Well I like to think technologically we are headed towards the world of Star Trek but at the rate things have been going lately I'm expecting to start hearing

"Drink Brawndo.. It's got electrolytes!"

I'm thinking the future might be more like the movie 'Idiocracy' lol

Like crap

First and foremost, better sex robots. (I'm only half joking.) More VR and AR applications, with more practical wearable tech. I don't think we'll see anything more integrated than wearable tech (glasses or contact lenses, possibly, with an audio component) in terms of tech and biology mashups. More automation in every sector, with more advanced AI, resulting in widespread unemployment at almost every level, necessitating a major shift in how the economy works. (I'm expecting a full economic collapse at some point, unless political leaders take this seriously and find ways to mitigate the effects before the tipping point.) I'm unsure whether self-driving cars will be the standard in 2030, but they'll be prevalent. More voice command in computer systems, I suspect.

If I had the money I would be developing personal and family sized water distillation units, or those that can draw water from the atmosphere, or both. In fact that may be my next project, I have pretty much seen the beginning of the changes necessary to our electricity grid here, they will be implemented in eh next 5 years. I am working on our communications network over 2 more weeks, but I feel I am doomed to achieve nothing on this one. Then I start working on water suppliers, Australia will have massive water infrastructure issues over the next 10-20 years as equipment needs replacing and the dependent populations so large. I don't use most of the technology that is available, I got my first smart phone last year, I only phone and send text messages with it, I don't put it on the net. I can use all this stuff, I just choose not to as it is not necessary for my lifestyle. To give an indication where I think technology is going, I am about to enroll in studies for cyber security.

Robotics in all forms is advancing rapidly. Tiny motors, postage stamp computers and light weight, high strength materials and precision motion assemblies are moving us in that direction. More things will be done with less people. Artificial intelligence will remove much of the human factor from safety devices in automobiles, other forms of transportation and in home and workplace appliances. The middle class may be gone altogether leaving a deep and very clear divide between the haves and have nots. More chronic diseases will be conquered, but also more viruses and bacterial infections will become resistant to common remedies. Major political alliances will be at odds with each but war will not be an issue as robotic defenses will result in a grand standoff between the biggest players. Space travel will be routine as mining on the moon gets underway and a Mars expedition creates its first foothold on the red planet. I will be a little older and very amazed at how far off the mark my predictions of the future were.

Hopefully I won't become more out of touch more than I already am. I depend on young people to help me operate my iPhone, McBook, my Fire Stick, and even my thermostat. If I could afford it I would like to fly around the Moon. I expect mild shock that increases in duration and voltage when I fail to put my seat belt on I think maybe there will be even smaller and greater quality sound systems. Cars that drive on there own, and then how will the government replace their DUI income? Change will come and I hope it helps us with health issues, so I can live long enough to see all the change.

I'm the worst person to ask. I thought 3-D was going to be the next big thing. With that caveat, I think that hovering cars are less than a decade away. They may not be common by then, but you will see more and more public transportation moving that direction.

Funny you should ask, silvereyes, I was just thinking about that at lunch. First off we will find a lot more ways to kill each other because the technology has allowed paranoia to expand exponentially and is upping the ante on fear.

I see that most technology has and will continue to create more problems than it solves. When someone has a problem caused by some poor habit, like smoking, technology comes along and relieves that person of taking personal responsibility. Take a pill or get treated. Technology allows more of us to live and replaces taking the social responsible way to deal with problems (like limiting our numbers to a sustainable number - we need more technology in family planning not in Intra-vitro fertilization). Instead of finding more environmentally responsible ways of living with 'peak oil' we discover 'fracking' and bath in oil and all the problems it creates. The formula I=PAT (Impact equals Population X Activity X Technology) still applies more than ever!

terminator is highly possible. we are in the technological age that is speeding up and speeding everything up good and bad.

Interactive Holographic television projection for viewing and playing games. Instead of going on a sea cruise, a space cruise to the moon and back.

