Elon Musk has a talent for describing the most comforting kind of crazy-ass futures. Underground electric robot cars!--sells itself as the world of tomorrow, today. But it's actually the science fiction of yesterday, ripped from the pages of Science Wonder Stories. It's lovely that someone is finally building yesterday's pew-pew science fiction priorities. That's especially true of the latest Muskery, presented last week: a new iteration of Neuralink, a wireless implant that could someday give human brains a direct interface to digital devices.

The idea of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and robot doctors conjures up images of all-powerful machines taking over our lives. But the reality is quite different from this. These advances and breakthroughs often have a favorable effect on people's lives and the world, though they're typically introduced at a breakneck pace and can leave your head spinning as you try to comprehend them. With this in mind, here we explain four of the most exciting and world-changing technologies. Get the entire 10-part series on Charlie Munger in PDF.