Where do we go from here?

[FireYourJob]

Any of you spend time thinking about or have website resources that discuss the next wave of the internet?

We've gone from compuserve, to AOL, to google and Facebook / twitter. The internet, in the grand scheme of things, has only just begun. What futurist thoughts have you about what's next?

I keep hearing about the iWatch (yawn for me personally) and other wearable technology. Maybe that is the next big thing, but what else?

Maybe said another way, if you were to be an early adopter of something today in late 2014, what would it be?

[isbjshaffer]

I think cell phones are basically wearable technology and the end of us all...people talk about the mark of the beast - well there ya go! Access to your location, messages, emails, credit card info, camera, phone calls....I digress.

Facebook is still revolutionizing itself. The other day I heard that they're adding a "buy" button to their advertisements, so you never even have to go to the manufacturer's website. It's like they're taking over the internet and eliminating the need for any other website ever. You can play games, text, shop, blog, tweet, get your daily news, etc all in one place. You can't even log into some things without Facebook it seems (like Spotify). I don't think Facebook is done yet.

[brizna]

Cell phones are the end of us all what? Increasing connectivity and access to information has been so incredibly beneficial. When the cost of communication goes to zero, people communicate more. This increases knowledge and increases empathy. Today is the safest time to be alive. Ever. Technology and communications are major component of that.

On track:

Near term, let's see...

- home automation tech
- virtual reality and augmented reality
- maybe wearable tech if it's more than a watch (if it can monitor various health metrics, I'm in)

Medium

- better batteries. Better solar.
- driverless cars
- tailored medicine
- new computer architectures, eg memristor based tech
- aggressive automation of many jobs

Long

- fusion
- computer brain interface
- making the distinction between biology and technology becomes harder and harder
- useful 3d printers for all sorts of items including organs
- generalized robots
- very long extension of human lifespan

Very long

- strong AI. Game over.

[theadvicist]

I think eventually we won't need phones, because all the technology will just be 'in' us. We'll be able to 'ring' each other without holding a device to our ears. Same with photos, we'll just be able to take a picture of exactly what we see and put it in a hard drive somewhere.

I think driverless cars are already here? I thought taxis without drivers were becoming available this year in New York, but perhaps I was mistaken or the timing has been moved back. I for one think driverless cars will be far far safer.