Dreaming of the Future

Here are my opinions of each of the 10 dreams of technology.

1. Symbiosis – To meld human tissue with synthetic technology is one thing, but to merge a human brain, what we are, essentially, with a computer is utterly inconceivable. It would change what it is to be human. I think enhancing human ability with technology is a possible pathway, and I assume this symbiosis is also a pathway, but it is not one I would want to be a part of in my lifetime.

2. Emergence – The idea of a network adapting and learning is basically the plot to every second science fiction film ever made. It is a scary thought, but I feel that if it happens, humanity will have some control over it, rather than a complete surprise when it does happen. [Terminator 2: Judgement Day]

3. Immersion – To be put in a man-made reality is how I see the future of video games. But to live a life in a man-made reality is not what life is. [Surrogates]

4. World Peace – World peace will most likely never happen. Conflict is the essence of life. I think the only possible way to encounter world peace will be in combination with Symbiosis or Immersion to their fullest extents.

5. Transparency – Didn’t get it.

6. Flows – The ideal of a Utopia, so to speak, is similar to world peace in that it will be unlikely to come to fruition, even with the development of network technologies.

7. Open Work – While Wikipedia is a collaborative project of information, a newer and fresher example of open work is Hit.Record. It’s a collaborative film site run by Joseph Gordon-Levitt that allows anybody to contribute to various peoples projects by making film, images, photos, drawings, text, narrative and music.

8. The Other – Sit in the mind of another and experience what they experience. It seems impossible, but i’m sre hundreds of years from now somebody will be able to make a device that will allows us to enter the mind of another, or maybe simulate the emotions of another. [Being John Malkovich]

9. New Art – This always happens, so I’m sure eventually we will see the rise of a new art form. I can’t wait to see what it will be.

10.  Hacking – I missed the point of this one, it’s hacking.