this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2025
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[–] Justdaveisfine@midwest.social 21 points 3 days ago (4 children)

I suspect we will see a human brain to digital interface. I don't think it will be "downloading minds" or anything, but I could see someone finding a way to plug a specialized camera or mic in to have a full functioning robotic replacement part.

I'm pretty sure they already have the beginning pieces to this, but its too specialized and expensive to do anything commercial with it yet.

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[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 4 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Asteroid mining. We've had the tech to get people to the asterodi for decades, just lack the will to do it.

[–] Fleur_@aussie.zone 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Okay I've had this astroid mining concept dining around my empty skull for a while now. The way I see it is that going up to space and mining an astroid for minerals and then bringing them back down to earth will never be a worthwhile endeavour. If you're mining them in space and using the material manufacturing in space then that seems more plausible. The only way I can think of planetary based astroid mining being worthwhile is if instead of mining the rock and sending it down in crafts, you just bump the astroid so it's on a collision course with earth and then mine whatever is left from impact. In anycase, I'd say we are far off being able to mine asteroids since imo, the only worthwhile way to do it is by having the entire process in space. And we're not even close to that level of infrastructure existing in space.

[–] Kyuuketsuki@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

We can get a major shot in the arm if we can find a solid industrial use for iridium that sufficiently eclipses any other element. Or some alloy to the same effect.

Unfortunately, it's so rare that it's next to impossible to do any real amount of testing.

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[–] cronenthal@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Nuclear fusion seems increasingly achievable.

[–] cynar@lemmy.world 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They are down to 2 main problems now. The main one is (the cost of) scaling up. Fusion reactors will be more effective then bigger they are. The tiny test ones are already past break even.

The other is wall material. Apparently the radiation has an annoying ability to transmute the elements making up the wall of the reactor. They are working out a material that can maintain its bulk mechanical properties, even with random elements appearing in its internal structure.

[–] quediuspayu@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The only one I heard news about breaking even was that thing that shot a lot of lasers to a pellet. For a fraction of a second It broke even or produced slightly more than they poured in, but it was much less of what they spent.

There's been something else new?

[–] cynar@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

I saw a talk on the subject about a year back. It was discussing tokamak reactors, from an engineer working on them. The small ones can't sustain a break even state, but they are affected by the inverse square law to a larger degree. I believe China is about to start/has started construction on a power station sized test reactor.

The pellet sort are a different type. They have different pros and cons.

[–] reddig33@lemmy.world 11 points 2 days ago

Computer circuits based on light instead of electricity.

[–] Mediocre_Bard@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago (8 children)

Suicide Machines on Street Corners.

[–] barneypiccolo@lemm.ee 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

They already have them that you can carry in your pocket.

[–] sulgoth@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah but they make such a mess.

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[–] dil@lemmy.zip 7 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Ai and eeg can read brain waves generate images already kinda decent, maybe meet the robinsons memory viewer machine.

[–] MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Can we get a dream recorder, please?!

[–] dil@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

I feel like wed learn everyone has cool dreams and pivot back to skill being a thing over just imaginstion and prompts lol

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 7 points 2 days ago

Is it cheating to say AI and humanoid robots?

Anti-aging tech, if so.

[–] TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Cancer curing nanotechnology

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

Direct brain interfaces for, like, VR. So instead of a screen strapped to your face, your visual cortex is just stimulated so you see the game using your own "hardware." A literal Matrix type environment for your mind.

This is either gonna be cool and fun, or scary and evil. But it will exist.

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[–] the_q@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 days ago (2 children)

I think we can make an oven with a tiny fire breathing dinosaur in it.

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[–] Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Portable communicators. It would be slick to have a USB c tricorder though.

[–] qantravon@startrek.website 12 points 3 days ago

...you mean phones?

[–] invertedspear@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Download the Phyphox app to access your phones raw sensor data. Very much like a tricorder.

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[–] Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 5 points 3 days ago

Hold up. I'm pretty sure things that already exist don't count.

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[–] rauls5@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 days ago

Fully autonomous humanoid robots. Unfortunately with out-of-control AGI they will probably kill me.

It would have been cool to have a benign C3-PO or R2D2.

[–] lemmie689@lemmy.sdf.org 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] naught101@lemmy.world 7 points 2 days ago

This will be useful for all the people over at !leopardsatemyface@lemmy.world

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 4 points 3 days ago (18 children)
[–] troyunrau@lemmy.ca 15 points 3 days ago (9 children)

Not FTL though. Slower than light, causality preserving version? Sure.

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[–] MITM0@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

With climate change and coastal flooding, it's coming, just not in the form you're thinking of.

[–] MITM0@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] KingOfTheCouch@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 day ago

New Orleans circa Hurricane Katrina...?

[–] toynbee@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Where I grew up, there was a town that had been intentionally flooded to make a reservoir, or so my parents told me; they claimed that when the reservoir was low, you could see the top of the church steeple. At the time, I drove past the area nearly daily and would often survey the waters, but never found anything that was likely to be more than shadows or a trick of the eye. At the time, I had barely learned of climate change and so wasn't worried about it; I just liked the idea of a structurally intact, intentionally flooded city.

I just looked it up to make sure I was remembering the details correctly. It turns out that either I misremembered or my parents exaggerated. The town apparently existed and was flooded, but at the time of flooding consisted of foundations and one very tall flagpole. Apparently it's a common pastime of kayakers and the like to look for the top of the flagpole. This is probably what my parents were referring to.

Still pretty cool, though.

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[–] tal@lemmy.today 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

I would guess that we'll most-likely have AGI in 100 years. That's pretty futuristic and impactful.

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