Fourteen years from now my daughter will be turning 16. When I turned 16, the Internet was not like it is today. All of the world’s information was not in our pocket. We had to go to the library to research. We used phone booths and phones with wires to communicate long distances. Stamps were our currency we traded alongside baseball cards. Our parents didn’t care what we did just as long as we came home before the street lights came on. Most cars had lap belts, in the front seat. My 16th birthday was different than my dad’s 16th birthday but not by much. Oh, what simpler times.
Technology has accelerated rapidly over the last 20 years and this acceleration is estimated to continue at an even faster pace. This inevitably will make my daughter’s 16th birthday dramatically different than my own. The Internet of Things will truly be in everything, including for some, our brains.
What will the world look like 14 years from now?
One of my favorite futuristic writers is Ray Kurzweil. Ray wrote “The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology “ which is about artificial intelligence and the exponential increase in technological advances that will change the way humans live and think. In Ray’s writing, he gives us a glimpse at what the world of Internet of Things will look like in 2029.
- Supermarkets and retail spaces will be fully automated
- Self-driving cars will be everywhere
- People will not be allowed to drive on the highway.
- Intelligent advertising will be ubiquitous.
- An example of this is where new technology will allow two ultrasonic beams to intersect at a specific point, delivering a localized sound message that only a single person can hear. (All Predictions)
- Some military and land vehicles will be 100% computer controlled
- Computers less than 100 nm in size will be possible
- AI (Artificial Intelligence) is expected to pass the Turing test by the last year of the decade (2029)
- With a $1,000 computer, humans will be able to replicate human intelligence
- Nanobots will perform detailed brainscans on live patients
- The revolution of Nanotechnology will begin.
- High quality broadband will be available everywhere
- Cell phones will be built into clothing and will be able to project sounds directly into the ears of their users.
- Virtual Reality will be so real humans will not be able to feel the difference
- Most diseases will be eradicated with the help of nanobot technology
In 2014, Ray did a TED talk Called “Get Ready for Hybrid Thinking”.
At this pace, when my grandchild turns 16, my daughter will reminisce about how things were dramatically different when she turned 16. She too will say, “Oh, what simpler times.”
