Abundance: The Future is Better Than You Think

by Peter H. Diamandis

Today’s technology doesn’t completely replace surgeons; instead it enhances their abilities and allows them to operate remotely. “By fully digitizing an image of the injured site being repaired,” explains Mohr, “you put a digital layer between the tissue and the surgeon’s eyes, which can then be augmented with overlaid information or magnification. Also, by digitizing hand movements and placing a digital layer between the surgeon and the robotic instruments, you can take out jitter, make motions more precise, and even transmit the surgical incisions over a long distance, allowing an expert in Los Angeles to conduct surgery in Algiers during their free time without spending twenty hours on airplanes.” Over the next five to ten years, Mohr predicts a proliferation of smaller, special purpose robots, extending far beyond cataract removal. One might handle glaucoma surgery, another a gastric bypass, while a third performs dental repairs. Mohr thinks the fifteen- to twenty-year horizon is even more exciting. “In the future, we’ll be able detect cancers by monitoring blood, urine, or breath and, once detected, remove them robotically. The robot will find the tiny cancerous lesion, insert a needle, and obliterate it, just like you do a cancerous mole today.”