November 18, 2006: Extreme Future Trends - Dr. James Canton

Art Bell welcomes Dr. James Canton, futurist and CEO of the Institute for Global Futures, for a wide-ranging discussion on the trends shaping the coming decades. Canton, freshly returned from Asia and jet-lagged, covers the looming end of affordable oil and forecasts breakthroughs in hydrogen fuel cells, solar voltaics, and nanotechnology-based energy within five years. He shares insights from private meetings with Saudi officials about global energy shortfalls.

The conversation shifts to human enhancement and longevity medicine. Canton predicts cancer will become a managed disease within a decade, similar to how AIDS is treated today. He outlines three phases of enhancement: fixing existing conditions, augmenting capabilities like memory and cognition, and ultimately designing human evolution. He points to fertility clinics, psychopharmacology, and medical devices as evidence this transformation is already underway.

Canton warns that the United States risks falling behind unless it reverses anti-science policies and reinvests in education and research. He notes America cannot fill over a million high-tech jobs today and argues that without renewed commitment to science, quality of life will decline within a decade. The discussion also touches on climate change, the carrying capacity of the planet, and the economic linkage between the U.S. and China.