Category Archives: Futurist

One student envisions a watch that tells you when youre polluting a sort of eco-nanny on your wrist.

Another suggests that teachers might show up in classrooms, not in person, but as holograms.

Theres talk of colonies on Mars, and people commuting in flying cars.

Where adults might fret over uncertainty, children often see opportunity. We ask fifth graders about their visions for the future. Their answers are full of childlike innocence but also are strikingly pragmatic and serious.

These are among the ideas to emerge from the fertile imaginations of fifth graders across the country thinking about what the world will or should look like in 20 years. As the calendar flips to a new year, the Monitor, in collaboration with The Hechinger Report a nonprofit education news site had reporters sit down with students in four cities to give us their predictions of and aspirations for the future.

At a time of unusual vitriol in society among grown-ups on abortion, school curricula, election counts, you name it we wanted to plumb the minds of youth who are becoming aware of the world but still retain an innocence.

What we found is that they harbor plenty of concerns about tomorrow, sure, but they also exude an innate optimism, a sense of delight and possibility. Their visions represent a journey into cybersecurity and space travel, racism and robots.

As you read through their comments, consider what you think will be happening in 2042 and then ask yourself: Am I smarter than a fifth grader?

Lillian Mongeau/The Hechinger Report

One idea, for when we colonize Mars, is that all of humanity could spend a few years on the Red Planet to let Earth rest. And then when we come back, well try better to not pollute as much. Chandler Stark

HILLSBORO, ORE. One idea, for when we colonize Mars, is that all of humanity could spend a few years on the Red Planet to let Earth rest.

And then when we come back, well try better to not pollute as much, says Chandler Stark, a fifth grader at Paul L. Patterson Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Chandler estimates it will take two to five years for Earth to recover from what weve done to it, at which point we can all return. The idea was met with nods by three of Chandlers classmates as they sat discussing the future in the principals office of their 400-student elementary school, a red-brick structure in a suburb of Portland. Part tech hub, part old farming town, Hillsboro is an increasingly diverse community.

Since Mars is not yet ready for human habitation, these kids agreed that cleaning up our current planet was a top concern.

The time to fix it is now, says Caden Sorensen. Its not going to fix itself. And if we do end up colonizing Mars, dont ruin Mars, too.

But while the technology necessary to move to Mars seems likely to be a net positive, these children arent interested in every new advancement.

Lillian Mongeau/The Hechinger Report

The time to fix [Earth] is now. Its not going to fix itself. And if we do end up colonizing Mars, dont ruin Mars, too. Caden Sorensen

Technology can bring really amazing good things, but those things could bring some other bad things, Caden says, noting that he would warn his future children about the downsides.

Noelani Velasco Polley agrees. She hopes to one day own an iPhone 21, with 21 cameras on it, but for now shes OK not having a phone at all. Her moms have warned her that phones can be hacked, so shell tell her future kids they have to wait, too. Noelani isnt the only one worried about cybersecurity.

Im really concerned that theres going to be more electronics ... that people can hack, so more identity theft, says Fatima Abdi, who prefers to be called Fati. She also worries about artificial intelligence. (All four students say they think humanoid robots are creepy.) Fati worries racism will get worse, and thinks steps should be taken, short of going to Mars, to save the environment.

I really hope electric cars become popularized, she says.

Yeah, I was going to say that, Chandler chimes in. I just hope we have more alternatives for things that pollute, and just have more ways of doing things without polluting the ocean and sky.

Lillian Mongeau/The Hechinger Report

I think there can be more equality in the world if we just work hard for it. Fatima Abdi, a fifth grade student at Paul L. Patterson Elementary School in Hillsboro, Oregon

Chandler hopes to one day compose music for TV shows and video games. Fati plans to be a business owner she already has an Instagram shop where she sells jewelry. Caden is currently aiming to be a lawyer, but figures hell probably change his mind. And Noelani wants to be a scientist or an engineer.

I think there wont be that many jobs in fast-food places in the future, she says. I think theyre going to be like, bigger jobs, and people are going to want to be in jobs where they can get more money, because in the future everything is going to be more expensive.

Many jobs, the children predict, will be replaced by robots.

I think theres probably going to be like, no more jobs at factories and stuff, because robots can just do that, Chandler says.

Yeah, theres going to be a lot of robots, Noelani agrees.

Lillian Mongeau/The Hechinger Report

Our generation is the future, and if we are all kind and loving to others, I think it could change the world. Noelani Velasco Polley

Ultimately, though, they say the power to create the future rests in human hands.

I think there can be more equality in the world if we just work hard for it, Fati says. As an example, she points to the problem of homelessness vexing nearby Portland. If we try to actually solve the problem, that could be done, and they could start a new life.

Noelani has already tried to address the issue locally. At her suggestion, she and her mother recently brought a pizza and a gallon of water to a person theyd noticed living near a highway overpass. He didnt want them, but they found another person staying nearby who did.

