Predicting the Future

Visions of the future don't just have to come from science fiction. There's very real technology today giving us clues about how our future lives might be transformed. So what might our future look like? And what does it take for an idea about the future to become a reality? In this hour, TED speakers make some bold predictions and explain how we might live in the future.

Technology leader Nicholas Negroponte, who accurately predicted some of the most prevalent devices we use to day — back in 1984, explains how he makes predictions. Tissue engineer Nina Tandon explains how we'll be able to grow replacement organs from our very own cells. Software CEO Richard Resnick shows how cheap and fast genome sequencing is about to turn health care (even insurance and politics) upside down. Marc Goodman, head of Future Crimes Institute, paints a portrait of a grave future, in which technology's rapid development could allow crime to take a turn for the worse. Todd Humphreys, director of the University of Texas at Austin's Radionavigation Laboratory, forecasts the near-future of geolocation when millimeter-accurate GPS "dots" will enable you to find pin-point locations, index-search your physical possessions — or to track people without their knowledge. Stanford University research professor and Google Fellow Sebastian Thrun considers driverless cars, which he says will not only revolutionize how we get around, but also save lives.

Learn more or listen again to this week's episode, which originally aired September 15, 2013.

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