CNN Future Summit forum

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ATLANTA (CNN) -- A new type of robot -- a small spherical microbot, able to hop, bounce and roll - is being developed that could literally provide a great leap forward in robotic exploration of our solar system's planets and moons. (Full story)

Will our future be shaped more by technological advances or social needs and desires?

Technological advances will shape the future. But humans have to have the will to see that technology is put in place.
Thomas Kavanagh, Ireland (Oct.27)

The word social implies a quality of interaction. I believe it is this interaction of mankind with his surrounding that drives the past, present and future advancement in technology.
Tze Ming, Singapore (Oct. 25)

The future will be shaped around human social needs and desires, but the best way to meets these may come from contributing technological advancement.
Louise Armstrong, Barbados (Oct.23)

On another note, years from now mankind will understand and synthesize dark energy. With this power harnessed, the dawn of deep space exploration and anti-gravity intraplanetary travel will be made possible. Dark energy by its nature may subvert the race for high-temperature superconductivity.
Steve Henney, Tokyo (Oct.20)

Science and the technology which is derived from it, will address the issue of satisfying social needs.
Jose Agustin Gonzalez, Span (Oct.18)

I do think, our future will be shaped by technology and technological behavior. Technology will be more and more a driving force for the expression of social needs and, at the same time, technology will contribute to the redistribution of wealth and its accumulation.
Carlos, Columbia (Oct.17)

The future does not lie solely in our technolgical developments but also on our social system, in particular our constant dependency on single suppliers for our energy needs. The future lies in our independece from these host-like organisations. We, the consumers, are like parasites upon them creating a never ending cycle of inter-dependency. With technology, we can advance to a new era of independence with local based energy networks set up like the internet by home owners. I'm talking about autonomous housing networks supported by the current infrastructure which could also possibly generate an income for the home owner and save money for the energy supplier. The problem lies with the current model of of the basic home. It needs to be changed radically. Those changes don't necessarily mean that it should be any more expensive to build either.
Adam White, Germany (Oct.16)

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