Our generation is the future, Noelani says, and if we are all kind and loving to others, I think it could change the world.-Lillian Mongeau,The Hechinger Report

WOODBRIDGE, VA.In 25 years, schools could be multiple stories, connected by elevators and moving walkways. Scientists will have made greater strides in exploring the uncharted ocean depths and the edges of the galaxy. Humans may even have settlements on other planets.

A group of six fifth-graders at Belmont Elementary School in Woodbridge, Virginia, about 25 miles southwest of the nations capital, hopes for a flashy world much different from their suburban town as long as human progress is kinder to the environment.

Hopefully we can use more renewable resources. Like solar power, windmills, and dams, says Ethan Ong.

I think we need to stop pollution, littering, and all of those things. We need to help the Earth, says Anjelica Jabbie.

Jashua Alvarado adds, We need to take care of planet Earth because it is a gift for us. Without our planet, we wouldnt be able to survive or anything.

Belmont Elementarys 500 students themselves evoke a picture of the nations future: The school is part of the Prince William County school system, which serves one of the states fastest-growing counties. Prince William is also the most ethnically and racially diverse county in Virginia, and the 10th most diverse county in the country, according to the 2020 U.S. census. About two-thirds of the students at Belmont are Hispanic, 14% are Black, 9% are white, and 6% are Asian. About 77% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.

Belmonts math and science focus fosters the students interest in the environment, as does their location: Less than 2 miles away is Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, a habitat for migrating birds and butterflies. At Belmont, fourth and fifth graders get extra lessons in STEM subjects, such as robotics and hands-on science experiments.

Christina A. Samuels/The Hechinger Report

These fifth graders in Woodbridge, Virginia (from left to right) Jashua Alvarado, Ethan Ong, Jason Rivera, Yanet Hundessa, Anjelica Jabbie, and Sam Aphayvong all want to see a cleaner world in 20 years.

The coronavirus has affected the lives of these children since third grade Prince William just returned to full-time, in-person learning this school year but the fifth graders dont like to imagine the pandemic in their future.

Lets hope the pandemic is over, says Jason Rivera. Other viruses may appear, but maybe not very big.

Or maybe there will be more warning, Jashua says. Scientists would be able to tell if a pandemic is going to come to the world like two years before, or one year, or I dont know months, she says.

The six students are chatting in an empty classroom at Belmont. They take each question seriously and answer thoughtfully.

Thats perhaps not surprising from a group of students who see themselves playing ambitious roles in building a new world in the future as engineers, doctors, and scientists.

My dads an engineer, and it seems really cool to build stuff, so I think I want to be an engineer, Ethan says.

Im kind of a science nerd and my mom tells me if I want to be a scientist, I have to be working hard for it, says Jashua.

Yanet Hundessa and Anjelica will be helping other people. I really want to be a doctor because I want to help the elderly, Yanet says.

I also wanted to be an engineer or a doctor because I love helping people, and I love building things, says Anjelica.

They also plan to take on problems that grown-ups are now leaving behind. Why dont we focus on other people that live in different places? says Ethan. Theres people that are poor that dont have lots of resources and that dont have food. See, we can turn on water so easily, but other people, they dont have any.

That prompts another round of predicting for the day when theyre in charge.

People could donate to countries that have poor resources, says Sam Aphayvong. If the people didnt get the resources they need, they could become jealous and start wars. If you donate, you can prevent wars and stuff.

I think people should be kind to each other, Yanet says. No racism, and they should help out poor people and everybody will be equal. Christina A. Samuels,The Hechinger Report

Fifth graders (from left to right) Breelyn Braga, Lydia Vasconcelos, and Marlen Palencia at the International Charter School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, raise their hands to share ideas on what the world will look like in 2042.

PAWTUCKET, R.I.At the International Charter School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, a group of nine fifth-grade students gathers in a classroom full of art and writing supplies, with a globe displayed on a corner shelf.

The children serve on their schools student committee, elected positions, and their duties include representing the school and helping to organize events. On a chilly December morning, that included talking with a Monitor reporter about their aspirations for the world 20 years from now.

For five minutes, the students are quiet as they focus on drawing pictures and jotting notes about what they think will be invented in two decades, when they reach the age of 30. The public charter school they attend in a town just north of Providence serves K-5 students and offers an International Baccalaureate curriculum and dual language immersion programs in English and Spanish or Portuguese. About half the students enrolled are English-language learners.

I think theres going to be more machines for recycling and there will be new kinds of spacecraft so you can get to planets like Saturn and Mercury, says Lydia Vasconcelos, who drew a picture of a recycling machine that separates trash automatically so its easier for more people to sort their waste.

Anne Hastings, a fifth grader at the International Charter School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, sketches out her ideas of the future. In 20 years, she wants to run a dance company for children with disabilities.

Her peer Marlen Palencia is concerned the sky will be more grayish in 20 years due to pollution, so she wants to invent a watch that tells people when they are polluting, along with giving them nudges about when to eat and drink so they dont consume too much or drink too little.

Other classmates agree that they hope more people recycle and take care of the Earth in 20 years, and suggest inventions ranging from electricity that can be reused while watching television, to a machine that mixes up industrial waste areas to make fresh soil.

