Hypothetical technology you couldn't adjust to.

DoPo

"You're not cleared for that."
Jan 30, 2012
8,665
0
0
MrDeckard said:
The only piece of tech I wouldn't wholeheartedly embrace would be robots.

Call me paranoid, but if Microsoft can't even get Vista to work, I don't even want to think of what will happen when they make an OS for millions of super-strong metal people.
Erm, robots exist. And they are widely used in the world. Also, for quite a while, it's not a recent thing. Well, not the "metal humans" (frankly, the whole "metallic humanoid" concept for robots always seemed flawed to me) and not all have anything that can be called intelligence, but robots exist. The reason why you haven't heard of the apocalypse is that generally, the people writing software for robots are slightly better and don't tend to leave bugs that can legally vote [http://fudzilla.com/home/item/23684-microsoft-fixes-20-year-old-bug] in their software.

Well, after soothing your fears somewhat, see this:

 

winginson

New member
Mar 27, 2011
297
0
0
I would be OK with the no privacy time window thing. Most people would be watching celebs and politicians, not me. Anyone who wants to see me naked is seriously messed up, to the point of I don't really care what they do.

I have no problems with teleportation because as far as I am concerned, an exact mental and physical copy of me is me.

Probally full VR with ability to network with other humans. The idea that somebody else could hack into my immersive world or delete parts of my memory is scary.
 

ElPatron

New member
Jul 18, 2011
2,130
0
0
I can't adjust myself to cellphones.

We can't live without them now, but 20 years ago we did not need them so badly.
 

The Code

New member
Mar 9, 2010
279
0
0
I'd have to go with the VR hubs that were at the end of the OP. Part of the fun of visiting a foreign land is the act of getting there. I think it detracts from the joy of experiencing that new place if there's minimal to no working towards it besides turning on a machine or driving down the street to a VR parlor.
 

HardkorSB

New member
Mar 18, 2010
1,477
0
0
Tilted_Logic said:
Well, regardless of how they intended the technology to be used in the book, the means by which you'd actually view the past was widely available and extremely small (to the point where people got eye implants so they could watch the past whenever they desired). There was no regulation, because as far as I recall anyone could get their hands on the device. I read the book a while ago, so I'm a little rusty on specifics, but I do know that pretty much everyone and their brother had the time viewer in some form or another to the point where no one really controlled it anymore.
You know what? That would be awesome.
I mean, everyone would have access to every piece of history. We could learn how the world really was millenia ago, we could see how life began, we could see how or if the universe came to being, every single historical fact could be objectively verified etc.
Humanity would drastically change after that. The things that we care about today, our values, priorities, the current model of society, how we live our lives, that would probably change. For the better, in my opinion.
 

Burs

New member
Jan 28, 2011
134
0
0
Doitpow said:
Internet in your brain. Sounds great but I will never get it until consumption driven capitalism is well and truly dead.
I'm not a raving left winger, but even the IDEA that a corporation could advertise IN MY BRAIN makes me want to vomit.
Watch the second episode of "Black Mirror" or read "Feed" if you disagree, not saying it'll sway you against brain computers, but you'll at least see what I'm so scared of.

Also could you imagine what it would be like to have a twitbook/facetter account.

"Simon de Montfort wants to be your friend!" flashing in your mind!

Headaches, concussion and seizures caused by hundreds of people poking your brain!

Chaos! Madness! Coffee!
 
Aug 1, 2010
2,768
0
0
DoPo said:
MrDeckard said:
The only piece of tech I wouldn't wholeheartedly embrace would be robots.

Call me paranoid, but if Microsoft can't even get Vista to work, I don't even want to think of what will happen when they make an OS for millions of super-strong metal people.
Erm, robots exist. And they are widely used in the world. Also, for quite a while, it's not a recent thing. Well, not the "metal humans" (frankly, the whole "metallic humanoid" concept for robots always seemed flawed to me) and not all have anything that can be called intelligence, but robots exist. The reason why you haven't heard of the apocalypse is that generally, the people writing software for robots are slightly better and don't tend to leave bugs that can legally vote [http://fudzilla.com/home/item/23684-microsoft-fixes-20-year-old-bug] in their software.

