THE LASTING MARRIAGE OF TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN NATURE – WHAT WE CAN EXPECT FROM 2017 (PART 3 OF 4)

We have learned to talk to computers and telephones and grown to expect them to surprise, entertain and advise us as well as make us feel secure. Technology has become an integral part of our emotional lives.

Long gone is the time when computers and telephones were considered to be mere objects. Today, our smartphones and laptops have become our life partners. We have learned to talk to them and grown to expect them to surprise, entertain and advise us as well as make us feel secure. Technology has become an integral part of our emotional lives.

As a general trend, mesh networks represent a global process of people connecting with devices and services – their role is to support a range of interface processes between man and machine. These may be a thinking process, services, aids for improved perception, stimuli enhancement or access to technologies. Once a connection develops, it naturally fosters an evolution in user experience. This, in turn, fuels a further evolution and the emergence of ever-more sophisticated support technologies: conversation systems and expanded technology platforms.

Expanded technology platforms

Expanded technology platforms have become a base for any company set on integrating a digital ecosystem. Modern business organizations resemble a mosaic of diverse digital platforms which work together. Examples include User Experience, Analytical Systems and the Internet of Things. Initiatives concerning the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Conversation Systems are particularly fascinating. Companies today are making key decisions regarding which technologies to implement first to make their business more profitable, competitive and effective. The number of such solutions is set to skyrocket soon.

Omnichannel as a example of multiplatform model.

Conversation Systems

We are living in times in which computers strive to understand people rather than the other way around. Finally! To facilitate this process, technology corporations have taken an interest in solutions designed to support communication between men, machines and IT systems. One example of this is conversation systems which enable people and machines to communicate by touch, sight and/or voice. The simplest solutions of this kind, already available today, are digital assistants that respond to voice questions about the today’s date or the temperature outside. Applications of this kind are evolving rapidly and can be expected to become popular tools among both business people and scientists. Imagine telling your smartphone to find e-mails on a specific matter. The result: your mails get sorted by topic. A more complex example is that of an application that uses oral witness testimonies to build a psychological profile of a murderer that can be printed in a matter of seconds.

Conversation system based on an iPhone 4 Siri example.

The demise of interfaces?
Digital tools have undergone quite an evolution. The interesting thing is that only a decade ago, before the explosion of social media and smartphones, the line separating tools and humans was both clear and static. Today, computers actively respond to us, express our thoughts, listen to and stay close to us. It is very likely that advances in biotechnology and synthetic medicine will further blur the line between human beings and digital devices. Within two or three years, we will all be able to don headsets that will enable us to experience virtual reality intensely. And what is next? Perhaps we will live to see processors integrated into our body that directly receive signals sent by our brain. Today, I no longer consider this to be pure science fiction.