The Future? Now!

 When I was a kid I use to play pen and paper role playing games. One of my favourite ones has to be "Cybepunk". As opposed to other role playing games that I've played, this one, I consider the most useful for  expanding creative possibilities within our own realm. That, coupled with the book "Brave New World" and other theories (whose authors I can't recall right now but if I do I will link) has given me ideas of what I perceive as the future, which, mind you the most exciting part is developing right now. Within the last decade and the next one, we are witnessing the biggest evolution for man kind. We are on the brink of major change and I will further explain why.

The Human Network

 If you've noticed within the last decade, with the development of the smartphone (hence my obsession with them), humans have been shifting from privacy, to complete transparency. Not everyone is on board, but with each new generation there is a younger and younger crowd with smartphones and on social networks. It gets weird, people are getting in to trouble, sharing things they shouldn't. Getting fired, getting in to fights, getting famous, all in the name of transparency. The older crowd, might be in denial, but what this is truly all pointing to; we are creating one collective. In the future we will all be completely accessible and transparent to each other at all times.

Google Glass is Paving the Way

 In reference to "google glass", I have to admit, that is one ugly head contraption that I will never ever put on my melon.  It is too ugly and too impractical for mainstream consumers. However, it paves the way for further evolution of smart communication devices.

 I believe it will give way to the next successful device in such category which will be a lens, with the same concept, powered by nano technology, which once inserted in to the eye will project a screen visible to the lens wearer and other lens wearers around should they choose to engage and the OS will be able to be controlled via other nano technology glued to our fingertips with (invisible?) silicone.

 Further down the road I expect nano chips to be inserted in to the brain at birth at which point we will be able to communicate with our thoughts with anyone at any time. Part of these chips will also function kind of like the modern smart phone with all kinds of tools like internet, search, maps...etc.

Brave New World

 Anyone that has read Alduous Huxley's novel, has to admit that they have witnessed little traces of scary changes (albeit the absence of futuristic communication devices). We have to admit, that entertainment is getting stupider and stupider. Reality television and new movies coming out have shifted very much from depth and plot to over saturation of straight to the point artificial action. It is pure mindless entertainment. None cares whether the latest action (rock)star has a motive for blowing up anything, or saying a punch line, so long as it's cool and flashy and the antagonist is not so cool. None cares if in a reality series a woman is being a bitch because she is suffering from depression/mental illness due to being abandoned as a child, what we want to see is her fighting another women (verbally or physically).

 I will admit, I am generalizing a bit in that last paragraph. But, further evidence can be found on social networks. I have not used twitter, but if I was to reference Facebook, more people are interested in posting pictures of them with duckface and liking cat videos than exchanging useful information. Other evidence, is also in how people use their smartphones. In my previous post I talked about how most of the lower class citizens use it more for video games than anything else.

 The other thing that worries me, is the much faster development when it comes to entertainment than anything else. We are coming out with 4D televisions, and yet our space program hasn't REALLY improved that much since the 80's (from what I've found out, please feel free to prove me wrong in the comments section).

 So, we stand on the brink of a brave new world. We could go in two directions (so long as the catastrophic third one doesn't occur). The first direction would be that we turn in to a purely (not mindless, but more mind-not-necessary) consumer and entertainment driven society as described in Aldous novel. The second direction could be if the powers to be, shift more focus on education, science and the space program we could potentially still turn in to a Star Trek type of society and fulfill our need to explore space. When I say, powers to be, I refer to the collective of the future.

Gadgets

 When we think about the brave new world, we also have to consider the evolution of entertainment and social interaction. The advances in quantum computing will also give way to advanced artificial intelligence with which men will be able to interact in different forms. Will it be robots? What about holograms? What about fuckable holograms? Will people even need to meet to have sexual relations?

 This gives question to moral dilemmas as well. What if someone invents a hologram belt that you can wear which projects a different person over your self? Will it be allowed to go out in to the street with one of those on? What if for example your wife sometimes wanted you to wear this belt during sex? Would this be considered a type of cheating? There is also a possibility that you never have to touch another human being sexually. That, you fuck a hologram which uses some type of nano technology to induce the feeling of touch and also to collect sperm to be donated to a giant sperm bank for cloning.

 What if you are envious that perhaps your limbs are not as good enough as robotic ones? Will you be allowed to replace them with this? I know, I am throwing too many questions out there and too many possibilities. What I have learned reading Cyberpunk, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and Brave New World is that science follows fiction and it is an exciting time to be a here witnessing these changes.