Challenges Facing Humanity

BBC News has this article titled Machines 'to match man by 2029' today. That quote is from Ray Kurzweil (who I am a big fan of). He is one of 18 influential thinkers chosen to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century by the US National Academy of Engineering. These 14 challenges were announced at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston:

• Make solar energy affordable
• Provide energy from fusion
• Develop carbon sequestration
• Manage the nitrogen cycle
• Provide access to clean water
• Reverse engineer the brain
• Prevent nuclear terror
• Secure cyberspace
• Enhance virtual reality
• Improve urban infrastructure
• Advance health informatics
• Engineer better medicines
• Advance personalised learning
• Explore natural frontiers

A lot of food for thought here, as well as possibilities for channeling the kids' future interests.