What will the world be like in 2064?
Just imagine: Will we have robot caregivers, like in the freaky sci-fi flick "I, Robot?" Will we be able to teleport using a transporter just like on the TV show "Star Trek?"
Those may be things only seen in Hollywood productions... for now. Many Americans think they will be a part of our future in mere decades, according to a new Pew Research Center study.
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For the study, 1,001 men and women across the U.S. were asked over the phone whether five different scientific advancements will come about in the next 50 years -- lab-grown organs; teleportation; computers that can create art just like human artists; space colonies; and human-controlled weather. Which advancement are Americans most optimistic about, and which was deemed the most unrealistic? Just check out the study results:
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“Most Americans envision huge scientific developments in the foreseeable future—even if they themselves might not want to be the first on their block to own a driverless car or go to the store to buy meat that was grown in a lab,” study author Aaron Smith, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, said in a written statement. “And when asked to envision a future of their own, many jump immediately to big, paradigm-shifting notions straight from the world of science fiction.”
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Most Americans surveyed in the study said that these scientific developments would be a good thing. Around 59 percent said they were optimistic that coming technological and scientific changes will make life in the future better. But one in three said that these changes will lead to a future in which people are worse off than they are now... Yikes.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.
Just imagine: Will we have robot caregivers, like in the freaky sci-fi flick "I, Robot?" Will we be able to teleport using a transporter just like on the TV show "Star Trek?"
Those may be things only seen in Hollywood productions... for now. Many Americans think they will be a part of our future in mere decades, according to a new Pew Research Center study.
Story continues below.
For the study, 1,001 men and women across the U.S. were asked over the phone whether five different scientific advancements will come about in the next 50 years -- lab-grown organs; teleportation; computers that can create art just like human artists; space colonies; and human-controlled weather. Which advancement are Americans most optimistic about, and which was deemed the most unrealistic? Just check out the study results:
“Most Americans envision huge scientific developments in the foreseeable future—even if they themselves might not want to be the first on their block to own a driverless car or go to the store to buy meat that was grown in a lab,” study author Aaron Smith, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center, said in a written statement. “And when asked to envision a future of their own, many jump immediately to big, paradigm-shifting notions straight from the world of science fiction.”
Most Americans surveyed in the study said that these scientific developments would be a good thing. Around 59 percent said they were optimistic that coming technological and scientific changes will make life in the future better. But one in three said that these changes will lead to a future in which people are worse off than they are now... Yikes.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.