts once thought impossible to
replace or synthetically replicate like eyes may be possible which also may be able to
have endless customizations like night-vision.
But don't go cutting your arm off or damaging yourself on purpose just to get a futuristic
prosthetic as these technologies are also being made to enhance the lives of everyone.
Scientists and engineers are hard at work developing exoskeletons, armor and clothing
that can give people superhuman abilities just by putting them on.