Well, after soothing your fears somewhat, see this:

I should have been more specific. I meant I, Robot style, humanoid ones with true AI and decision making built on a world wide level.

As you said, current robots are have very little in the way of complex AI. Most are just imitators at this point or controlled directly by human input.

And even the ones that have that are just a few prototypes, so I'm not worried.
 

Dimitriov

The end is nigh.
May 24, 2010
1,215
0
0
Your book's horrible hypothetical technology for one.

Also e-books (I hate not having a physical copy of something that I apparently own), cybernetics, true AI, and I am sure there are more.


Many people, and it seems frighteningly common in the most recent generations, have this idiotic notion that any change is progress, and therefore a good thing.

Which is bollocks (also it's a fairly recent idea largely formed by enlightenment thinkers in the 18th century, it is not some self evident truth, just a cultural idea that has been ingrained in western society for a mere 250 or so years).


I don't fear change itself, some change is always inevitable and a part of life, but that doesn't mean every change is good. You can indeed change things for the worse.
 

fezzthemonk

New member
Jun 27, 2009
105
0
0
I'm looking forward to all this future technology. Though that might be because as soon as i can get into space by my self, I'm leaving this planet and exploring till i die. I have the feeling that given enough time and nanobots, i can create life.
 

renegade7

New member
Feb 9, 2011
2,046
0
0
HardkorSB said:
Tilted_Logic said:
You can view anything from the past.

Anytime, anywhere. You know what this means? It means if your neighbour is a pervert, he can watch when you undressed last night. Rabid fans could watch their favorite stars make love. Every single embarrassing and personal moment of your life is available to anyone with the inclination.
Haven't read that but I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't let just anyone use that thing and even if they did, I imagine that it would be rather expensive (if not the equipment itself then the energy used to open that window) so unless your perverted neighbor has some shares in Apple, I don't think he could watch you.
But if everyone had access to it all the time, there would surely be some laws and regulations for it. Plus, it would be nice if no one could ever lie about something and get away with it. Imagine how politics would look :) I think that in the long run, it would be a change for the better.
Also, I don't care about someone watching me take a shower, or even fuck. Call me crazy but I just don't.

As for the topic, I think that I am intelligent enough to learn how to use even the most sophisticated of human inventions and I can adapt to pretty much any living conditions and lifestyle.
It's just a hypothetical....

OT: Well when the whole motion control fad started it really bugged me...I was worried that I might never again be able to relax with the controller in my lap while I played games, but would have to hold a Wii Remote or a Sony Move at an awkward angle to keep it pointed at the screen for hours on end. Fortunately my fears have now been assuaged.
 

AM City Watch

New member
Nov 10, 2010
86
0
0
My view of futuretech is rather heavily influenced by Transmetropolitan. It's a universe where there's a major fast-food chain specializing in clone-grown human meat, advertisements come in tight bursts of light and sound than unspool into your dreams, and auto-cannibalism memes are used in terrorists attacks.

It's also a universe where it's possible to pick up a bag of anti-cancer trait on your way back from buying cigarettes, home-appliance nanoforges can produce anything from clothes to food, and energy is free and infinite, because Mercury is covered in solar panels.

I doubt our own future will be quite so dramatic, but I'm willing to take the bad along with the good.
 

The Heik

King of the Nael
Oct 12, 2008
1,568
0
0
Tilted_Logic said:
Anyway, long story short, it got me thinking; is there some sort of technological advancement or a great change the next generation is simply born into, that you don't think you could come to terms with or accept?
Be it something as widely detailed as cybernetics; humans being implanted with technology used to enhance or correct the body (yay for Deus Ex!) - to virtual reality hubs that allow us to explore the world safely, removing the inclination to actually go outside and see things for ourselves.
Hate to point this out, but we already have cybernetics. It's just not in the way you think. Things like vaccines, dental implants, and skeletal reinforcement struts are artificially created compounds that exist in your body for extended periods of time, letting you exist in environs and situations that you wouldn't be able to normally aka rudimentary cybernetics. Most of industrialized society are and have been cyborgs for a long time, it's simply not as "animated" as we'd expect.

