The Web has been all abuzz about Viv, the new personal assistant agent from the creators of Apple's Siri. Word is that Viv will be able to do "anything you ask."

Even if that proves to be a little on the optimistic side, there is no question that we are in the early stages of a new era of persoanl digital assistants. What are we currently doing for ourselves that we soon won't have to? And what will our new assistants provide to us that was never available before?

Tune in and explore.

PLUS (Time permitting): Dystopias. Who needs 'em?

What's more impressive: a proposed engine that could power neighborhoods (and even individual residences) or one that could potentially take us to the stars?

The answer isn't as simple as you might think. Engine technology is closely related to technology for producing energy -- both will have a huge impact on what we are able to do in the near and not-so-near future.

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss the two headline-making engine developments mentioned above and also look into some intriguing new energy sources: stacking solar cells or drawing energy from the tides, 

Tune in and explore.

We look at a lot of scenarios for what might happen in the future -- cool technological developments, major advances in science, new evolutionary developments for humans and for other species on this planet -- but are there any future developments that we can say with any certainty will happen?

Hosts Stephen Gordon and Phil Bowermaster introduce the Inevitablity Scale, a tool for gauging whether a specific future outcome is inevitable. We will take a look at how some future events stack up when measured for inevitability:

The Next Presidential ElectionThe End of the WorldThe First Manned Flight to MarsThe Emergence of Greater-than-Human Artificial Intelligence

What can we say for sure that we know is going to happen? Tune in and explore.

This month marks the 10-year anniversary of hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon’s collaboration. This week they look back over a decade of tracking the future.

Here's a small sample of what were talking about 10 years ago:

Success: Memes or Materials? |  Still Number One! |  Pop Quiz! |  There's a Hole in the Bottom of the Sea |  Affordable Beauty |  No Matter What, He's Wrong |  The Next Ten Years: Some Speculations |  A Fisking Too Vigorous |  Going the Way of the Slide Rule |  Energy Punditry 101 |  Encyclopedia Galactica |  War of the Worlds II |  Here's a Trend... |  The Future of Wealth |  10 Predictions |  Bursting the Wi-Fi Bubble |  Our First Attempt at Global Warming |  Tiny Cameras Everywhere |  Now That the Idea Has Been Killed |  Wanna Bet? |  The Most Powerful Force? |  Navigating Possibility Space |  Seven Questions About the Future |  Man on the Run |  What Should Have Been |  

So what has changed most in the intervening decade? What are the biggest surprises? And what is yet to come?

Tune in and explore.

It's not a question of whether people are stupid. The real question is how fast is it happening? How long before the movie Idiocracy comes true?

Hosts Stephen Gordon and Phil Bowermaster look at the scientific basis for recognizing the change in intelligence over the generations and what it has to tell us about where the world is going. How is it happening? Is is something that can be slowed or is it more likely to accelerate?

The answers just might surprise you. Tune in and explore.

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What's the difference between the original Delcaration of Independence and the Speculist's Declaration of Singularity?

Obviously one has already happened, and one has yet to happen. But what else? A few minor word changes aside, the big difference has to do with when things happen versus when they are declared to have happened.

What can we make about recent headlines concerning the Turing Test, self-Driving cars, and other developments?  Do they change the Declaration at all?

Or maybe is it time for a new declaration altogther?

Tune in and explore!

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The World Transformed returns after a brief hiatus. Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss two recent news stories that indicate tremendous progress in treating cancer by building human immune response. Most interestingly, these results are being achieved with the help of some modified -- but otherwise pretty nasty -- viruses. 

Leukemia cured via HIV virus

Cancer cured via measles vaccine

Are we approaching a truning point in the fight against cancer? Will future breakthroughs be achieved by manipulating the human immune system with viruses?

Tune in and explore.

 

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss the amazing material that has helped shape the last 100 years and that may have a lot to tell us about what our world will be like in the future. From its unexpected origins to the major environmental threats it poses, plastic is only going to become more important. 

Two recent news stories perhaps tell us about our coming plastic future:

Bio-inspired transparent synthetic materials could protect cars and peopleA new self-healing chemistry for plastics

Just how plasticized will our future be? Tune in and explore.

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss what may be a major breakthrough by Navy reaserachers -- a method for creating fuel using nothing but sea water. Looks like oil platforms aren't the only way to get energy from the ocean. And interestingly, this isn't the only route by which the world's oceans might help us meet our growing energy demands. Other possibilities include:

Fuel from algaeAbundant deuterium for fusionMethods for getting power from difference in temp from surface to deep waterTides

Do the seas hold the answers for our energy needs? Tune in and explore.

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss the future of taxation. Will the coming years show us more of the same or some new model for separating us from our hard-earned money? Possibilities include:

Flat TaxFair TaxOther Models

But then what happens if post-scarcity is realized? In a world where there is more than enough of everything, will we still be taxed on our income or will some other model kick in? Might we see...

Taxing the machinesAttention TaxNo taxation at all

Tune in and explore