Universal translator
What this means
Live translation in AirPods & Pixel Buds — ~11–40 languages, unreliable in noise.
← Back to Civilization Index
Civilization Index / CAPABILITIES
The combined technology checklist
The supplied status of each technology, from achieved capability to speculative frontier.
What can technology do?
Status labels belong to this site’s model. Open each card to understand its limits and any supporting source.
26Things to exploreA checklist of capabilities.
TodayExisting capabilitiesRead the status and evidence.
FutureGoals and possibilitiesSome ideas are still speculative.
26 TECHNOLOGIES & INSTITUTIONS
The combined technology checklist
Portable medical diagnostics
What this means
AI stethoscopes and handheld ultrasound; no single multi-condition device cleared.
Portable computing and communication
What this means
Tablets and smartphones provide widespread portable computing and communication.
Conversational artificial intelligence
What this means
Frontier models pass expert exams; reliability and agency still maturing.
Humanoid robotic assistants
~7,500 humanoids in pilots; none general-purpose.
Molecular assembler
What this means
3D printing and bioprinted tissue are early capabilities; general-purpose on-demand matter assembly remains speculative.
Fusion reactor
What this means
Ignition achieved (Q≈4); first grid pilots targeted 2028–2030s.
Speculative matter transport
Quantum states teleported 1,400 km; matter: zero.
Speculative faster-than-light propulsion
Theoretical papers only; needs exotic negative energy.
Immersive simulated environments
VR/AR headsets and generative worlds; no solid holograms.
Directed energy and protective systems
Directed-energy weapons deployed; no force fields.
Post-scarcity economy
Extreme poverty 10%; 65 active conflicts.
Precision agriculture
What this means
Sensors, targeted irrigation and farm automation. The goal: reliable harvests with more efficient water and input use, accessible to smaller farms.
FAO · Precision agriculture case studies ↗Safer, traceable food
What this means
Focus: contamination prevention, safe handling, traceability and reduced food loss. Track verified food safety and quality outcomes; “clean food” is not a certification or a zero-risk claim.
FAO · Smart Farming ↗Global knowledge network
What this means
Wikipedia holds 60M+ articles; language models support search and synthesis, with reliability limits.
Societal forecasting
What this means
Prediction markets, Metaculus forecasters and social simulation; no laws of mass human behavior with error bars.
Civilization modeling systems
What this means
Civilization dashboards and simulation models exist; reliable millennium-scale prediction does not. This site uses a dated snapshot.
Advanced autonomous robot
What this means
Humanoids are in pilots; reliable autonomous stewardship over long horizons remains speculative.
Speculative faster-than-light travel
No FTL; Alcubierre-class concepts need negative energy.
Miniaturized atomic power
What this means
Small modular reactors and fusion ignition; nothing pocket-sized.
Personal force shield
What this means
No practical energy barrier; directed-energy weapons exist, shields do not.
Planet-wide city
What this means
58% of humanity is urban; megacities of 30M+; no planet-wide city.
Galactic civilization
What this means
One inhabited world; permanent presence off-Earth is 11 people.
Interactive knowledge archive
What this means
Interactive archives and AI avatars exist; reliable preservation and contextual interpretation over millennia remain speculative.
Collective planetary intelligence
What this means
A planetary shared mind; the internet is a proto-network, not consciousness.
Speculative direct neural communication
What this means
No brain-to-brain influence; BCIs read 27 patients' motor intent, one way.
New here? What the labels mean
Reported fact
A number from a named source. Check when, where and what it measures.
Model or score
A way to compare things using chosen rules. Different rules can give different scores.
Future goal or scenario
Something we hope to achieve, or imagine might happen. It is not a measured fact.
- Milestone
- An important step toward a goal.
- Indicator
- A measurement that helps us understand something.
- Dependency
- Something that may need help from something else.
- Biodiversity
- The variety of living things.
- GW
- Gigawatts: a unit of power. Capacity is what equipment can produce at its rated output.