Society must prepare for the merging of mind and machine
Can a thought be automated? Is it possible to influence someone’s pattern of reasoning? With the augmentation of artificial intelligence (AI) and smarter ways in which apps will disrupt human conscience, now is the time to re-evaluate the future of thinking.
The physical and virtual worlds are paving the way for powerful thinking. Smart cities are developing with ecosystems of connected devices and intelligent cloud infrastructure.
A future awaits in which smart implants, memory-enhancing components and high-performance prosthetics will shape human behaviour.
The business of biometrics is already in development. Wearable devices and body modifications are a new platform for app developers to explore. The generation of simulated ideas could deliver untold benefits to a society becoming more dependent on the automated mind.
Take dreams as an example. You could wake in the morning, review them, play them through social media and share them in a virtual environment for others to explore.
In years to come, an ecosystem of interconnected apps in the cloud could help you diagnose your health in real time and control organic clothing that can repair human tissue.
Imagine your work embracing biometrics to perform duties with digitally assisted deductive reasoning inside your head. This would remove the need to meet your boss in person.
Apps will power thoughts and allow people to telecommunicate in ways that stretch imaginations to new dimensions. Sound implausible?
The combination of biological and digital intelligence is a growing area in “knowledge engineering” which aims to solve complex problems by working in harmony with human expertise.
Tech industry futurist Elon Musk recently launched Neuralink, a start-up that aims to develop technology that connects our brains to computers. “If humans want to continue to add value to the economy, they must augment their capabilities through a merger of biological intelligence and machine intelligence,” he says.
As the digital economy reaches greater levels of sophistication, the ability to think faster, work smarter and make data safer will be imperative to survival.
In the future, machine learning will be a vital part of advancing services to add value. At the same time, we are heading towards an era in which AI will dictate transactional processes, automatically manage, learn and self-diagnose risk response and much more.
Applications will no longer be confined to specific devices or cloud architecture, but will be part of an ecosystem of ubiquitous sets of software solutions.
The use of behavioural data is becoming more common too. Some insurance companies, for example, are offering to install location sensors in customers’ cars to determine the price of policies on a driver’s skill.
Accessing sensitive data and apps is fundamental to the way we function in our daily lives, ranging from online banking to buying goods. Therefore, the ability to authenticate a person is essential for security purposes. Digital identity is your most valuable asset. Who you are, what you do and the data you possess will have more significance as you trade and interact with companies.
Governments are already exploring paperless passports, whereby a traveller’s biometric data is stored digitally and used for identification.
Computers are learning how to be human. Smart machines can talk to us in the vernacular and interact through AI. Emotional recognition can make communication between people and devices more interactive.
Apps are already designed to learn about you and help support everyday tasks. Humanised interfaces will require business owners to think about how the brand should feel, interact and even engage physically with the human body.
The implications of smart apps being more personal will mean a whole new go-to-market commercial strategy for customer interaction. In turn, complex challenges will unfold, whereby hackers will be ready to “hack the human” and potentially “breach the brain”. We need to be prepared.
While AI learns more about the way we think, the ability to control gadgets with our minds will become more of a reality. There will be machines for every means – perhaps more devices for our vices.
Today, the Internet of Things provides objects with a digital identity. From smart refrigerators that manage your eating habits to homes that can automatically adjust to heating and lighting preferences, the transformative experience of any object could soon be controlled by our consciences in collaboration with apps.
Cyborg activist Neil Harbisson is best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull.
He recently told F5: “I see the word application might soon also be used when adding a new organ or a new sense. We might also see augmented senses as a substitution for drugs — instead of chemicals we can just merge with cybernetics and it can give you a much more specific result.”
It is time to collect our thoughts. We are transitioning to a point where AI becomes pure intelligence that can mimic cogitative reasoning of human beings. We need to plan for a world where telepathic functions, the human and the manufactured conscience will work in natural harmony.
Predictions suggest that business models based on today’s static information and cloud architectures will face further challenges.
Companies will need greater flexibility and freedom to adapt more quickly as new dynamic app intelligence caters for the rapidly evolving behavioural patterns of cyber citizens.
So, thanks to all things that think, sync and link, let me leave you with this final thought: apps too will become critical to protect brand equity and enter into data-trade relations with customers – essentially the new form of commercial currency.
WHILE AI LEARNS ABOUT HOW WE THINK, CONTROLLING GADGETS WITH OUR MINDS WILL BECOME MORE OF A REALITY