The Future This Week: Robots, Ray Kurzweil, and Purple Orbs

In The Future This Week, Serious Wonder explores the deep blue sea in search of this week’s headlines of the future, from brick laying robots to mysterious purple orbs resting at the bottom of the ocean. This week we’re given a dichotomy of outlooks of our future by that of the general public, from outright pessimism to facts-based optimism.

Whether we’re struck in fear of what the future holds for us or we’re overly optimistic of what science and technology can provide for our species, one thing is for certain: the future is coming. So we have a choice of how we’re to enter this world of tomorrow – through fear and pessimism or through glee and optimism. We choose the latter, but what matters is how the rest of the world will envision it. After all, how it develops will largely be predicated on the visions of those in our present day. Welcome to the future!

According to a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, the majority of the general public in the United States are still afraid of a future where things like Designer Babies, implantable brain chips, and other Transhumanist technology exist. SOURCE

Named after the Roman emperor who built a wall in ancient Britain, Australian-based company Fastbrick Robotics has created a robot brick layer named Hadrian 105, which is capable of 3D printing bricks and create the shell of a home in less than a day. SOURCE

Photo Credit: CNET

While speaking at the Seattle-based annual conference Postback, futurist and inventor Ray Kurzweil noted that, despite what the media claim, the world isn’t getting worse, rather information is simply getting better. SOURCE

While using the floating research vessel Nautilus, a group of researchers made an unusual discovery in the Channel Islands off the coast of California – a small bright-purple orb. SOURCE