Physics of the Future: How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives by the Year 2100

intelligent, hands-on type of kid. But he’s also sometimes shy and quiet. What kind of dog might help bring him out of his shell?”
    The robot replies, “I am sorry, sir. That is outside my programming. Perhaps I can interest you in a space toy?”
    You forgot that robots, no matter how versatile, have a long way to go before they understand human behavior.
    Then you go to the men’s department store. Time to replace that ratty old outfit of yours if you want to impress your date. You put on some designer suits. They all look stylish, but they are all the wrong size. You are disappointed. But then you take out your credit card, which contains all your precise 3-D measurements. Your data is fed into the computer, and then a new suit is being cut at a factory and will soon be delivered to your door. A perfect fit every time.
    Last, you go to the supermarket. You scan all the chips hidden in each plastic item in the market, and then in your contact lenses you compare prices to see which store in the city has the cheapest, best products. No more guesswork about who has the lowest prices.
    THE DATE
    You have been looking forward to this date all week. Preparing to meet Karen, you are surprised that you feel like a schoolboy again. You decidethat if you are going to invite her to your apartment after dinner, you will have to do some serious remodeling of your worn-out furniture. Fortunately, most of the kitchen counters and living room furniture is made of programmable matter.
    “Molly,” you say, “can you show me the catalog of new kitchen counters and furniture offered by the manufacturer? I want to reprogram the furniture. It looks so old.”
    Soon, the pictures of the latest furniture designs flash on the screen.
    “Molly, please download the blueprints for this kitchen counter, that sofa, and this table, and then install them, please.”
    While you are getting ready for your date, Molly downloads and installs the blueprints. Instantly, the kitchen countertop, living room sofa, and table begin to dissolve, turn into something that looks like putty, and then gradually re-form into the new shapes. In an hour, your apartment looks brand-new. (Recently, you were scanning the real estate section on the Internet, and noticed that houses made of programmable matter were becoming quite fashionable. In fact, at your engineering company, there are ambitious plans to create an entire city in the desert totally out of programmable matter. Push a button, and—poof!—an instant city.)
    Your apartment still looks a bit drab, you decide. You wave your hand, and the pattern and color of the wallpaper change immediately. Having intelligent wallpaper certainly beats having to repaint the walls, you say to yourself.
    You grab some flowers along the way, and finally pick up your date. You are pleasantly surprised. You hit it off right away. Something is clicking.
    Over dinner, you find out that Karen is an artist. Normally, she jokes, she might be penniless, starving, and selling paintings along the sidewalk for a pittance. Instead, she is a very successful Web designer. In fact, she has her own company. Everyone, it seems, wants the very latest designs for the Web. There is such a huge demand for creative art.
    She draws some circles in the air with her fingers, and some of her animations appear in thin air. “Here are some of my latest creations,” she says proudly.
    You comment, “You know, as an engineer, I work with robots all day long. Some are pretty advanced, but they can also act pretty stupid at times. What about your field? Are robots making inroads?”
    “Absolutely not,” she protests. Karen says she works exclusively with creative people, where the most prized commodity is imagination, something the most advanced robots lack.
    “I may be old-fashioned, but in my field, we use robots only to make copies or do clerical work,” she says proudly. “I would like to see the day when robots can do something really original, like tell a joke, write a novel, or compose a symphony.”
    That hasn’t happened yet, but it might, you think to yourself.
    While she is talking, a question crosses your mind. How old is she? Since the aging process was medically slowed years ago, people can be any age. Her Web site did not say how old she was. But she does not look a day over twenty-five.
    After taking her home, you begin to idly daydream. What would it be like to live with a person like her? To spend the rest of your life