The trend in recent "innovations" where the main focus is powering something with a battery (usually a large lithium-ion battery), turning something into an autonomous pod, or a combination of both. The thing that's being innovated usually works better without a battery or operated by a human being. Coined by Justin Rozniak on the Well There's Your Problem podcast.
"dude did you hear about the next thing Elon Musk is doing? he's going to transport people underground in battery-powered autonomous pods!"
"bro istg we're heading into the battery autonomous future"
"bro istg we're heading into the battery autonomous future"
by theryrover360 April 3, 2024
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Get the Back to the Future-ing mug.The next-gen stuff that materials scientists are actually dreaming about in labs today—the stepping stones before the full-on singularity weirdness. This includes room-temperature superconductors that revolutionize power grids, graphene and carbon nanotubes enabling space elevators, aerogels with insane strength-to-weight ratios, meta-materials that bend sound or light in impossible ways, and smart alloys with memory shapes. They push the boundaries of known physics but still operate within the rulebook, offering tangible, world-changing applications within a conceivable future.
Example: "The new bike isn't carbon fiber; it's woven from future materials—a boron nitride nanotube composite that's lighter than air but stiffer than diamond, with piezoelectric threads in the frame that convert vibration into power for the embedded lights."
by Dumuabzu January 29, 2026
Get the Future Materials mug.The broad portfolio of life-altering innovations on our horizon, from the plausible to the speculative. This encompasses viable fusion reactors, general artificial intelligence, effective gene editing therapies, advanced robotics, brain-computer interfaces, and megascale engineering. Unlike Singularity tech, future technologies have theoretical roadmaps and active research; they're the things we see coming but haven't quite mastered. They promise (or threaten) to reshape society, work, and what it means to be human within the next 50-100 years.
Example: "My grandpa's 'future technology' was the microwave oven. Mine is the neural lace that lets me stream knowledge directly to my brain, though right now I mostly use it to memorize pizza menus and win at trivia night." Future Technologies
by Dumuabzu January 29, 2026
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