Breelyn Braga thinks there will be hovering and self-driving cars, something she looks forward to since I dont want to run all the way back down the boulevard to get my car; my car just drives to me!

Wyatt Goldstein thinks well have better spacecraft in 20 years and colonies on Mars. He thinks machines will do more of the mass-producing jobs on Earth, but on Mars, humans will probably be having the jobs there because we need to be precise.

Alejandro Roa Martinez agrees that artificial intelligence will likely take over many occupations, but more robot designers, spacecraft engineers, and spaceship drivers will be needed. Hes interested in becoming an engineer who creates things that help humanity and dont destroy the world.

Pedro Daniel Reyes Garcia (front) and Alejandro Roa Martinez, draw their visions of the world in 20 years.

Even with the digital advances the class predicted like more games and sports played online many in the class hoped for more in-person social connections in 20 years. Pedro Daniel Reyes Garcia envisions a machine that could make a passport from an identification card in two days instead of a few months. People could have more chances to get to places so they could visit their families, he says.

Julia Silva would like to see more schools open around the world so children who cant afford school or arent allowed to go now can access education.

Students spoke about their hopes for world peace, cures for COVID-19, and more equality between people of different races, ethnicities, and genders.

I hope that in the future there will be more possibilities open to people of different races and gender, because even though weve come a long way from where we started, still some jobs arent open to just about everyone, and some people are treated differently because of the way they look, act, or feel, says Anne Hastings, who wants to open a dance company in 20 years for children with disabilities or who have been mistreated.

Other classmates envision becoming game designers, doctors, and engineers. And many of these fifth graders look forward to something more mundane and practical in 20 years enjoying the simple freedoms of adulthood.

I hope my life in 20 years will be fun, and I hope I can do stuff that I probably cant do as a kid like go out by myself and stay with friends till midnight, says Julia Silva. Chelsea Sheasley, Monitorstaff writer

Kathryn Palmer/The Hechinger Report

We all want to be with our families. It just stinks seeing them on a screen and not even being able to talk in person. Ronny Tokeak, on why he wants the future to include face-to-face interaction

TUCSON, ARIZ. Fifth graders of the future wont have to wear masks to school every day, but they and everyone else will face big consequences for pollution and bullying.

At least thats how a handful of fifth graders at John B. Wright Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona, imagine life in 20 years. When this school year started, they were in their third straight year of COVID-19-era learning. Theyre mostly attending classes in person now, but many of them suspect that by the time they are in their early 30s, school will be taught entirely online.

Well all have more personal space in 20 years, says Falhat Hassan on a recent Monday. She also envisions more dramatic changes: a freshly cleaned ocean; a weapon-free, war-free society; and the possibility of holographic teachers. Everyone will have a new house to live in, she adds. It wont matter how much money you have.

Kathryn Palmer/The Hechinger Report

The whole world will be one big country, [and] no matter where you are from, everybody will get the same stuff. Khadija Hamadi

But what would happen to all of the existing houses? Her classmate Khadija Hamadi says that instead of tearing them down, animals could live in them. And if for some reason there isnt enough room on Earth, there will be other housing options on the moon.

Its part of her vision that, in the future, the whole world will be one big country, and no matter where you are from, everybody will get the same stuff.

For the entirety of Khadija and her fifth grade classmates lives, immigration policy has been at the center of national debate. And since growing up in Tucson means living in a diverse college town 60 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border, early exposure to mature conversations about who belongs in this country and who doesnt is common.

Discussions about how and if schools should teach Americas racist history have also been unavoidable over the past 18 months even for fifth graders like these. Yet, on this day, they are also simultaneously fantasizing about a world filled with flying cars, virtual clothing, and perhaps no banks (because there may be no paper money).

Kathryn Palmer/The Hechinger Report

Racism will still be here. But it wont be as bad as it is now. It will all be taken a lot more seriously. Jordan Allen

So, while they do disagree on what type of currency will exist in 20 years and if well be able to time-travel and complete tasks using telekinesis, they are hopeful that in 2042 the color of a persons skin will matter much less.

Racism will still be here, says Jordan Allen, as he sits at a picnic table discussing the future with his classmates, who all acknowledge that bullies like to zero in on the characteristics beyond our control. But it wont be as bad as it is now. It will all be taken a lot more seriously.

On top of that, the world will be a safer place because in 20 years police will rely on mind-reading technology to stop crimes before they happen, such as in the 2002 movie Minority Report.

Although Jordan and his peers arent sure if their generation will be the one to finally eradicate racism, they are all confident or hopeful at least that there will be no pandemic by the time they reach adulthood because scientists will have invented a universal vaccine capable of tackling any virus.

And with that out of the way, theyll all be able to focus on their jobs. Yes, people will still have to work, but theyll be more reliant on robots to get hard labor done. According to Ronny Tokeak, the in-demand job in 20 years will be virtualist a person, he explains, who makes sure all the new technology out there is running smoothly.

