(I) In his article “The Future Doesn't Need Us”, the scientist Bill Joy describes advances in three fields: genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics. (II) The first has created the possibility of gene therapy that could bring diseases like cancer under control. (III) These technological advances carry a strong potential for improving our quality of life in the not-too-distant future. (IV) The second refers to technologies that manipulate matter on the extremely small scale of nanometres, allowing the creation of novel plant species or new viruses. (V) Finally, robotics will eventually raise the possibility of intelligent and self-replicating machines that are barely distinguishable from humans.