In my last post I talked about how the different technologies being developed right now or that could potentially be developed in due time could lead us to a very dark world akin to a dystopia that is often portrayed with bone chilling narrative in the movies.
Today, I am going to talk about three more such technologies one of which is already well into development, another which could easily be launched even with the current technology and the last one which still remains hypothetical but could well be achieved in the future.
1. Artificial Intelligence
Ok, this must be the millionth time I must be talking about artificial intelligence on my blog but what can I do, the topic really intrigues me and the one at hand is something that has intrigued movie makers for decades!
We are already beginning to see the insanely futuristic capabilities of artificial intelligence and it is something that we are even benefitting from with or without realizing it. One small and familiar example could be that of the virtual assistants in our phones which are slowly being equipped with more of the artificial intelligence features.
But many experts worry that artificial intelligence could one day surpass us humans and that might lead to the beginning of something sinister. What if artificial intelligence decides one day that it doesn’t need us and that we are in fact the problem for this planet.
What if by the time we reach that point, there are already robots that are advanced enough to be equipped with the advanced AI and they go all terminator on us? Although it might not seem like it, these are serious issues which we might one day face.
2. Eye-tracking Advertisements
Nobody likes ads. Not a single person. Before the internet, advertisements were confined to TVs and written media which people could easily avoid if the wanted to. But since the dawn of the internet, we are now living in a world where we are constantly bombarded with advertisements.
Even if you are playing a game, sometimes you have to watch an ad to keep on playing further. The same happens when you are watching a video on YouTube and more irritatingly, on Facebook.
You can still look away while the ads are playing or do something else and come back to the content, but what if these companies start using eye-tracking and literally make you watch the whole thing if you want to continue or even begin to consume a particular content.
I don’t know why but I get a feeling that Facebook could indeed do this someday. If they can pause ads if we switch to a different tab, then they can surely pause an ad if we look away too. That would be one of the most annoying things ever!!!
3. Consciousness Transfer
This one is purely hypothetical and remains in the realm of science fiction. Still, science fiction of today might be the reality of tomorrow and who knows, maybe we will have the ability to transfer consciousness from one body to another, be it biological or a machine.
Although the promise of immortality thanks to such a feat might seem like a magical gift in the beginning, you would quickly realize that it would be curse in disguise.
In my own opinion, death is what gives life meaning and if we could all be immortal one day, then life would lose all purpose. Humanity would cease to exist as most of the humans would probably want to transfer their consciousness to a robotic body with super awesome capabilities.
When bodies start becoming commodities that we can simply buy and consciousness becomes just another software that we can download and upload, I wonder what else would there be for us to even look forward to!
interesting ..
I think that whatever the world does, we must uphold our values and our good morals as human beings
Well done on your search
That is exactly what needs to be done.
It's crazy to think how far technology has come.
It really is!!
If you haven't watched it yet, I recommend you check out the new NetFlix series "Altered Carbon", which I just discussed in my last post. It touches on all the topics you bring up in a way that's not all that far-fetched. And as you suggest, many aspects are as potentially frightening, as they may seem "magically" fantastic.
Perhaps even more uncanny is that the series almost seems like it could be a sort of "roadmap" as to just where we all may be headed... 😱
I strongly agree. And if you haven't already, add Black Mirror to your Netflix queue, the episode '15 Million Merits' is a good example of the advertising scenario in this article.
Yeah, that episode is where I got this idea that Facebook or other companies might inteoduce that kind of tech in the real world.
not to mention, Season 4's “USS Callister”!
yes, I liked that one a lot, there are so many relevant episodes.
Ok I will surely check it out. Thanks for suggesting me this.
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Nice post Sir, the way technology is gaining higher relevance than man this days, it's a thing to wonder what the future will look like.
I definitely don't want to live in a world where human consciousness are transfered from one person to another.
It’s always a fun thing to talk about and wonder. Tech is always pushing the boundaries and our beliefs of what is possible.
I think there could be great possibilities for good with consciousness transfer.
When people die, we loose their a part of their knowledge, even if their work has been written down or recorded. Part of their experience can only ever live with them. We could keep their knowledge this way.
Also, imagine how we could increase empathy! This could be such a great teaching tool in schools, companies, everywhere.
Yeah, the creepy part would be that it could be used in the justice system. But maybe there would be no more false convictions. And maybe by understanding what makes people commit crimes, we could better find ways to heal criminals as opposed to simply locking them up.
Cool thought.
The possibilities can be really great, no doubt. The main problem that I see is with immortality. Because if we have that capability, everything will change.
That's true. We would need to have some real policy work done in order to deal with how that would change society. I have just about no faith in our policy creators though :(
I am guessing governments will ban such an immortality tech outright. The consequence can be really grave if they allow it.
Some governments might only it allow it for government. Could be a useful tool for a dictator.
think about all these new technologies all the time and how invasive they are. They become so quickly adopted as the media hypes up their usefulness while fear of them is openly mocked.
Self-driving cars, robots taking jobs, etc are all just around the corner not decades away
The FOMO is really huge with new technologies these days. That’s for sure.
Everything technology has done has made life easier.. So they say.. But it has taken away human values even as little as doing dishes.. The future technology is going to make man lazy and jobs would be lost cause a robot would do the job of ten men.. When man begins to create they forget to think about the repercussions.
Yeah there’s no doubt that technological progress has made humans a lot lazier and this treme is only going to get worse as we progress further.
Yes there's a dark side of the moon
Yup
It is said that Facebook had already created an artificial intelligence that was beginning to create its own language. but there is still a long time for that.
, because even artificial intelligence lacks the ability to make its own decisions, perhaps at a point on the scale we would become Hybrid beings if the genetics does not advance at the same pace
Yeah, I read about that too and that was kind of scary. And yes, right now they may not be at that stage but it's a no brainer that AI in general will advance to such a stage.
They might sound hypothetical but who know might become reality one day. The way we are going ahead and want to control everything. But life will loose its meaning especially with consciousness transfer.
Oh yes, hypothetical doesn't mean impossible and one day I am sure that the human race will create the ability to do so.
i want to work with AI so thats very helpful
Nice!
I am aware of these "developments". Technology has always been a double-edged sword... thanks for posting.
It really has been! Thanks for reading :)
Am sure these things might happen in future but the present advances in tech itself has raised tyrants too who have power to wipe out the human race if they want to.
Gene editing could be a solution to some very grave problems that we are facing since adam and could be profoundly lethal if used as CRISPR
That would simply be playing God!
You really have some vivid imaginations :)
Tyrants have surely been created throughout history thanks to tech advances and I think it will continue to happen in the future as well. The gene editing could be a solution but in the wrong hands even this could go horribly wrong for us. Let's just hope that saner people overpower the insane ones.
I agree and I think CRISPR is the most lethal thing ever for humans. Tomorrow we will have designer babies and cure for some diseases too by gene editing. But this is the biggest threat to the evolution of human species as it is the result of adaptation while CRISPR just eliminates any chance of evolving.
Example: Cold and Flu are problems but they do leave strengthening immune system.
What will happen to a body (genetically edited) which never fell ill once it catches a cold or flu or some new disease?