Sometimes I wonder: what is the future going to look like in 100 years? 1000? 10,000?
If you look around, people everywhere are completely addicted to technology. When was the last time you saw somebody on the train without something stuck in their ears?
These days, people want quicker answers, more content, more choice. They think faster than they can physically type (or even speak).
If you extrapolate this, I predict that technology that removes the interface between the brain and the computer will be the next big thing (unfortunately). And I humbly predict that the next trillionaire might just be the person who invents that device and brings it to the masses. I would now like to say a big “fuck you” to that person, before they even get started on the project. Why?
I think the Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is going to make the world look like a very different place than it is now. In the past, I used to think that it would never happen, because the human brain is too complex. But after only a few decades I have changed my mind. I think that the idea is not too far from reality.
It won’t be like it is now, with thinner and thinner screens and faster and faster processors. The whole point of a BCI is that there won’t be a physical user interface. Indeed, as I write, google has just applied for a patent concerning an ocular device that is worn like a contact lens…
We’ll be able to think a thought and have it shared with the world. Think of it like an instant tweet. We’ll have the capability to record every single one of our thoughts. But why would we even want to do that? We’ll never have time to replay all those thoughts anyway. Right?
We’ll be able to look at an object and see more information on a kind of “heads up display” about it such as what it’s made of, where it came from, how it is mined and extracted. We’ll be able to tell a computer to go and do something and it will understand what we want. We’ll be able to get a lot more done with our time. We’ll be able to work lying down, if we want to.
But the problem is that people already travel with their phones in their pockets all day long. People are already accustomed to recharging our devices. People already cannot live without them. I cannot use the my.gov.au website unless I have a mobile phone (the website sends the phone a code). I have chosen to go without a mobile phone for a few months. So now a government website is inaccessible to me. And this happened to another person while I was waiting to have my transport concession card renewed. They too thought that it was strange that there was no other way to sign in. “You mean there is no other way I can sign in?” I overheard the whole conversation.
What happens to me or someone in the future if I don’t want to wear an electronic device and be a slave to it? Will lacking one piece of technology make me miss out on another? I don’t think that should be allowed to happen.
Our whole reliance on technology to this degree is very dismaying. I think that is sad because I know in my case, my very best ideas occur to me when I am not connected to any sort of device. My best ideas come to me when my mind is simply wandering on its own. I think we need that time to ourselves. Our brains need an occasional rest from all of this overstimulation.
What do you think about this? Would you want to live in a borg-like world where people stop talking to each other and are always connected?
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