[Gerd]

To the end of this century magnets and electronics will rule the world, cars won't need a pilot anymore, droids will be common (we will be able to buy R2D2, believe me), paper won't be used anymore, Internet everywhere, flexible screens, screens everywhere full of ads and hopefully free energy for everyone (home-made production, renewables, nuclear fusion). It will be nice.

[Seaborg]

Transformer-shoes.

Think about it: imagine a woman who needs to get somewhere fancy but has to walk some distance to get there. She puts on her transformer-shoes. While she's walking, she's wearing flats or boots... while she's at the fancy place, she has to press a button and ZOOT! the shoes mechanically "pop out" a heel and otherwise transform into functional high heels.

Or, imagine a man who needs to have work shoes, but also wants to look taller than he really is. He presses a button, and ZOOT! the boots transform into *platform * boots.

Later models of transformer-shoes may even be able to turn into running shoes or rainboots!

Why would this benefit the world? Self-confidence from being taller and having cool technology... not having to bring another pair of shoes to work/school ... lets people "run" in their fancy shoes ...

[pepsivanilla93]

As learned off a Michio Kaku video, biofeedback toilets. They test your excrements while in the bowl or after flushing, whatever, and then give you a readout on your health condition. Maybe won't benefit humanity as a whole since a lot of underdeveloped countries don't have internet, but it will greatly extend your life expectancy. Imagine finding out you have cancer 3 days after you contract it. Plenty of time to treat illnesses as a lot of them will be diagnosed extremely early. As for blood illnesses, what if there were a handheld scanner that can report back the cellular situation in your blood vessels? That would be cool.

[ken07]

@wandai actually that trait is very good, as long as its done in a nice way. There are people like me who will come up with an idea, and will think about it, yet there needs to be someone there that will in a nice way say the negatives of it that way the idea can be formulated and changed to a form that will actually do good and not end up a wreck. Like the train idea moving along without rails, or an ai etc, there needs to be someone there that can fix the slop of idea put on the table and actually structure it to perfection. Thats why its good to have technicians with engineers so that the technician can pick apart the crappy parts and add to the design so that it works better or else you get a car that costs thousands of dollars to repair, or a blow dryer that gets so hot it catches fire more, or jet engines that are difficult to do maintenance on. Someone has to double check someone and vice versa, checks and balences are good, and going into the fine work is much needed. That being said, yes they might get frustrated, but if they do sit and listen, change their idea and run it again they may find that your help is much appreciated in developing it.

[MPC]

soma

while not an invention exactly the breaching of the gap between organic and mechanical thought

[slender]

nutrition that is given via water, eliminating the requirement of eating food from our daily lives. (someone already has this though, but on a small personal trial scale)

[Chernobog]

nutrition that is given via water, eliminating the requirement of eating food from our daily lives. (someone already has this though, but on a small personal trial scale)

Maybe real food would become a hobby for rich people (lab-cultivated meat and so) and/or fat people who would be addicted to it and spend all their money in food, like a drug. I love thinking about the impact of a major technological progress on society.

[merlin89]

Human BIOS, some kind of system, that would just make all the people less stupid, impossible to exploit, abuse and cheat other people ....... It is not time for inventions, we are moving too fast considering technology, while the development of human brain is not moving, people need time to catch up..... We need a new system, before the capitalism and consumerism breaks down, I am so looking forward to it, and if I will be still alive when it does I will like fucking laugh so hard whille screaming I TOLD YOU. (No I am not a communist, neither I belong to any political wave, I am just a human observing how much in shit the society is ....)

[anarchitektur]

3D printers will evolve into full-blown replicators using nanotechnology, making manufacturing plants even more a thing of the past. Goods will no longer be purchased in retail shops because they will no longer stock inventory. We will place orders for goods, and they will be produced on an "as-needed" basis. Depending on the size of the good, it will either be produced in a large-scale replicator and you will pay for both the good and a nominal "manufacturing" fee, while small-scale replicators will be the next major home appliance, right next to the fridge, where smaller goods you have purchased online will be manufactured on the fly in your own home.

[slender]

Maybe real food would become a hobby for rich people (lab-cultivated meat and so) and/or fat people who would be addicted to it and spend all their money in food, like a drug. I love thinking about the impact of a major technological progress on society.

i was thinking along the same lines. food becoming a privilege, such as meat was back in medieval Europe and restaurants becoming fairly scarce, only in higher class societies. the guy i was talking about claims incredible physical improvement, in skin color (smoother) and in endurance + mental capacities. he reportedly experienced a ridiculous improvement on running, reaching 7 miles after 4 weeks as apposed to his record of less than a mile. i would be intrigued greatly if this actually holds up for the majority of people.
How I Stopped Eating Food : Mostly Harmless