A majority of Americans believe that future changes in technology will generally improve people's lives. But a survey of 1,001 adults by the Pew Research Center also found lots of public anxiety about the rise of personal drones, genetically altering children, and the idea of relying on robots to care for the elderly.

Pew partnered with the Smithsonian magazine on the survey, which asked people to speculate on how science and technology might evolve, and how they would feel about specific changes, ranging from the creation of customized human organs to driver-less cars and manned space colonies.

Almost 60 percent of those surveyed said that the advance of technology will "mostly better" people's lives. But the overall tone of people's thoughts was one of caution and concern.

The Pew survey says:

At the moment, there also isn't a lot of love for driver-less cars, a technology that has been maturing quickly. Half of the respondents said that they would not take a ride in such a vehicle. Pew adds that 72 percent of those surveyed would undergo a brain implant to improve their memory and mental capacity and 78 percent wouldn't eat meat grown in a lab.

NASA engineers have explored the idea of manned space colonies.

The survey further found that 64 percent of the public doesn't believe that manned space colonies will be developed over the next half century, and 77 percent said that humans will not develop the ability to control the weather.

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Pew: Drones, eugenics worry public