Kathryn Palmer/The Hechinger Report

Everyone will have a new house to live in. It wont matter how much money you have. Falhat Hassan, a fifth grader at John B. Wright Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona

But when it is time to rest and play, the kids of today expect they will still gather in person to take in a football game, either at a stadium or around a giant TV capable of connecting to a viewers brain. By then, Ronny and his classmates predict, women will be as prevalent on the field as men.

No matter how Americans leisure and work lives may change in the next 20 years, the fifth graders of 2022 know one thing: They never want to live in a world without face-to-face interaction. We all want to be with our families, Ronny says. It just stinks seeing them on a screen and not even being able to talk in person. Kathryn Palmer,Monitor correspondent

This story was produced in partnership with The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

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Fifth graders as futurists: Imagining the world in 20 years - The Christian Science Monitor

As if things werent going to be tough enough for future space colonists, experts now say that theyre likely going to face food troubles and that might just turn them into cannibals.

Charles Cockell, professor of astrobiology at Edinburgh University, spoke to Metro about the challenges astronauts will face if and when humans attempt to colonize places such as Jupiters moon Callisto and Saturns moon Titan.

Specifically, Cockell stressed that if the farming and crop systems failed, the colonizers would likely face very dire consequences unless they received regular supplies from Earth. If theyre far away enough or if Earth collapses completely this might not be possible.

To underscore his point, he pointed to Sir John Franklins 1845 exploration of the Arctic that resulted in the crew cannibalising each other.

Franklins crew tried to find the north-west passage on ships in the late 19th century they were the most sophisticated pieces of technology available at that time, Cockell said. They had tinned food, which was the new technology and yet, they got lost, stranded and they ended up degenerating into cannibalism.

If you put a group of people on Callisto, things start going wrong and the plant growth module breaks down, they are going to eat each other if there is no other way to survive, he later added.

While this might seem like a fairly bleak prediction, Cockells message actually serves more as a warning. The crop systems would need to be tested and refined on places like the Moon and Mars before colonizers are yeeted off into the far reaches of space.

Only after adequate testing can we be certain that colonizers wont have to do their best Donner Party impression to survive.

If you are going to dump 20 people several hundred million kilometers away from the Earth in an instantaneously lethal environment on a moon, you better be sure that is going to work because if it doesnt it is going to fall apart quite quickly, he said.

READ MORE: Humans would probably start eating each other in space [Metro]

More on space colonization: Simulated Mars Base Got Kinda Rebellious, Worrying Scientists

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Space Colonists Will Likely Resort to Cannibalism, Scientist Says - Futurism

As we prepare to ring in a new year, what trends will shape 2022? Sara Schafer at AgWeb talked with Jack Uldrich, a futurist and former naval intelligence officer, about what he sees impacting agriculture in the new year. He said there are four trends:

What it allows businesses to do is have a secure, trustworthy and transparent view of the supply chain. With blockchain, in the not-too-distant future, both consumers and businesses are going to know exactly where their crops came from, how they were grown, how they were shipped, how they were stored, etc., Uldrich says.

It will also enable companies such as Cargill, PepsiCo, General Mills and their customers to hold farmers accountable for production practices and resource use.

Big food companies are betting on regenerative agriculture to thwart climate change which is paying farmers to sequester carbon by adopting conservation practices.

Were seeing European governments be more aggressive on requiring agribusinesses and farmers to get more serious about regenerative agriculture, and the Biden administration will likely provide financial incentives for farmers to store carbon in their land. This is a huge opportunity for farmers; its not too soon for every farmer to begin getting up to speed on this issue.

Electric vehicles now represent 2% of total global vehicle sales, but could reach 24% in eight years.

How many people are buying electric cars? Is battery technology improving?

Pay attention to those trends because I think electric vehicles are going to take off faster than most farmers are currently estimating, he says. If so, demand for gasoline goes down, which means demand for ethanol goes down. If ethanol demand goes down, the demand for corn goes down. My point is not to say that will happen, but corn farmers should be prepared for that possibility.

When the pandemic started in March 2020, plant-based protein sales soared.

That had a lot of folks worried, Jayson Lusk, Purdue University agricultural economist, told AgWeb. But, that sales growth seems to have leveled off a bit in the past few months.

While the growth in sales has slowed, Uldrich says, Plant-based protein is going to begin eroding some sales of traditional meat, milk and eggs. It is not going to become 100% of the market, but I think that its going to grow faster than other food segments.

Click here for more Industry News.

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4 Trends that Will Shape Agriculture in 2022 - Precision Farming Dealer

He also says thats its most definitely, absolutely not at all him. Elons Theory

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks he knows who created Bitcoin and its definitely not him.

The billionaire meme thief took part in an interview with artificial intelligence researcher Lex Fridman on the latters podcast published on Tuesday. While the chat flowed from SpaceX launches, to colonizing Mars, to even love, Fridman eventually asked Musk about his theory on who is Bitcoins elusive creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Well, you can look at the evolution of ideas before the launch of bitcoin and see who wrote about those ideas, Musk told Fridman. He went on to add, It seems as though Nick Szabo is probably, more than anyone else, responsible for the evolution of those ideas.