OT: I really can't think of any technological advancement that I'd couldn't cope with. The fact that I was raised to embrace change notwithstanding, Any technology that manages to run the whole gamut of safety/legality testing will likely be beneficial in the long run (give or take teething problems).

Take for example the "Time Window" technology. Yes there is a chance that people can abuse it, but I really don't think that's likely. First of all, ripping a window in time can't be an easy thing. It would require and significant amount of energy and resources to pull off, which would limit it's occurrence to a handful of implementations. Moreso, I doubt that just anyone could access it, as just looking into someone's past willy-nilly would be a major breach of privacy, resulting in the offender being arrested and the invention's company being sued into the ground. It'd most likely be reserved for recording significant historical moments or things in which the judicial system is involved (crimes and the like). So the likelyhood of having someone look into your private life would be highly unlike, unless you've either broken the law or have done something of particular note that would necessitate clarification.

Besides, I'd point out that most everything we do nowadays is monitored to some extent anyways. It's not like you'd really be any less exposed at this current moment than with the time window tech if someone really put their mind to watching what you do.
 

putowtin

I'd like to purchase an alcohol!
Jul 7, 2010
3,452
0
0
generals3 said:
You won't ever get me to use e-books so you don't even need hypothetical technology for something i won't ever adjust to. I like my reading material in paper, thankyouverymuch.
this

Vault101 said:
not having physical copies of my games...
yeah I dont like digital distribution...so what *grumble*
and this

and I really really really don't like (won't use the term hate) 3D, it's shit!
 

Saulkar

Regular Member
Legacy
Aug 25, 2010
3,142
2
13
Country
Canuckistan
For me it would definitely have to be the equivalent of a psychic network connecting all people and all computers together vie electronics. I find the idea very terrifying. Something mirrored in Romantically Apocalyptic.
ENTRY: 377:

For several months of torture, the Directorate kept me in their offices, making me file paperwork on their "test subjects", all while I kept sending applications to the "Dead Zone tourism" branch, to get away from towering cubes of the Directorate, away from cities and transmitter towers that were slowly frying my brain.

Centuries of industrial pollution were inevitably changing the biosphere of our world and the Directorate knew it better than anyone, yet they did nothing to stop it, profit had to be maximized, production had to be increased, customers had to be satisfied. Holes in the ozone layer, irreversible changes in the atmosphere, radioactive fallout, wild-life mutations, the days growing darker and the sky turning black - none of this mattered to them.
These changes must have been so gradual that no single generation was able to protest it.
Everyone was happily, playfully, and joyfully ignoring the world outside of the protectorate city Domes and Directorate Cubes. Why bother with the environmental damage reports when the latest celebrity trends are so exciting?
Mercury in the atmosphere?
Pff, Fred Mercuro X just released his latest album available for download straight into your brain!
Satisfied and spoon-fed by ANNET 24-7 people begun to forget what the outside looked like.

The Directorate sold the Dead Zone as "Entertainment" and great fun was had by all, exploring ruined landscapes and documenting "strange beasts of the wastelands" on your mind-pad.


ENTRY: 398:

My transfer is finally approved! Such Joy.
Ironically, my only relief from my daydreams and nightmares is the Dead Zone. There are no ANNET transmitter towers in the Zone, except for the mobile transmitter in the All Terrain Vehicle, but it works like ass and the tourists whine about how they can't constantly mind-text to each other and have to resort to the "outdated" methods of "moving your lip muscles to communicate".

I will show you the World.
Scorched earth, shattered splendor.
Tell me, tourists, now when did
You last let your hearts decide?

I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
From the mountains of garbage,
To the glowing green seas.

A whole new world
Where the dead cities sleep.
We shall visit them now,
On an all terrain vehicle ride.
 

BlackWidower

New member
Nov 16, 2009
783
0
0
Digital Distribution. I'm simply not used to it. I believe, if I give you money, I should get something out of it. Either you do something for me, or you put something in my hand. What do I get if I buy a song on iTunes? I don't get to hold it in my hand, I know that.
 

Alcamonic

New member
Jan 6, 2010
747
0
0
This cloud system. I like to have my work and pictures on a least one portable hdd or usb memory.

I use it of course, but always an unplugged backup somewhere.