Here at Singularity Hub, we’re a group of nerds and curious technologists who are always peering over the horizon to see what startling technology is about to take the world by storm. We love sharing this stuff with the world and, in our way, helping to create discourse around the impact technology will have or is already having on humanity.
As countless digital editors have noted before, social media is one of those technologies and cultural trends that provides fascinating insights into the conversations we’re having about the world around us. It’s no wonder that Facebook is on the leading edge of artificial intelligence research.
We try not to publish in a way that is beholden to traffic, but of course, as any digital media team does, we spend a great deal of time watching how our content performs and the discussions that form around it, scratching our heads at the archived stuff that resurfaces on peculiar subreddits, and analyzing why one story takes off on Twitter while another falls flat.
With that in mind, here are our five most viral stories of the year; stories that tingle the imagination as we consider the disruptive future peeking from around the corner. Though not necessarily the most-viewed posts of the year, these stories all went nuts on social media, one way or another.
2015 was a big year for technology, and as trends continue, we have every reason to presume that every single year hereafter, for the rest of our lives, will be more disruptive than the year that preceded it.
5. Forget Rocket Fuel: This Spaceplane Will Use Microwave Beams to Reach Orbit
2015 was something of a watershed year for the new space race. Headlines were dominated by names like Blue Origin and SpaceX, but Escape Dynamics—a startup which grew out of the same Singularity University Graduate Studies Program that birthed Made In Space—made waves when they announced their plans to build a reusable single-stage-to-orbit spaceplane.
4. Scientists Connect Brain to a Basic Tablet—Paralyzed Patient Googles With Ease
It’s often speculated that the line between human nervous systems and machines will become increasingly unclear. It may just be that the brain-machine interfaces being developed today for medical use are the technology leading the way.
3. Our Solar System’s 9 Extraterrestrial Oceans in One Surprising Infographic
The more we learn about our solar system, the less it seems we know about our own space backyard. That’s why high-definition visions of Pluto and news of water on Mars enraptures us so. And when we learn that water might be a lot more common in our solar system than we think, our minds go right to signs of life.
2. Ray Kurzweil’s Mind-Boggling Predictions for the Next 25 Years
It’s no surprise that a post about Ray Kurzweil—written by Peter Diamandis no less—would make this list. But with a track record as notable as Kurzweil’s, it’s thrilling to view his predictions as a crystal ball into the future of humanity, or equally as fun to dispel them as hype. Regardless of the precision of these predictions, we’re undoubtedly on the cusp of interesting times.
1. The World in 2025: 8 Predictions for the Next 10 Years
As a respected thought leader in a variety of spaces that exist between entrepreneurship and technology, when Peter Diamandis speaks, many listen. Still more will listen when you tell them that $1,000 in computing power will surpass the human brain by 2025, or that blockchain is about to upend industries far removed from traditional finance. This is a post that reminds us to keep on our toes and to assume an accelerating rate of change, however deep the trough of disillusionment might currently appear for any given technology.
As much fun as predictions are, even more exciting is observing technological trends as they begin to unfurl. To keep up with Singularity Hub’s coverage of exponential technologies and their impact on humanity, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Image Credit: Shutterstock; Escape Dynamics
