The augmented human will transform business
Based on the development of current technology, the rise of the augmented human, where biology and technology blend to offer a whole range of physical and mental enhancements, is inevitable, according to a new report.
Changes that will transform the world of work includes ideas such as a restaurant where, without you having to order, the chef prepares the food you’ve been thinking about all day; a shop where the owner can tell you what’s in stock by consulting their neural-linked artificial intelligence; unlocking your office with a wave of your hand; or lifting heavy machinery with the help of an exoskeleton, says the latest in the MYOB Future of Business series: The Augmented Human. The report is the third from the online accountancy software business
MYOB chief technology officer and futurist Simon Raik-Allen says that all sorts of things that are actually happening today, from neural transmitters to artificial hearts, are bringing about fundamental changes in the way we view and challenge the limitations of our biology. “We are on the cusp of an evolution revolution.”
One of the areas that will profoundly change with the development of more advanced human augmentation, according to Raik-Allen, will be the business world.
“It’s going to be massive for business – giving rise to a whole range of new industries that we’re only just starting to imagine the possibilities for. Imagine a version of today’s app store – the brain-app store or the body-app store – which you can connect to in order to download the latest developments in intelligence, mental performance, or simply entertainment.
“Got an important business meeting in China? Download the language app and speak like a local with an accent add-on. Worried about offending your hosts at dinner while you clinch the big business deal? Connect with the app-store through your neural interface while you’re riding the hyperloop train to Beijing and pick out the social etiquette app with the best reviews on Weibo,” he says in a statement.
“For business, this adds a whole new dimension to the information-driven economy, which has already driven so many opportunities globally,” says RaikAllen. “Our knowledge and capabilities will be enhanced, our physical and mental abilities will be raised to new heights, and the opportunities for us to experience, communicate and share will be unparalleled.”
Although some of the ideas may seem like the stuff of science fiction, the report’s predictions are based on the evolution of technology currently in development, or even in use.
“Looking 20 or 30 years into the future not only helps us start preparing for what might be coming along, but also gives us new ways of thinking about what we are doing now, and the processes and preconceptions that might be holding business back.”
MYOB is a main sponsor of TedX, which was taking place as Management went to press. See www.myob.com/futureofbusiness