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Bookies Let You Place Your Bets On the Future!
Do you feel that you have a good idea of what will happen in the next decade (possibly as a result of reading certain future-oriented science and technology websites)? Have you wanted to profit from the time you spend reading and thinking about the future? Now's your chance.
Buzzfeed asked Alex Donohue, an oddsmaker at Ladbrokes, an English gaming house, to frame the bets and set the odds. Here are a couple, along with some articles to reference.
Google's Autonomous Car
(Google autonomous car)
The Bet: Part 1 Google’s self-driving car to be used legally within Europe/The US before 2025.
The Bet: Part 2To be the dominant form of automobile in Europe/The US before 2025.The Odds: 1/2; 25/1
“It looks to be a near-certainty that the self-driving car will be developed to the point of legal road use before 2025. It’s one of the surest tech bets around at the moment and we make no apology for offering short odds about it being implemented, due to the safety, insurance and potential climate implications, all of which look favourable. As for drivers actually being convinced to rewire their brains to appreciate and feel comfortable being driven by a computer, it seems like this will take longer. Therefore the odds suggest the traditional car will prevail for a long while yet.”
See also this article Calling Google's RoboTaxi and Google Self-Driving Car Now Commuter-Ready.
SpaceX Mars Program
(SpaceX Dragon First Private Craft To Dock With ISS)
The Bet: SpaceX to colonize Mars before 2020.The Odds: 250/1.
“This looks like an incredible longshot. Anyone brave enough to put money on this must be far more optimistic about the boundaries of space technology than we are. If we end up having to pay out on this bet, anyone who wins might scoop enough to go on a trip to Mars themselves.”
See if Elon Musk's private space venture has the space technology development curve to meet this goal. See SpaceX Grasshopper Rocket Lands On Its Tail, SpaceX Grasshopper Divert Video, SpaceX Dragon To Land On Any Planet.
See the other bets via Buzzfeed; here's the site where you can plunk your cash down Technology specials at Ladbrokes.
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Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
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Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
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Current News
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Congress Considers Automatic Emergency Braking, One Hundred Years Too Late
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The Desert Ship Sailed In Imagination
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'Betty's slapdash style.'
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There are no orbiting Michelin stars. Yet.
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'It is necessary... for your own protection.'
Amazon Will Send You Heinlein's Knockdown Cabin
'It's so light that you can set it up in five minutes by yourself...'
Is It Time To Forbid Human Driving?
'Heavy penalties... were to be applied to any one found driving manually-controlled machines.'
Replace The Smartphone With A Connected Edge Node For AI Inference
'Buy a Little Dingbat... electropen, wrist watch, pocketphone, pocket radio, billfold ... all in one.'
Artificial Skin For Robots Is Coming Right Along
'... an elastic, tinted material that had all the feel and appearance of human flesh and epidermis.'
Robot Guard Dog On Duty
I might also be thinking of K-9 from Doctor Who.