You can check out the segment and the full interview below:

For those confused as to who the heck that even is, Nick Szabo is a computer scientist and cryptographer who helped develop smart contracts and an early form of cryptocurrency called bit gold.

While the crypto never took off, many consider it an early precursor to Bitcoin. His smart contract technology was also used as a foundational part of the ethereum blockchain. As such, many speculate that he is the father of Bitcoin. However, hes long denied the claim .

Well, I will say this, in the hope of setting the record straight, Szabo told The New York Times in 2017. Im not Satoshi.

Musk also denied that he was actually Satoshi Nakamoto. However, he told Fridman that he would definitely tell people if he was which is no surprise. After all, imagine the Twitter meme posting potential.

More on Satoshi Nakamoto: Dubious Court Case Claims Bitcoin Co-Creator Is Dead

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Elon Musk Says He Thinks He Knows the Real Identity of Satoshi Nakamoto - Futurism

The Scarborough City Centre area'sdated postmodern vibe got a jolt of modernity when a new Toronto Public Library branch opened in 2015, and the neighbourhood is about to get another addition of avant-garde architecture.

An application tabled with the city on Tuesday seeks approval to build a new Toronto Paramedic Services (TPS) Multifunction Paramedic Station at 330 Progress Avenue, a plan that has already generated buzz in architecture circles for its striking angles and enviro-friendly design from the team of Diamond Schmitt Architects and gh3.

The building's roof is to be covered in photovoltaic arrays powering the vital equipment within.

Planned on the site of the Toronto Police Service Property Unita stretch home to mostly light industrial uses west of the denser Town Centre area the building will stand out from its nondescript surroundings with a sleek bunker-like exterior that harnesses the sun to power the critical paramedic equipment housed within.

Envisioned with net-zero strategies in mind, the proposal's sustainable mass-timber structure will offer a 34 per cent reduction in embodied carbon compared to the structural steel typically used for such builds.

A sawtooth roof directs its many photo-voltaic array-covered faces to the south to maximize solar power generation, while a tilted south-facing solar wall further reduces energy consumption by 15 per cent.

The sawtooth pattern angles the photovoltaic arrays to the south to maximize solar exposure.

The interior will be arranged around a linear atrium with a skylight above, housing station functions including an administrative and education block, a command post, offices, parade room, a kitchen and lounge, a meeting room, lockers for 700 staff and visitors, and bays for 40 ambulances and 20 supervisor vehicles.

The mass-timber structure will house 20 ambulance bays.

Shaving off another 17 per cent of energy use, the station will be the first ambulance facility in Canada to include interior vestibules for its dozen overhead vehicle doors, preventing winter cold or summer heat from entering the station when vehicles depart and arrive.

This forward-thinking design hasn't gone unnoticed, the building among seven recipients of an Award of Merit by the 2021 Canadian Architect Awards, selected from a pool of over 170 entries in the design phase from across the nation.

The building's design has been lauded, taking home anAward of Merit atthe 2021 Canadian Architect Awards.

With a projected construction cost just shy of $50 million, the project is anticipated to be complete in 2024.

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A futuristic bunker-like building is coming to Toronto and it just won a big award - blogTO

The new year brings with it many of the emerging technology trends seen in 2021, including the next phase of the Internet and the metaverse, but it may also spark a human renaissance where we question the role of technology.

Euronews Next looks at what is in store for 2022.

Web3 was 2021s buzzword and in 2022, we can expect companies will try and jump on the bandwagon for this decentralised vision of the Internet.

Web3 is defined by the technology of blockchain, the same system used by cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) but aims to use an egalitarian philosophy to cut out the Internets central gatekeepers such as Google and Facebook.

We are not officially in the Web3 phase of the Internet but the blocks are currently being built. In 2022, we can expect more companies will try and dip their toes into Web3, including Meta, Facebooks parent company.

Meta is aiming for deep compatibility with blockchain technology, according to a New York Times report, citing an internal post to employees from a Meta top executive.

My overall guidance is to target a deep compatibility with the blockchain, wrote Andrew Bosworth, Metas chief technology officer (CTO).

There arent many places where I expect us to depend on it exclusively yet, but if we see an opportunity to work jointly with entrepreneurs in the Web3 space I expect it will be worth the effort.

NFTs also exploded onto the tech scene in 2021. This year, we can expect NFT2.0.

In November, the Dutch Blockchain LTO Network revealed an upgrade called Titanium, which solves the issue of current NFTs, which is that most assets cannot be fully possessed and have to be traded through a third party.

As expected, more companies will also be putting their efforts into the metaverse, the virtual reality and augmented reality world where we can play games, work and socialise.

Though in its early stages, the technology is developing at breakneck speed. Many virtual reality worlds, such as Metas, require headsets.

But this could soon develop into augmented reality glasses or even contact lenses.

