The future world will be like this! Let’s predict from current information.

Do you ever think about what the future world will be like? Many of you may not usually think about it, but predicting the future is interesting. And considering the current state of technological evolution, you can experience a highly advanced world, to the extent that it feels like a world from a movie, like science fiction!

Predicting the future is fun, so I do it often. If you're in business, you often hear that it's important to always read one step ahead of the times. What's important is that one step ahead, but by predicting the future decades from now, that one step ahead, which is part of the process, becomes easier to see.

So, this time, let's think about the future several decades from now. If you delve deeper into the current state of technological development, you'll find that it has actually evolved to an incredible extent. I'll try to use my imagination while introducing current technologies that haven't yet come much to the surface.

1. Brainwave control and communication technology.

First, let's talk about the utilization of brainwaves. Brainwaves, in other words, are a technology that allows "objects to move as you think in your head, or to convey words into other people's minds like telepathy." Is such a thing really possible? Some of you might think it's just something from the movies, but it's already been realized more than you might imagine.

An example of brain utilization is below. It's the Epic Mind Drive. This is a car that moves to the right just by thinking "move right," meaning you can drive it just by thinking. It seems that some training is required on how to think, but the technology has already advanced to the point where cars can be driven by thought.

In reality, people drive while talking, so I don't know how practical it is to move a car with thought, but as a progress report on brainwave research, it was somewhat shocking.

And another is telepathy. It's a technology that directly conveys information thought by one person into another person's mind. What was once considered a superpower is now being realized by analyzing brainwaves. This is an article, not a video, but if you're interested, please read it.

Experiment to connect brains via the internet for telepathy succeeds
http://nge.jp/2014/09/08/post-5172

In addition, there's a somewhat intense experiment where electrodes are directly attached to the brain, as shown below, and an experiment to reproduce spoken words from brainwaves was conducted, apparently succeeding in reproduction with high probability.

Successful word reproduction with brainwaves! Is this leading to telepathy technology!?
http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2012&d=0202&f=national_0202_280.shtml

In this way, the technology for utilizing brainwaves with technology is evolving daily, and its precision is gradually increasing. In the United States, serious experiments in telepathy technology have begun since 2009, and in recent years, numerous achievements have been made. In Japan, products like "brainwave-controlled cat ears" have been announced, and brainwave research will undoubtedly make remarkable progress in the next few years.

What kind of world will be realized by brainwaves? For example, it will naturally become possible to move machines around you just by thinking, and by connecting the brain to the internet, direct control of programs from the brain will become possible. Brainwave-receiving terminals will be released, allowing the brain to access all kinds of data using that terminal as a hub. It will become applicable to various technologies.

Telepathy is no longer something like magic or a superpower; it's something that science is beginning to unravel. If that's the case, what was once considered a delusion and thought to be dangerous if someone claimed to use telepathy, might actually mean that if someone was born with unusual brainwaves, they might have been able to access other people's thoughts.

2. Cyborg and augmentation technology

Some of you might imagine something like 'Terminator!' It's that thing that's half machine, half human. Actually, what exactly is the definition of a cyborg? It's an abbreviation for 'cybernetic organism'.

It refers to something that integrates 'cybernetic' technology (automatic control systems). Specific examples include embedding artificial objects such as artificial organs into the body, or replacing bodily functions with artificial objects, including electronic devices.

So says Wikipedia. In other words, if a person's bodily functions are in some way mechanical, it's not incorrect to call them a cyborg. Those who use prosthetic legs or arms are also considered cyborgs in a broad sense. According to Wikipedia, 'pacemakers, artificial hearts, myoelectric prosthetic hands, cochlear implants, and artificial eyes (replacements for eyeballs, retinas, optic nerves, etc.)' are also included.

In other words, it's more realized than imagined, and the rest is about how far those functions can be enhanced. When I looked into it, I found that it has evolved to an incredible extent.

First, there's the 'prosthetic arm' that moves when you think about it, just like a natural human arm. Until now, prosthetic arms wouldn't move no matter how much you thought about it, but now, there are prosthetic arms that move if you intend to move them with your mind. The mechanism seems to involve receiving electrical signals from muscles to operate them.

Furthermore, 'artificial eyes' that connect to the optic nerve and allow one to actually see images already exist. As of 2012, the images were said to be black and white, but how far has it progressed as of 2015? Perhaps it can even reproduce color.

The following is an article from that time; if you're interested, please take a look.

