Experts take an optimistic look at how 21st century future will unfold

By Dick Pelletier

     Get ready for some remarkable science and technology advances as we begin an exciting trek through the 21st century. The following timeline includes predictions by best-selling author and futurist Ray Kurzweil, British Telecom’s futurologist Ian Pearson, Lifeboat Foundation futurist Brian Wang, and other forward-thinkers:

2010s – Stem cells grow new blood vessels eliminating need for coronary bypass; cloning new tissues and organs enable treatment of cancer, diabetes and heart disease; most television delivered via terabyte-speed Internet; android robots outperform humans in factories; getting lost nearly impossible with GPS chips in cell-phones and watches, and implanted under the skin of children and seniors; supercomputer equals human brainpower; friendly robots beginning to think for themselves.
2020s – Regenerative medicine promises affordable treatment of every disease; Star Trek-like replicators provide low-cost household essentials; robots become companions, teachers, caretakers, even lovers; significant knowledge created by machines with little or no human intervention; sophisticated electronic life forms given basic human rights; new driver training required to operate automated collision-proof cars.
2030s – Neural implants enhance memory and reasoning; almost no humans employed in production, agriculture, or transportation; advanced robots claim consciousness; U.S. sends manned mission to Mars; private companies begin construction of L5 space colony; artificial eyes built from nano-bio materials; holographic 3-D TV transmits lifelike images of friends and relatives into homes enabling us to talk, touch, and hug as if they were actually there; more robots than people live in developed countries; space elevators become reality enabling cheap travel to space.
2040s – U.S. boasts 9-million seniors 85 and over; robots, physically and mentally superior to humans, trigger increase in human-machine merges; nanotech enhances all body functions; brain scans read conscious thoughts; Hilary Rodham Clinton becomes a centenarian in ‘47, but with full-body rejuvenation, she resembles a youthful twenty-something.
2050s – Mars colony becomes self-sustaining; China matches U.S. economy; artificial intelligence 1-billion times greater than non-enhanced humans; indefinite lifespan projected for most people; Earth population peaks at 10-billion; nuclear fusion used as power source; moon base grows to village-size.
2060s – Ozone hole disappears; asteroid mining prompts huge space migration; Chinese develop Mars colony; Paris Hilton reaches 80, but her non-biological body appears ageless.
2070s – Nano-solar systems collect 1,500 times 2007 energy volume; human-robot differences become indiscernible; last human to suffer unwanted death dies during this decade; life expectancy no longer a viable term for intelligent beings.
2080s – Nanobots probe Earth interior to devise future earthquake-prevention systems and tap geothermal energy; 100 million live in off-world colonies; nanotech eliminates food shortages; machine-based intelligence built from non-biological materials claims human status.
2090s – Martian citizens declare independence, but pledge friendly alliance with Earth; time travel becomes reality as University of Connecticut professor Ronald Mallett’s laser system moves tiny bits of matter into the past; Mallett convinced that humans will transport through time by 2110 or before.

     Will this amazing “magical future” occur in such a short time? Although it took two million years for humanity to abandon the safety of the forests and build a modern civilization, it may take only ninety more years for today’s humans to leave their friendly solar system and begin what promises to be an incredible adventure to the stars.

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.