According to insiders, Apple is working hard on this technology and is predicted to release its own headsets in 2022. Media reports have also suggested Apples headsets could include eye tracking and cameras that could blend VR and AR together.

The whole discussion about the metaverse is essentially telling us that we can live in a virtual space using an avatar and we don't need a body, futurist Gerd Leonhard told Euronews Next.

While he said he sees potential benefits in the metaverse, for example in the workplace, there could be a human renaissance.

I see a discussion saying the metaverse is all very cool. But nobody wants to get married in the metaverse. Well, there are people who are interested, but nobody wants to get married to a robot in the metaverse, Leonhard said.

Technology is just a tool and its not the purpose. I think theres going to be a renaissance in the sense of people saying, we're going to rethink this to see if it's actually good for your life.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning will continue to grow and increasingly so in companies.

AI can help in fields such as healthcare, however, as data is critical for building AI systems, there may be more discussion on how data is acquired and used.

We have steep development in artificial intelligence so that computers can start to kind of sound like they're making sense, said Leonhard.

All of this leads to one final destination, which is to say that humans can be somewhat created, artificially or copied, or that machines are getting closer to being more like humans.

Cloud technology has been the saving grace for many businesses that have shifted to remote work since the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to grow.

In Deloittes Tech Trends 2022 chronicles, it said automation - such as the cloud, robotics and AI - is the emerging key to sustaining and enhancing operations, which can also empower workers.

I think tech companies are really recognising that automation is the key to freeing time to be more customer-obsessed. And that's where tech companies are winning today, Mike Bechtel, chief futurist and Managing Director at Deloitte Consulting LLP, told Euronews Next.

By examining the lessons learned in the past and applying advanced technology to solve the problems of today, organisations will be able to engineer a better future.

Read more here:
Web3, NFT2.0, the metaverse and a human renaissance: The tech trends to watch out for in 2022 - Euronews

Every week, we present a curated list of live music in a wide range of genres all around the Valley. This week, there are Christmas concerts, New Years Eve music events and more.

Mannheim Steamroller ChristmasTuesday, December 28 at ASU GammageChip Davis brings this vaunted musical holiday tradition to Tempe. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 28 at ASU Gammage, 1200 S. Forest Ave., Tempe, asugammage.com. Tickets cost $40-$125.50.

Injury ReserveWednesday, December 29 at The Van BurenTempe rap group Injury Reserve takes the stage. With Slauson Malone 1 and Zsela. 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 29 at The Van Buren, 401 W. Van Buren St., Phoenix, thevanburenphx.com. Tickets cost $22.25.

Jim Brickman: The Gift of ChristmasWednesday, December 29-Friday, December 31 at Musical Instrument MuseumPianist Jim Brickmans musical style crosses genres from country to pop. His vocal collaborations include songs with Carly Simon, Kenny Loggins, Olivia Newton-John and more. 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday, December 29-Friday, December 31 at Musical Instrument Museum, 4725 E. Mayo Blvd., Phoenix, mim.org. Tickets cost $49.50-$69.50.

New Years Eve with FuturisticFriday, December 31 at Crescent BallroomTempe-based breakout rapper Futuristic holds his album release party for Dont Wanna Be Famous. Featuring Khiry, Toure Masters, Samara Cyn and more. 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 31 at Crescent Ballroom, 308 N. 2nd Ave., Phoenix, crescentphx.com. Tickets cost $20-$200 plus fees.

Maybe 2022 Will Be Better FestivalFriday, December 31 at The CompoundNumerous local music artists perform at this festival, which also features a visual arts exhibition. Playboy Manbaby, Djentrification, and Grackle Beats are among the performers. 8 p.m. Friday, December 31 at The Compound, SE corner of Farmer and University, facebook.com/The-Compound-102937626493538. Admission is free.

Live Jazz at Wrigley MansionFriday, December 31 at Wrigley MansionThe formal dining room at the Wrigley Mansion hosts intimate jazz shows every Friday night. On New Years Eve, the trio scheduled to perform is Beth Lederman (piano/keyboard), Dwight Kilian (upright bass) and Dom Moio (drums). Friday, December 31 at Wrigley Mansion, 2501 E. Telawa Trail, Phoenix, wrigleymansion.com. Reservations required.

Read more:
5 Concerts to Check Out this Week (December 27-January 2) - phoenixmag.com

Welp, it looks like not even your favorite boy bands are safe from Omicron.

Cases of the COVID-19 are surging across the globe as the highly transmissible Omicron variant becomes the most dominant strain of the virus. With an increase in travel due to the holiday season, it resulted in a perfect storm impacting flights, hospitals, sporting events, and even K-pop megastars BTS.

BTSs management company Big Hit Music announced that members Suga, RM, and Jin tested positive for COVID on Saturday following a string of concerts performed in the US, The New York Times reports. All three members are fully vaccinated as of August.

Suga discovered he was infected last Thursday after returning to South Korea and quarantining. On Friday, he wasnt displaying any symptoms and continued to quarantine himself at home, according to the newspaper.