Blindness treatment through eye cyborgization successfully achieved for the first time in the world!! A blind man can see again after 10 years by having a microchip implanted in his eyeball!!

http://commonpost.boo.jp/?p=34619

In addition, though it's a bit unsettling, experiments are also being conducted on robots with built-in artificial organs. This means that new forms of bodies are emerging as human bodies and mechanical bodies complement each other's lacking parts. This process of supplementing the human body with artificial technology is sometimes called human augmentation.

If combined with the aforementioned telepathy technology that connects the brain to the internet, worlds like those in 'Ghost in the Shell,' 'The Matrix,' and 'Avatar' would no longer be mere science fiction. Incidentally, technology similar to 'Avatar' was already being researched as early as 2012.

Considering how existing technologies can be combined, it becomes clear that what was once called magic or superpowers is now being realized through science. Even things that are currently considered non-existent or mere pipe dreams might actually be explainable by science in reality.

3. Augmented Reality, VR Technology.

Now, the last technology introduction is VR. VR headsets, pioneered by Oculus and Sony's Morpheus. Everyone can experience these immediately. What they do is, you wear a headset over your eyes, and they provide an experience as if you've entered a game or a video.

If you want to experience it easily,Google Cardboardthere's a 'cardboard' product that can turn your smartphone into a VR headset. It's sold for 1000 yen on Amazon, so please give it a try. If you have a Samsung smartphone, you can purchase Gear VR from the Oculus website.

VR head-mounted displays allow you to enter a 360-degree visual space. I tried it myself, and the sense of immersion was beyond imagination. At first, my eyes felt tired, but with technological improvements and getting used to it, that feeling will likely diminish. The actual device will be released in 2016. It seems 2016 will be the birth year of head-mounted displays.

By the way, Oculus was already used at the Attack on Titan exhibition, and there seemed to be an exhibit where you could enter the world of Attack on Titan. I wanted to see it. I also bought Google Cardboard for experimentation. When my mother tried it, she replied, "We won't have to go to Disneyland anymore." Indeed, if amusement parks were recreated with realistic VR and head-mounted displays, there might not be much need to visit the actual location. Lol

And this VR head-mounted display will expand into the real world. Microsoft's "Hololens" is a prime example. Microsoft positions VR as "the next PC" and is pushing forward with its development. For details, please watch the video below, as it's easy to understand.

By the way, "Hololens" is also said to be released in 2016.

http://www.itmedia.co.jp/news/articles/1508/02/news020.html

Although already realized on smartphones, apps that display the real world through a camera on a screen, allowing users to tag spaces themselves or leave messages, have also emerged. By realizing this in the world of games and with the functionality of head-mounted displays, a new market will be created, merging virtual reality and reality. This is a very exciting prospect for the future.

4. Consider what happens when the technologies introduced this time merge.

What if these technologies merged? It's easy to imagine. By directly connecting VR space to human optic nerves, everything from computers to videos could be controlled within the VR space. If you project an image into the space in front of you and make a motion as if typing on a keyboard, you would be able to type on the space as a display.

Furthermore, by directly connecting the brain to the internet, information retrieved from the net could be stored in VR space. It might even be possible to place it around as a pseudo-object like a notebook. As input to the brain will also evolve further, sensory feedback might also become possible.

Moreover, with artificial organs, advanced prosthetic arms, and prosthetic legs, many parts of the body could be supplemented by technology. Perhaps an era will come where bodies that exhibit higher potential than actual bodies can be conceptually replaced. At this stage, dismembering the body to replace it with something artificial is horrifying, though.

And a communication method connecting telepathy or brainwaves with the internet will be established, allowing communication through thought rather than voice. Initially, it might not be a solid language but rather a form of non-verbal communication.

If that happens, there will be less need to carry things around. Since computers will be integrated into the body, most of the electronic devices we currently carry, from smartphones to PCs, could potentially be directly integrated into our bodies.

In addition, from the cyborgization of humans themselves, the technology that such humans use will also change. At the same time, not only what was introduced this time, but also research like AI, where machines have consciousness, is being done, and there is also research to enhance the original functions of life, such as genes and various cells. It's even said that research into immortality could be realized.

These technologies will also enter the feasible future we've predicted. There's also research on space, new energy, and so on. Hundreds of millions of the smartest people in the world will combine and consider these. What kind of evolution will occur? It's truly unknown, isn't it?

Looking at the technologies currently being developed, the worldview described above is not just a pipe dream; there's even a possibility it could be realized in a few decades. Or, it might be offered as technology that goes beyond what we are currently imagining. In any case, since sci-fi and movies are also created with our current imagination, the future will be realized based on even more advanced imagination.

In that process, where do we set the next step? Business opportunities that anticipate the future might, surprisingly, be found 'just before' the future predicted decades away. So. Where are we headed? I'm looking forward to it.