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2010: The year the future arrived (250 headlines to prove it)

Tuesday, 28 December 2010 04:31 Rick Schettino
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In case there is any doubt that the future is on our doorstep and ringing the bell, I've compiled a list of 250 headlines related to the future of computing, the environment, medicine, robotics, and other topics that have been hot in 2010.  Although by no means a complete record of the year's future-related headlines, this list demonstrates what an incredible year 2010 has been.  Even if you don't click through to any of the articles, just reading the headlines will give you a good idea of the technology tsunami that was 2010.

INDEX

 MOBILE COMPUTING DESALINATION FUTURE OF TV
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION EDUCATION 2.0
TWITTER INTELLIGENCE AUTONOMOUS AUTOS SEARCH FOR ET
BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE GENETIC ENGINERING GOOGLE
ROBOTICS ALTERNATIVE LIFE HOMELAND SECURITY
THE ENVIRONMENT: THE GOOD NEWS MEDICINE 3D PRINTING
THE ENVIRONMENT: THE BAD NEWS NANO MEDICINE SPACE TOURISM
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY STEM CELLS QUANTUM COMPUTING
THE NEW ENERGY RACE CYBER WAR AND SECURITY PHYSICS
GEOENGINEERING PHILANTHROPY  

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MOBILE COMPUTING

The incredible combination of smart phones and apps is changing the way we live.  It was also the year of Apple vs. Android for mobile operating system supremacy.  Location-based apps were also a big story in 2010.  And 2010 will be remembered as the year the iPad changed personal computing.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Artificial intelligence is starting to find its way into our every day lives in call centers, shopping websites, mobile apps, and even email sorting.  Advances in computer vision and language processing are leading us closer to the empathetic, conversational, personal assistant.

TWITTER INTELLIGENCE

Web 2.0 and the rise of social media such as Twitter's millions of tweeters have created an incredible resource of collective data which can be mined to predict stock prices, disease outbreaks, emotional states, and even box office hits.  The world is quickly moving towards a collective intelligence.

BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACE

Researchers are working to get into the human mind and find ways to connect it to computers.  Meanwhile other researchers are finding ways to use electronics to affect the mind making it a two way street.  It won't be long before we are controlling computers with our minds and augmenting our minds with computers.

ROBOTICS

Robots are on the rise.  From autonomous quadracopters to human exoskeletons to four legged pack mules, robots are taking all kinds of forms.  They are making scientific discoveries, helping the disabled walk, folding laundry and giving sponge baths, and even playing soccer.  If you can name it, robots will someday do it.  

THE ENVIRONMENT: THE GOOD NEWS

Although it looks like we're in dire straights with global warming, ocean acidification, dwindling resources, pollution, and poverty, there are some bright spots that give us hope that humanity has a chance of living in harmony with the planet. 


THE ENVIRONMENT: THE BAD NEWS

There's lots of bad news.  And if it's not man made, then it's quite a coincidence that one of the fastest global extinction events in the history of life on the planet just happens to be taking place within the tiny speck of time that industrialized society has been around.  Unfortunately, the media gives nearly as much attention to 1% of experts who claim global warming in natural as they do the the 99% who are certain it is caused by human activities.  All major scientific institutions have arrived at the conclusion that the greenhouse effect is causing the planet to warm.  There's not a single one that disagrees.  But it doesn't surprise me that we're still debating global warming considering there are still people debating natural selection.


ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

Far from a complete list of alternative energy breakthroughs, here are some of the more interesting stories of 2010. 


THE NEW ENERGY RACE

Clean renewable energy is the new space race.  China has taken the lead from the US.  But the US and other countries are investing huge sums of money to keep up with the competition.


GEOENGINEERING

With no real signs of life from global political efforts to slow carbon emissions more and more researchers are looking seriously at geoengineering solutions.  


DESALINATION

Desalination is starting to explode along with the global population.  If one thing is certain for the future, it is that we need to be as innovative with water as we are energy, otherwise clean water for drinking and irrigation is going to a problem as we approach the 9 billion global citizens mark predicted for the middle of this century. 


ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION

Here are just a few of the scores of transportation efficiency projects going on around the world. 


AUTONOMOUS AUTOS

It was a big year for self-driving vehicles.  Pushed along by DARPA, Germany's autonomous taxis, and Google's interest in this inevitable market, self-driving cars made big news in 2010.  It will be a few more years but eventually they will become a common site. 


GENETIC ENGINERING

Genes are the Lego blocks of life, and scientists are like kids in a toy store.  By tinkering and tweaking genomes and combining parts from totally unrelated species we now have salmon that grow faster, glow in the dark puppies and mice that tweet like birds.  2010 was also big year for genetically modified crops. 


ALTERNATIVE LIFE

2010 will be remembered as the dawn of the synthetic genome, the creation of a genetic code 2.0, and the discovery of anaerobic bacteria and bacteria that use arsenic in their DNA.  These discoveries don't just benefit genetic technologies, they also expand the possibilities of the kinds of environments that might harbor life, greatly impacting our search for ET's.


MEDICINE

Between gene therapy, stem cell treatments, genetic engineering, and fast, cheap DNA sequencing, we are quickly becoming masters of our bodies.  How long can it be before we've completely tackled cancer, viruses, nerve damage, brain damage, organ replacement, and even aging?   


NANO MEDICINE

Among the many branches of nano technology, nano medicine has show exceptional promise.  Using nanowires and nano bombs researchers have been able to target and kill individual cancer cells.


STEM CELLS

Stem cell research exploded in 2010 as researchers found ways to create them, change them, make them live longer, and use them to cure diseases.  New techniques for creating stem cells mean we may no longer need to worry about the ethics involved in using embryonic stem cells.


CYBER WAR AND SECURITY

People have been talking about cyber security threats for a long time. 2010 is the year that we finally have to take it seriously with cyber warfare becoming a reality.  From countries to nuclear power facilities to multi-national banks to online retailers, no institution seems to be immune to the ravages of cyber war. 


PHILANTHROPY

A new wave of mega-philanthropy is underway as the world's biggest tycoons take on humanities biggest problems.


FUTURE OF TV

The future of TV is in flux as it merges with the Internet.  Google, Apple, Netflix, and Hulu are a few of the big players making things interesting for the cable and broadcast companies.   One thing is for sure.  When the dust settles there will be a variety of services to choose from.


EDUCATION 2.0

Tablet computing and virtual worlds promise to change education.  Text books are becoming electronic and interactive, while global communications make the educational experience a mix and match proposition.  Personalized learning will become the wave of the future.


SEARCH FOR LIFE IN OUTER SPACE

2010 saw the first detection of a possibly habitable planet.  Many say 2011 will be the year we find Earth's twin (in size and temperature).  Meanwhile Stephen Hawking raised questions about the wisdom of announcing our existence to the universe.  Could we in our search for ET's be inviting the wrath of hostile aliens? 


GOOGLE

Google is everywhere - on the street, in space, under the sea, on our phones, and in our pockets trying trying get the car keys.  Google's main goal seems to be the development of an intelligent computer agent that we can talk to which can predict our every want and need before we have to go looking for it.  In the mean time they sure are having fun getting there.


HOMELAND SECURITY

It's proving to be difficult to catch terrorists before they strike. Botch jobs like the shoe bomber and underwear bomber have created a demand for alternative methods of detecting the bad guys.  I think in the near future, we'll only need to ask.


3D PRINTING

It's just the beginning, but in 2010 3D printing's bright future became clearer.  Why ship manufactured goods all over the world when we can just print our own at home?  This is one of those sleeper technologies that is going to sneak up and change the world all over again.


SPACE TOURISM

Space tourism is fast becoming a reality with the Russians and the Americans leading the way.  Private companies like Virgin Galactic, SpaceX, and Orbital Sciences are pushing the envelope and giving governments a run for their money, and sometimes a helping hand. 


QUANTUM COMPUTING

Productive quantum computing is still a long way off, but 2010 saw a lot of advances and stronger commitments in the field. 


PHYSICS

Just a few of the scores of breakthroughs in mathematics, and theoretical and applied physics in 2010.