The multibillion dollar band wasnt alone in their COVID troubles. Over Christmas weekend, thousands of flights were cancelled due to a surge of COVID cases amongst airline crews.

More than 1,300 flights were cancelled in the US on Sunday alone, the Times reports. This is despite the fact that the number of Christmas Eve and Christmas travelers were nearly double from last year.

Hospitalizations have also been rising precipitously as cases rise higher than last years winter peak. As of Monday, more than 73,000 patients are being hospitalized for COVID in the US on average, per the NYT coronavirus database.

While that number is still below last years hospitalization rate during the same time frame, its still disconcertingly high.

Luckily, there is some hope in our bleak winter. On Sunday, the nations top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said that there is a lesser degree of severity with the Omicron variant.

However, he stressed that the tens of millions of Americans who are unvaccinated are most at risk for the new variant.

Those are the most vulnerable ones when you have a virus that is extraordinarily effective in getting to people and infecting them the way Omicron is, Fauci told ABC.

So mask up, avoid large indoor gatherings, and get vaccinated if you havent already. If not for yourself, then at least do it for your favorite K-pop band.

Care about supporting clean energy adoption? Find out how much money (and planet!) you could save by switching to solar power at UnderstandSolar.com. By signing up through this link, Futurism.com may receive a small commission.

More:
Omicron Continues to Wreak Havoc on Flights, Hospitals, and Worst of All, BTS - Futurism

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a follow-up patent from Apple relating to their possible future iMac encased in an all-glass housing. The design is shown to be one of Apple's most excitingly creative concepts for a future iMac to date.

This future iMac/desktop PC may include a display coupled to the glass housing member and configured to provide a visual output at the display area. The electronic device may include a keyboard coupled to the glass housing member and configured to detect an input at the input area. Alternative designs show the keyboard being separable.

Apple clarifies that the glass housing could be made with materials that are transparent, coated, painted, or otherwise treated to produce a non-transparent (e.g., opaque) component; in such cases the material may still be referred to as transparent, even though the material may be part of an opaque component. Translucent components may be formed by producing a textured or frosted surface on an otherwise transparent material (e.g., clear glass). Translucent materials may also be used, such as translucent polymers, translucent ceramics, or the like.

The housing member may have properties that enable the diverse input and output functions. For example, the housing member (e.g., the optically transmissive member) may be strong and may have a high resistance to scratching, and may provide a surface finish having a superior appearance and/or tactile feel as compared with other materials or components.

Apple's patent FIG. 3 below we see a continuous glass iMac/Desktop PC design that includes an OLED display,an integrated keyboard and left and right touch input zones like a seamless dual trackpad construction; FIG. 11E illustrates the back of the new device with ports and speaker. The device could double as a home automation system.

Apple's patent FIG. 4B below notes that the housing member #450, and in particular the portion of the input area #455 in the lower portion #454, may be shaped to define physically distinctive key regions.

There's more to Apple's patent that we covered back in January 2020 here. In today's published patent, Apple has added 20 new patent claims. Below are 14 of the key additions:

Added Claim #1: An electronic device comprising: a glass housing member comprising: an upper portion defining a display area; a lower portion defining an input area; and a transition portion extending between the upper portion and the lower portion and defining part of a continuous surface defined by the upper portion, the lower portion, and the transition portion; a display coupled to the glass housing member and configured to provide a graphical output at the display area; an input device coupled to the glass housing member and configured to detect an input at the input area; and a support structure coupled to the glass housing member and configured to support the glass housing member.

Added Claim #2: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the upper portion defines a first planar region of the continuous surface; the lower portion defines a second planar region of the continuous surface; and the transition portion defines a concave, curved region of the continuous surface.

Added Claim #3: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the glass housing member is a single piece of glass.

Added Claim #4: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the glass housing member defines a rear surface opposite the continuous surface; and the display is coupled to the rear surface.

Added Claim #5: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein: the display area extends along the upper portion, the transition portion, and the lower portion; and the display has a curvature that corresponds to a curvature of the glass housing member.

Added Claim #6: The electronic device of claim 5, wherein the display area extends to an edge of the glass housing member.

Added Claim #7: The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the glass housing member is movable, relative to the support structure, from a first configuration resulting in a first display angle to a second configuration resulting in a second display angle different from the first display angle.

Added Claim #8: A desktop computer comprising: a display; an input device operably coupled to the display; a glass sheet comprising: a first portion defining a planar display area; a second portion defining a planar input area; and a curved portion between the planar display area and the planar input area; and a support structure coupled to the glass sheet and configured to support the glass sheet.

Added Claim #9: The desktop computer of claim 8, wherein: the glass sheet is configured to move relative to the support structure; in a first configuration, the first portion has a first display angle; and in a second configuration, the first portion has a second display angle different from the first display angle.

Added Claim #14: The desktop computer of claim 8, wherein the input device extends along at least a portion of the planar display area to form a touchscreen-style display.