I think human integration with tech will continue. AIs, of course, are on the rise and are already interacting with us. This will probably progress to a point where it will be difficult to know whether you're dealing with a person or an AI. Sex robots (read about them yet?) are here and will only improve if that business grows. I suspect they will outgrow their role as a sex companion, possibly to a point where they could replace a human partner (weird, huh?). Nano technology is also improving and we will likely see it in medical science, perhaps nanobots in our bloodstreams targeting and destroying cancer and other harmful cells. We'll see continued improvements in consumer electronics like TVs, sound systems, VR/gaming. In transportation (and I posted about this once already) I believe ET3 (Evacuated Tube Transport Technology) and Elon Musk's Hyperloop will become a reality. This will cause a disruption of existing mass transit and cargo transport worldwide. It will be a true paradigm shift that will "shrink" the world by many factors (ET3 claims to be able to achieve speeds of between 4-6K, MPH). Imagine living in LA and commuting to DC, or even HI for work. Cars will still be around, especially in the US, but they will be relegated to "last mile or first mile" leg of a trip. You'll take your car to the Tube Transport complex much as you do to the airport now, but would do so for any significant distance travel. These are a few things I think will happen. Oh, I think that as Humankind learns more and more about the genome, we will learn to manipulate it in order to filter out genetic flaws resulting in longer lifespans and healthier lives. Who knows, the key to biological immortality could be in there someplace. =]

Nanotechnology that is in now in R&D will mature into transformational commercial use. Can you imagine the following?

1. Surgery as we know it will be obsolete because programmed nano machines will be swallowed like a pill or injected. Once inside the body they will travel to a programmed location to precisely remove a tumor, remove plaque from veins and arteries, repair damaged tissue, organs and bones or deliver medication!

2. Say goodbye to painful dental procedures like drilling cavities, root canals, gum surgery, and braces. All of this will be done using nano dentistry painlessly and quickly. Teeth can be reposition within minutes or hours!

3. Nano fiber technology will allow you to change the color of any painted surface or fabric. So you will be able to push a button and change the color of your car, house exterior, interior, carpeting and furniture to any color or complex design that you desire. Military equipment will be able to instantly blend into their surroundings accomplishing the stealth mode seen on the movie "Predator"!

4. Say goodby to picking sizes for clothing. Nano tube technology will enable fabrics to stretch or shrink to fit any body!

5. Say goodbye to the electrical grid. Nano generator technology will enable the paint on your car or house to generate enough electricity to recharge home and car batteries that will power devices and motors meeting any transportation or domestic functional needs!

This list of 5 nano applications is just the tip of the iceberg! See the links below for sources.

[ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

[en.wikipedia.org]

Specific predictions: Self driving cars and self driving long haul trucks will be the norm. There will be more direct human-tech interfaces, possibly embedded devices and / or brain wave reading sensors which will enable medical advances and automation. Targeted gene therapies will be available possibly curing some types of cancer and autoimmune diseases. More will be known about how bacteria works inside the gut and how that is interfaced to the brain enabling more medical advances and possible cures for obesity and other addictions. VR sex for sure if not realistic humanoid robots for both sex and companionship. Plus other stuff TBD.

Of course we might blow ourselves up at any time...

Technology will continue to advance at a faster and faster pace, more and more workers will be displaced, the gulf between the socioeconomic classes is will widen. The tech will be cool but the social implications will not be.

Check out Player Piano, "Player Piano is the first novel of American writer Kurt Vonnegut, published in 1952. It depicts a dystopia of automation, describing the negative impact it can have on quality of life.[1] The story takes place in a near-future society that is almost totally mechanized, eliminating the need for human laborers. This widespread mechanization creates conflict between the wealthy upper class—the engineers and managers who keep society running—and the lower class, whose skills and purpose in society have been replaced by machines."

The specific technology is all wrong of course. However, the idea of a small group of people more or less running everything is not. It is happening already...

[en.wikipedia.org]

Nano technology will be changing the world,and about half of the politico will be for campaign spending reform. and so on and so forth......

I am pessimistic. If it looks remotely like Mad Max, I would consider us lucky.

I'm wondering if we arn't over due for another dark age. Maybe the only technology that will work will be rocks and pointed sticks.

I'm hoping we'll get out of the infant stages of cybernetic and bio-electric engineering and start actually gaining ground. Robots able to walk with muscle systems designed after our own, augmentations to make us think faster or see farther. Computers modeled after our own neural networks alone would be exponentially smarter than anything we have now.

The technological singularity is coming, but not that early I think.

A big floating orb in space?

More a more, technology is failing because of the 80% solution in programing that is compounding over time. Imagine an AI toaster deciding to hop into the tub with you because it thinks you felt a chill. Eventually, we will have to defend ourselves against our own poorly programed appliances.

We would have quantum computers being used more by big business. Graphene would be a more factory produced product and we are able to produce large amounts of it to better electric vehicles. And we might see the navy's rail gun in action by then. Oooorr we all died from ww3

I think things will start slowing . Take for instance the cell phone. How many times a year do you have to upgrade the damn thing? Or your computer, after a year it's pretty much obsolete. So I think technology in the next 12 years will be slightly at a standstill and we'll just be upgrading all the old crap.