The mobile phone is one of the greatest inventions of our generation. Who would have thought centuries ago that each person would someday carry a personal mobile communication device? If this became possible with the advancement of human knowledge and technology, then there is a high chance that the great things we imagine now will be invented in the future. Unfortunately, no great invention comes without a price. Here is a list of innovations that may be invented in the years to come, but have their downsides.

10. Flying Cars

Yes, we do have planes, but they are only available to a limited number of people. When will the cars that we know now become capable of flight? Imagine several layers of flying cars around the perimeter of high-rise buildings, as shown in the movie “The Fifth Element.” Expect a drastic improvement in rush hour traffic then!

Downside: Flying cars could be more dangerous to ride than the models that we have right now. Hopefully, since technology will be so advanced by then, their inventors may also invent a device that will keep them from colliding with each other. You can just imagine how fatal a mid-air car accident would be!

9. Teleporter

We’ve seen people use teleporters in a lot of science fiction and fantasy features. If flying cars decrease travel time, a teleporter eliminate it altogether! Imagine being able to disappear in one location and reappear in another; then you can go to work in New York City and dine in Paris!

Downside: A teleporter also raises a lot of control issues. If this should ever be invented, governments should require licensing before they are sold. Teleporting will void any territorial boundaries that are in place now and any high profile criminal with enough resources can teleport from jail to home sweet home.

8. Time Machine

The previous two inventions of the future take you to another location really fast, but time becomes of no importance with this other kind of transporter. Imagine the things you could do if you can be in the 16th century today and experience the 30th century tomorrow!

Downside: As portrayed in many science fiction films, having a time machine will risk changing what happened in the past and the consequent events thereafter. Every single thing that happened before has an effect today. People will always be tempted to correct their mistakes in the past, which could lead to the destruction of the future.

7. Replicator

A replicator is a device that breaks down the molecular composition of an object and recycles the atoms to form another object. If we are being encouraged to recycle now due to pollution, practicality, and our depleting resources, a replicator will ensure that no amount of matter will be put to waste.

Downside: With a replicator, any ordinary person will gain access to things they are not supposed to have. For instance, they can easily recycle their metal scraps at home and turn them into guns. The values that we attach to things today will also change, as in the case of carbon-based materials converted to diamonds.

6. Free Energy Source

If someone could invent a device that you have to buy only once but will provide you with unlimited energy, then we can expect to cut down on our expenses big time.

Downside: The fact is that energy is not produced from nothing. For instance, if the energy comes from coal, people will definitely take advantage of its being free and we can only expect the diminution of such energy source in no time. The same might happen in this situation.

 

(While we wait for this amazing invention to become reality, you can do the next best energy saving thing by reading Fuel-Saving Driving Tips.)

5. Battery Operated Butler

A battery operated butler is the ultimate gift for any housewife. By the time a robot totally capable of doing human chores is invented, every career woman might just suddenly want to be plain housewives. We can expect life to be so fast-paced in the future, and having a butler that never grows tired will take care of the tasks you can no longer or don’t want to attend to.

Downside: Technology will take longer to advance as man becomes increasingly dependent on machines to do their job while they focus on things that are pleasurable. Human-to-human contact may also be limited, as in the case of a mother leaving the task of feeding her young to a robot.

4. Invisibility Cloak

The invisibility cloak is only available in the Harry Potter universe. Many literary pieces have explored the possibilities of not being detected by the naked eye. Invisibility does not have to be limited to a cloak. Police cars and surveillance cameras are just some examples of items that are better off invisible.

Downside: Clay Aiken’s lyrics, “if I was invisible, then I could just watch you in your room,” are a simple illustration of how private places can easily be violated by invisible people. Security becomes a major issue if anyone has the capacity to go unseen. Remember how Kevin Bacon’s character in “The Hollow Man” was able to rape a girl and drown a man without being seen? That could happen.

3. Panacea

Alchemists once sought to make a cure-all remedy for diseases and illnesses, but panacea remains a concept to this day. If some viruses, such as HIV, are yet to be totally curable by any single medicine or treatment by science, then panacea is nothing short of a miracle.

Downside: Will you still take care of yourself if you know that there’s a cure for any infection or injury you may acquire? People will definitely abuse their bodies and moral value will degenerate to hedonistic levels. The availability of a cure-all to diseases will put into test the theory that human beings are merely controlling our urge to sleep around due to fear of sexually transmitted diseases.

2. Fountain of Youth

The name Panacea is derived from the Greek goddess of healing; she actually has a sister named Meditrina, the goddess of longevity. We humans acknowledge the shortness of our lives; hence we strive to prolong life by all means possible. If the fountain of youth existed, then we’ll cease to age and retain the natural health and beauty associated with youth.

Downside: The problem with the fountain of youth and an all-cure remedy is quite obvious: the world is bound to be overpopulated since the natural order of life and death will be compromised. These two inventions will create an even more overcrowded world in the future.

1. Ovulation Switch

Our top invention of the future is potentially its perfect solution for population explosion. An ovulation switch stops a woman from ovulating, and ultimately, from getting pregnant. “Switch” implies that it can be turned on and off, so a woman can conceive whenever she wants and she gains full control over her number of children. Needless to say, you can enjoy unprotected sexual congress all you want.

Downside: Let’s not talk about the stand of the organized religion on this point, since that is a highly subjective issue. The current birth control methods we have all have trade-offs. Pills, for instance, usually cause weight gain and liver problems. The problem here is an ovulation switch interferes with the natural cycle of a woman’s body, so it is hard to imagine that it won’t cause any side effects.(But if you still want to get pregnant, read how to get pregnant)

 

No matter how beneficial some ideas are, physical limitations and the laws of nature hinder their realization. Perhaps science has yet to find a way of creating these great inventions since a higher being is preventing us from suffering the consequences of their immediate fruition.