Contents of the Current Issue

Executive Summaries

March-April 2006 FUTURIST article summaries

Reinventing Humanity: The Future of Machine-Human Intelligence (Cover Story)
by Ray Kurzweil

SUMMARY: This article describes the principal technologies (nanotech, genome research, and robotics) that are leading to a "Singularity," a point when the capabilities of machine intelligence surpass those of human beings, and what it will mean for our humanness.

Guest commentaries/critiques are offered by nanotechnology expert J. Storrs Hall ("Runaway Artificial Intelligence?"), acceleration studies scholar John Smart ("Technology and Human Enhancement"), and sociologists Damien Broderick ("Nanofactories, Gang Wars, and 'Feelies'") and Richard Eckersley ("Techno-Utopia and Human Values").

Special Report: A Timeline for Technology: To the Year 2030 and Beyond
by Ian Pearson and Ian Neild

SUMMARY: The ongoing technology timeline project of BT researchers Ian Pearson and Ian Neild offers useful and often surprising glimpses into future breakthroughs. The latest report expands beyond the version appearing in the July-August 2002 FUTURIST. Sample forecasts: We'll begin mining the moon for Helium 3 between 2016 and 2020; paper currency and coins will be largely replaced by electronic cash by 2015; and "walking" robots will be adroit enough to become dance teachers between 2011 and 2015.

Cyberimmortality: Science, Religion, and the Battle to Save Our Souls
by William Sims Bainbridge

SUMMARY: Can the phenomenon--and beliefs--of organized religion be explained away by evolutionary theory? And will cognitive and computer scientists be able to develop new technologies that serve the human need for immortality? The advent of cybernetic immortality may be near and could mean the end of religion.

Building Creative Communities: The Role of Art and Culture
by John Eger

SUMMARY: In the postindustrial knowledge economy, cities must reinvent themselves to stay competitive globally. Nurturing the creative, entrepreneurial spirit of citizens will help keep communities vital. Rather than trying to ignore or compete with the phenomenon of Internet-based virtual communities, places like Torino (Italy) and Singapore are creating and nurturing their own online identities as "Smart Communities." This enhances the social and technical capital of those communities as well as showcasing to the rest of the world these communities' assets.

Translation by Machine: A Bridge Across the Multicultural Gap
by Dave Belluomini

SUMMARY: The growing diversity of U.S. neighborhoods presents a challenge for law enforcement for many reasons, not the least of which is the inability to communicate. Technologies for overcoming the language barrier in military settings could also be adapted for local use, but direct, instantaneous language translation via machines is still a long way away from reality.

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