Overview
The lecture goes over multiple topics. One of which includes: why we don't have flying cars yet. Another includes the Machiavelli Effect, the tendency to prioritize personal gain at the expense of others, and how that affected future innovations and technology. The third one is about the prediction about the state of robotics nowadays (with AI). He also talks about a possible technological advancement of the Second Atomic Age, which would contain complete control of the structure of matter, cheap, clean, and plentiful energy, and robots and competent social decision-making.
Flying Cars Prediction Now
So, Dr. Storrs stated why he thinks we don't exactly have flying cars yet, which is due to the industrial advancement eventually wearing off and stagnating. But nowadays, now when does he think we will have flying cars? He thinks we will need the proper technology to go make it happen. Specifically with a few more companies like SpaceX and some progress towards Nano Technology. He mentioned Nano Tech could be possible by the 2040s. I don't have a great opinion of when I myself think we will have flying cars, but when flying cars happen we will definitely have an advancement in technology that is not the stage we are in right now. I mean, we don't even have elite EVs yet. Lets focus on a sustainable long-range EV first.
Thoughts
Though I don't have much of a stake in the future prediction game for technology, I like his take on why we don't currently have flying cars. There was, in a way, a stagnation of the trend of industrial innovation after the 1980s, which had been staying steady course beforehand for a long time. During the initial prediction times of the 1960s there was no reason to think it would slow down, hyper cars were happening, advancements in airplanes were happening, why not a flying car? However, industrial innovation absolutely slowed down instead of maintaining its rapid development course. I do think some other things may have gotten in the way of not having flying cars either. They would be incredibly difficult to pass through regulations in our government and to make safe for everyday consumers. Now, it's lowkey picking back up again with the AI revolution and computer technology advancing quite rapidly now. I think AI will be particularly useful for advancing technology quicker and faster due to its efficient capabilities for all kinds of resources. Personally, I think getting the government permission to make a flying car happen would take longer than creating the technology to do it. In fact, I find it very hard to believe the government would allow it. Would be incredibly dangerous in a lot of ways, especially with the history we've had in the country with flying technology. The coolest new technology we've had with cars since the 1960s is probably the electric vehicle wave that's come in over the last decade. Other than that, a lot of what's been added to cars is all for the consumer preference. A lot of advanced features, safety features, quality of life features, better gas mileage, you get the point. Nothing super revolutionary has been done or popularized until EVs came along with Tesla. A car without gas that can be charged, that's cool. There's other startups which are aiming to stake a claim in this ever growing market. You see the insane Chinese EVs which will never come to the United States, you see visionary budget EV startups like Slate. Now comes another wave of making the EVs really good and consumer friendly until a new idea comes along and takes the world by storm (maybe flying cars, maybe boat cars).
Nano Technology
Nano Technology is not a subject I am super familiar with. If Nano Technology were to be progressed upon heavily to the point where it was genuinely booming in the 2040s, society is going to be significantly different as we know it. Nano Technology involves engineering and science at the molecular level. Specifically, manipulating individual atoms and molecules to create unique properties, technology, material, and more. This is a level of technology, which much like AI in 2007, people probably cannot fathom. We will see if we actually start having Nano Technology by 2040, but if AI and computer technology starts ramping up to what it could be by 2030, that would open up a lot of possibilities for technology of this caliber. I would be very interested to see what life would be like with a Nano Technology filled world, but honestly, I like the current technology we have. I see an immense use case for that technology, but I would not want to become like the people in Wally...
