We’ve gone so far, what with our electric cars, slick smartphones, virtual realities, stem cell treatments, and organ transplants. But we’re humans and that means we always want more.
Here are some of the as-yet-not-invented technologies, both possible and impossible, that we’re all wishing for.
1. Teleportation
As we all need to go to different places all the time, you can just imagine how much of a game changer teleportation would be if it ever sees the light of day.
Airports, piers, and bus station could all be converted to teleport pod stations, where international tele-travel can still be regulated with passports and visas. Teleports that are more local may be done through personal pods that can be installed in homes, offices, parks, and malls.
Roads, bridges, and freeways will be rendered obsolete but would perhaps still be used for nostalgic purposes.
The only downside to this exciting technology could be the fact that, theoretically at least, teleportation involves breaking down our earthly bodies on a cellular level and then reconstructing them to another place exactly as they were. If you feel kind of uncomfortable with the idea of being blasted into a million microscopic pieces then reassembled somewhere else, you’re probably not the only one.
Still and all, the impact that teleportation could make in travel, interaction, and efficiency is virtually immeasurable.
2. Time Travel
Endlessly explored in movies, books, comics, TV shows, and everyday conversations, nothing sparks more interest, excitement, and debate than time travel. Though virtually impossible the way we envision it, as in going to the past and meeting our young parents and correcting our mistakes, or going to the future to see our aged friends and highly evolved civilizations, time travel is, in very loose terms, something we do every day.
We’re talking to somebody in the past when we’re in New York and chatting with somebody in Los Angeles. We’re witnessing something that’s happening in the future when we’re in Vancouver and watching a tennis match in Sydney.
If it’s true that we can’t change the past because we can’t disrupt the time-space continuum, then perhaps the closest we can get to traveling through time is to merely experience the past, as opposed to altering it. And if experience entails the engagement of the five senses, then time travel may be possible through VR or virtual reality.
After languishing in development hell for far too long, VR technology has matured considerably over the last few years, and if putting that headset on enables us to be virtually in another place, then why not in another time?
All it takes is a faithful and painstaking reproduction of a certain place at a certain time. Load that program, strap on the headset and you’re virtually there, maybe even with cars and people donning that period’s fashion, if your device has enough RAM.
Want to relive the day you proposed to your partner? All it takes is a 3D render of your other half, their synthesized voice, a script of what they said (or at least how you remember it), and you’re well on your way to reliving that one sweet day.
Is this time travel? Not exactly. But if you want to travel through time just to experience something you’ve gone through before, then it may be enough.
3. Humanlike Androids
We all dream about having that perfect assistant who does everything we ask it to efficiently, doesn’t get emotional, and gladly works for free. We all need that godsend aide in the office to take care of our appointments and paperwork, or at home to keep the house clean, take care of the laundry, or maybe even cook us delicious meals.
The good news is that the android assistants we're dreaming about may not be impossible after all. Great strides have been made in the field of artificial intelligence, and all we’re waiting for now are the corresponding giant leaps in robotics so we can finally give Alexa and Siri the humanlike body they need so they can tackle physical tasks.
This technology can help us do more with less time, and maybe even address problems of loneliness and depression, as these artificial lifeforms also have the potential of providing companionship and entertainment. In the same way that home video, the internet, and virtual reality had its development accelerated by sex-related applications, you can bet a tech company will be working hard to develop sex dolls that are extremely realistic and lifelike, it may render the world’s oldest profession obsolete.
4. Miniaturization
As shown in the movie Downsizing, miniaturization could be a real viable solution to overpopulation, and could provide much needed relief for financially challenged people.
We would, at least theoretically, be using just a fraction of the earth’s natural resources, and as humorously shown in the movie, be able to afford life’s otherwise elusive luxuries.
The film also shows that despite the promise of a fresh start, a lot of mankind’s social issues can still persist even in a miniaturized state, such as racial discrimination and the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor. One can also imagine that, as a new form of society, there could also be unemployment, skills shortages, and lack of transportation. More importantly, miniaturized humans could be facing a slew of new health threats as our new small sizes can make us vulnerable to viruses and bacteria that are otherwise harmless to us at our current size.
Is it possible? Probably not. Also worth noting is that if literally all people undergo miniaturization, we can say that it’s like the earth had undergone enlargement. Somehow, that sounds better and safer.
5. Astral Projection
This one is more in the realm of the paranormal, but if indeed proven possible, it would be nice to have a gadget that eliminates the need for meditation and instantly separates our astral body to roam free anywhere in the world.
Armed with what we see in the movies, we can all vividly imagine our astral selves gliding through the air, traveling to faraway cities all over the world, perhaps even meeting others going on similar astral adventures. It’s been said that such journeys engage our five senses at an extreme level, making us see, hear, taste, smell, and feel like we never have before.
Being detached from our physical bodies means we can’t interact with the world, and our presence can’t be sensed. But most of us probably wouldn’t mind, because traveling at the speed of thought experiencing the world with heightened senses would certainly be more than enough.
The biggest concern is obviously safety. We’ve watched too many horror stories of astral tourists unable to return to their physical vessels, or having their bodies stolen and being inhabited by other souls, or worse, demons. We can only hope that if and when technology-induced astral projection becomes available on a consumer level, the tech is mature enough and can guarantee 100% safety. Just a minor bug can result in major disaster, like death or disembodiment.
6. Jet Packs
Who wouldn’t love having one of these bad boys strapped on their backs, darting and swooshing through the air like Superman?
