The future of medicine and IT
TomOfTTB: Personally I believe the future of IT and Medicine to be in the field of Predictive Analytics (In fairness this is what I've spent the last several years working on so I'm a bit biased).What computers do very well is to crunch numbers.  The problem is the confidentiality laws are so strict that the numbers have never been available.  The future I believe is coming and the future that I'm trying to bring about is one where we realize a computer can separate diagnosis and treatment information from identity and in doing so can access hugely valuable data without ever violating a client's privacy.  Then it can use that data to show us patterns that we as humans would never see.This type of technology, which already exists today, could lead to faster diagnosis and most importantly preventitive care that keeps people from getting sick in the first place.  That, to me, is the greatest thing IT can provide for humanity in the next decade or so.Don't get me wrong.  There will be great advances in technology that have nothing to do with the above.  But those will be in things like nanotechnology and laser development which (a) isn't what I'd call IT and (b) would require you focus all your attention on them.