Future is now - 1 ª Season

Dreams of human immortality may remain so, but extending our lives beyond 100, even 150 years, can soon become a reality. 'The Future is Now' explores ground-breaking technology that might help us to slow down the aging process and overcome our physical limitations. 3D-printing of brand new human organs, controlling bionic prosthetic with your mind, or invading your body with disease-fighting micro-robots. Hosts Kate and Talish bring you the latest developments in bio-medical engineering. Learn what artificial organs have to do with gravity, or see how the world appears to blind people who have had their vision restored with bionic eyes and a chip. Hear from researchers and futurists about their predictions and warnings regarding the future of science.

Robots have long been indispensable in many areas of life, and with each passing year more and more jobs traditionally performed by humans are being passed on to robots. It's only a matter of time before intelligent and resilient robots work as teachers, TV presenters, doctors, and even go into space. But as robots become increasingly sophisticated and human-like, futurologists and robotic engineers are trying to think of ways to prevent our indispensable helpers from turning into our fierce rivals in the existential struggle.

Avant-garde trends like molecular gastronomy offer us a glimpse of what the future of food may hold. Given Earth's growing population, we'll have to come up with something much more innovative than that. While farmers are perfecting the art of growing giant vegetables, people in lab coats are growing test-tube meat that could one day make cows obsolete. New-age farmers are betting on protein-rich fly larvae, but who knows, maybe the culinary future lies in virtual eating?

Scientists agree that the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) we're witnessing right now is nothing short of the emergence of a new non-organic life form. The question is: will it make us better off, or will it pose a threat to humanity? These days we're benefiting from AI technologies behind self-driving cars, digital HR managers, and medical robots operating on humans. In the future, when AI develops learning abilities and master emotions, machines will start thinking (and acting) on a larger scale - and, perhaps, they won't need humans to guide them anymore.

Today, it's hard to imagine our lives without gadgets and high-tech devices serving our every need - from smartphones to smart homes. Controlling them is sometimes a daunting task. In the future, their number should only grow, so engineers are looking for ways to optimize their use through universal control devices like rings or bracelets, ruling an army of apps and gadgets through hand gestures. Microchips implanted in our bodies are another option to help us compete with AI.