You may already know that jet packs do exist, albeit only in prototype form. There’d been many instances when this unique form of transportation had been made by different countries but has been proven impractical. The engine requires obscene amounts of fuel, its considerable weight bears down heavily on the rider, and most importantly, our bodies are not suited for flight, especially at speeds we imagine the jet packs to operate.
But technology forever marches on and time may come when jet packs will eventually be a practical solution for travel. An engine that runs on electricity or solar power may be a viable solution, encased in a light package and comes with a body suit that makes the human body suitable for high-speed flight.
It may initially be something people do for fun, but will transition to becoming a legitimate form of transportation, even if only for short distances, the way public bikes and scooters are currently deployed and used by the public.
7. Flying Cars
These conceptual airborne vehicles have sparked our imagination ever since automobiles and airplanes co-existed, and why wouldn’t they? The idea instantly solves everyday problems like traffic jams, rocky roads, and flat tires.
It’s a tantalizing possibility considering the fact that a handful of automakers are already hard at work, doing their best in trying to make the dream a reality. Flying cars don’t share the same problems and challenges that come with jet packs, as these vehicles are more similar to helicopters in terms of form and function.
Safety is still the most pressing concern. But with the rapid development of self-driving artificial intelligence, it may not be long before we find ourselves riding a self-driven collision-free smart flying car to work while we’re having our breakfast, grooming ourselves, or maybe even getting a few more minutes of sleep.
8. Dream Recording
We’ve all had those wonderful dreams that we wished would never end, or dreams that so quickly fall from our grasp that we strain to remember the details. Wouldn’t it be so cool if we had a device that could record our dreams and we could play them back any time we want?
Our dreams often venture into the realm of the impossible, and it would be so exciting and enlightening to see them when we’re awake, the way we saw them when we were asleep. We would probably see details we didn’t notice before and repeated viewings may help us make better interpretations of how these visions relate to our lives (if you’re into that sort of thing).
The fact that our dreams can be played back means we can show them to our friends, and it would naturally be more interesting to them if they’re in it.
At its essence, it’s merely a documentation of our visualized thoughts and as such, does not really pose any sort of harm, apart maybe from the dangers of being addicted to watching and rewatching our favorite dreams that it disrupts our daily lives.
Is it possible? Let’s just say that this kind of technology can probably happen only in our dreams.
9. Injectable Computers
The mere concept of having electronics lurking inside our bodies can scare the living daylights out of even the most tech-savvy among us but consider these benefits: you can google anything without any gadget, you don’t need special glasses to experience augmented reality, you don’t need earphones to listen to music, and you don’t need a phone to make a call.
Why? Because the computer-music player-mobile phone is inside of you, in some ways, an enhancement of you, and in a lot of ways, a part of you.
It seems logical that the next step we take from wearable tech would be injectable tech, and though it’s still very much in the realm of science fiction, the accelerated development of nanotechnology can take it into the realm of possibility sooner rather than later.
Inserting objects inside the human body in the name of improvement is nothing new. Many among us are sporting pacemakers, metal plates, and bone screws—objects that are significantly larger than some of the nanocomputer prototypes already in existence.
What could potentially pose a threat is connecting this microdevice to our bodily peripherals, like our monitor (eyes), controllers (limbs), power supply (heart), and co-processor (brain). These involve fragile organic connections and a regular USB interface just won’t do.
But just imagine the possibilities: all the knowledge in the world just a thought away, getting all the answers to your questions simply by thinking about them, and being able to talk to (or maybe even see) anybody in any country at any time without the need for any device. To say that such a technology could change the world would be the grossest of all understatements.
10. Anti-Aging Implements
We’ve all been obsessed, or at the very least, enchanted by the idea of eternal youth. From The Picture of Dorian Gray to endless tales about fountains of youth, the battle against aging had been raging on, perhaps ever since a caveman first spotted wrinkles in his reflection in the river.
There has never been a shortage of ant-aging products, from simple face creams to expensive procedures that sometimes resulted in more than a few botched jobs, celebrities not exempted. There’d been diets, exercises, lifestyles, and even rituals, all purported to make one look younger.
It is because of this immensely high demand that scientific breakthroughs designed to help us win the war against aging once and for all could be just around the corner. The promise of a lucrative payout has motivated companies large and small to come up with that ever-elusive elixir of youth.
Anti-aging may popularly refer to ways to make us look young, but we can also make it to be about how the advancement of medicine has considerably lengthened our life expectancy. May this trend continue until we all can live until we’re older than a hundred.
And with even more hi-tech anti-aging creams and procedures, no one will ever notice.
11. Communicating With The Departed
Just like astral projection, this has more to do with the paranormal than technology. Talking to our departed loved ones would usually conjure scenes of seances and Ouija boards. But recent scientific constructs like multiverses and portals suggest that maybe the spirit world is not so impossible after all, and as such, may not be unreachable as well.
Almost all of us have a deceased loved one we’d love to talk to, either because we need some important information or just because we miss them so much. If we can do that at will, then not only can we fill our loved one’s absence, but more importantly, we can answer one of the greatest and most contentious mysteries of all time—that there is indeed life after death.
Many advocates and seers say they can do it right now, but with so many hoaxes being exposed regularly, it’s hard not to be cynical. Scientists may not even know where to begin to make this come true, but if ever it does, just imagine being able to communicate with your departed loved ones any time you choose.
We may even get new songs from John Lennon, new plays from William Shakespeare, and new insights from Aristotle.
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