At one time there was a difference between extrapolating from existing technology to create future models, and modelling in the future itself. While the former used to be a routine application of science, the latter was reserved strictly for science fiction. No longer. It’s now perfectly legitimate to try and reverse-engineer artifacts and processes that only exist as phantasms of speculation. Some results will perhaps be doomed and some only partially successful, but some will definitely see the light of years to come. Here’s a cross selection of all three in no particular order of credibility or accomplishment.
Will we ever meet "aliens"?
Will computers ever think?
What kind of genetically modified foods can we expect?
Will we ever grow meat on trees?
Will there be an apocalypse?
Will cyborgs walk the world?
Star Trek
Alien
Will computers ever become wearable?
Will technology eliminate crime?
Can the Internet spawn a new religion?
Can we download dreams to hardware and replay them?
Will humans ever achieve immortality?
Immortality: How Science is Extending Your Lifespan and Changing the World
What is the future of Olympic cheating?
Science Today
2001
Dream Sequence