Added Claim #15: An electronic device comprising: a slumped glass housing member defining: a continuous exterior surface of the electronic device; and an opening extending through the slumped glass housing member; a support structure coupled to the slumped glass housing member and configured to support the slumped glass housing member; a display coupled to an upper portion of the slumped glass housing member; and a keyboard having: a storage configuration in which the keyboard is positioned at least partially within the opening; and a use configuration in which the keyboard is extended from the opening.

Added Claim #16: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein the keyboard is: releasably coupled to the slumped glass housing member; and configured to detach from the slumped glass housing member in the use configuration.

Added Claim #17: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein: the slumped glass housing member further defines an input area; the electronic device further comprises an input device configured to detect inputs at the input area; and in the use configuration, an actuation of a key of the keyboard causes an input to be detected by the input device.

Added Claim #18: The electronic device of claim 15, wherein: the opening is a first opening; a second opening is defined in the upper portion of the slumped glass housing member; the electronic device further comprises: a camera positioned at least partially in the opening; and a processing unit positioned in the support structure; and the camera is operably coupled to the processing unit by a camera trace coupled to the slumped glass housing member.

To review the full patent and the rest of the new patent claims, see patent application 20210397220.

Renderings

The excitement for this new iMac concept had a number of renderers post images of what the design could translate to. Our cover graphic and those presented below are fromYanko Design. You could view a variety of additional rendering on their sitehere.

Originally posted here:
Apple continues to Work on their Exciting Futuristic All-Glass iMac - Patently Apple

We have become accustomed to a precipitous pace of technological change, for better and for worse. Driven by scientific and then engineering breakthroughs, electronic devices and communications have progressed exponentially. Robots and AI perhaps will follow the same path.

So, whats to stop the world of tomorrow from becoming dystopian, like in the movie The Terminator? Batteries. The robots that want to kill us and eat our medicine wont last long before they need to recharge.

A modern supercomputer crushes the machines of the mid-20th century. Fugaku, 2021s fastest computer, is about 100 trillion times more powerful than ENIAC, the fastest computer of 1945. However, a Tesla lithium-ion battery stores only roughly six times as much charge, per pound, as a lead acid electric car battery of 1920. This ten-trillion-fold greater advancement of electronic circuits over batteries is staggering to consider.

Computer processors famously followed an exponential growth curve in capability, known as Moores law. The solid-state transistor was a physics breakthrough that won the Nobel Prize. Vast territory was opened up and then conquered by engineers burning circuits into silicon chips with visible and ultraviolet light. R&D fueled continuous advancements in computer circuitry for 40 years. Over the past decade or so, this pace has fallen off as hard physics limitations have stepped in. You might notice that your new laptop is no longer light-years faster than your old laptop.

Whereas integrated circuits are a mid-to-late-20th century invention, batteries have been a topic of scientific interest for more than 200 years. Early devices such as the Leyden jar were a curiosity for physicists who had not yet settled on the paradigm of electric charge. By 1910, battery technology was sufficient to produce practical electric cars, which were highly popular at the time. At one point, more than 30% of registered cars in America were electric vehicles. What happened? Internal combustion engines ate their lunch. It has taken a century, plus government intervention, for batteries to catch back up.

Progress in battery technology is glacial because there have been no breakthroughs in the fundamental science, and thus no open territory for subsequent optimization through engineering. While claims of battery breakthroughs have been common, in reality, the technology has evolved in baby steps. Scientists and engineers simply work to discover slightly better charge storage chemical formulations, tweak cathode and anode design, and hone operating cycles.

That is why batteries remain a limiting factor in many forms of modern electronic technology, such as cars, laptops, phones, and human-slaying robots. The lump of coal in this years futurism stocking is that batteries will keep dragging behind.

Having said all that, two modest advances in battery technology are worth mentioning. First, a paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society describes an advance for sodium-sulfur (Na-S) cells. These kinds of cells can, in theory, store about twice as much power per pound as a lithium-ion cell. In practice, Na-S batteries have been limited by several factors: They charge poorly, drain quickly when sitting idle, and fade quickly in capacity.

However, researchers from the University of Texas have developed a new version of the battery by tweaking the chemistry of the charge-storing electrolyte material to improve the lifetime of the batterys anode and cathode. If further research and engineering lead to economical manufacturing, this technology could yield cells with somewhat better charge storage than lithium-ion batteries.

Second, a paper published in the Journal of Power Sources proposes a very different idea, a sort of hybrid technology. The system uses battery-like chemistry to produce carbon from carbon dioxide. The carbon is then combusted to liberate energy. The researchers produce something close to a viable system, able to recharge multiple times and operate at high efficiency. Though it is far from commercial readiness, the technology may provide a means to harness the great energy advantage of combustion over storage of electrical charge. (This advantage is why gasoline vehicles left their electric counterparts in the dust 100 years ago.)

Unfortunately, the known laws of physics dictate that battery technology likely will continue to lag, and so researchers will continue to probe every creative avenue to find new possibilities for a breakthrough. On the bright side, this means the robot apocalypse is far less likely than some futurologists fear.

Read more here:
Batteries are the lump of coal in futurism's Christmas stocking - Big Think