With so much talk about war, economy, & politics (all factors which govern how people live), there seems to be an overall tin ear turned to what’s happening in the technological world. Most people don’t bother to concern themselves with it beyond the fact that they’ll die if they don’t get their hands on the latest version of it. That’s consumerism, though, not an actual thirst for technology. & while said consumerism keeps the sheep returning to the proverbial trough for the newest flavor of whatever it is that sheep eat, companies are building devices that can achieve more than those that create them. Think about that for a moment…

The ideology behind technology is to explore, create new things, & make life easier, for the most part. It’s a necessary component for any civilization if it hopes to thrive. So it’s not surprising that technology plays a part in just about every major milestone for humankind, all throughout recorded history. Some were good, like the invention of the wheel, & some were bad, like the discovery of gunpowder. Nevertheless, that curious drive to find & discover is human nature, & that human nature is – oddly enough – the driving force behind technology constantly being pushed to new heights. 2011 is no different than any other point in history when technology plays a key role in mankind’s make over.

History (e)books in the future will read that this was the era of man when we willingly gave dominion of ourselves over to the robots & machines we’ve built. No hyperbole. Some call it laziness, others call it progress, but best believe that – unless you’re homeless or otherwise off the grid – you deal with digital & electronic devices all day long. & not for nothing, but they don’t really “need” you to do what they do. On a less grand scale, people always say they “feel naked” without their smartphone, but that’s deeper than just not remembering a phone number. We’ve become absolutely addicted to them; dependent on what information they’ll grant us access to. Quietly over the years, technology has evolved at a faster, much more aggressive rate than humankind could in a thousand years. It’s with no uncertainty that machines are smarter than humans, but as long as we can get to the “plug” before they can “get” to us, we aren’t really in any danger. But, how long will that last?

Watson, IBM’s supercomputer/Jeopardy champion, is a machine designed to help solve world problems. That task is not only too daunting for the human mind, but one has to imagine that “People” will be the main cause to one, if not most of the world’s problems. Hopefully the Three Laws Of Robotics will be deeply embedded before Watson starts exacting solutions.

Remember all those movies we watched, like The Terminator, The Running Man, 2001: A Space Odyssey, etc? Perhaps they were trying to tell us something, word to Ray Kurzweil. Not for nothing, but I’ve included the basic components one would theoretically need to begin building their own “Terminator.” If you have a couple hundred million bucks laying around, it may be a project worth investing in. Before “they” build one that accidentally kills you first.

Clear’s Mobile Wi-Fi via clear

Apple’s SIRI via apple

Dr. Anthony Atala’s Manufactured Organs via singularityhub

DAARPA’s ‘Jedi’ Prosthetic Limbs via foxnews

Zhenan Bao’s Superskin via mashable

God bless us & what not.