Here
is something that may be one of the cornerstones for what's to come on the
Internet: "nerve tapping."
Using
a special neckband,
humans will be able capture nerve
impulses going from their brains to their vocal chords. These signals are picked up by the neckband and relayed wirelessly to a
computer that converts them into words spoken by a computerized voice.
In other words, voiceless communication!
Imagine two people having a phone conversation in a crowded room without ever
actually speaking a word. The airlines might like this notion, or other
quiet places, such as golf matches, opera concerts, or theater shows. And almost
certainly such technology would be miraculous for people who, for a number of
medical reasons, are unable to speak.
Now think of the possibilities of being able
to communicate with your Web-enabled mobile device without ever making a sound.
For example, recently Yahoo released its oneSearch
mobile application. With oneSearch, anything you would search for at your desktop, you
can now ask for from your phone. With nerve tapping technology, it will
be possible to walk down a street and quietly communicate with your mobile
device. You might really be craving a slice of pizza, and without saying a
word aloud, directions to the nearest pizza parlor are provided into your
ear. In fact, thanks to GPS, they will already know where you are without
you saying -- or nerve tapping -- a word. This is obviously well beyond
Web 3.0.
Imagine, also, how this will affect mobile
social networks. Users will be able to update their friends with their
every thought or movement in real time. Just think what business models will be
formed through voiceless communications and even how voiceless communications
may in some scenarios allow us to communicate even better than we already
do. For instance, international voiceless communications will allow us to
have a conversation and conduct business with someone in a foreign language without
ever actually saying a word. The computer will do the translating.
It all seems like something out of a wild sci-fi novel -- too far out to be
real. But then again, I seem to recall that the communicators in the original
Star Trek series looked an awful lot like today's flip phones. One has
got to wonder, is technology improving our society, or perhaps is it getting to
be too advanced for our own good?
The world used to comprise a disparate group made
up of all kinds of people who followed their own traditions and customs, but
technology is bringing people closer together and making our very round world
extremely flat.
The
promise of the Internet has always been about the ability to communicate. It began as a way for researchers to share data, matured with the evolution of
IP, and has the potential to drastically change each and every part of our
lives as we know them today.
As
a PR guy, I think the Internet just may have the potential to take things too
far. Currently we're living in a time where the relationship between
humans and technology is controllable -- we're utilizing technology to our
advantage and learning how to employ it to efficiently maximize our daily
lives. However, with the evolution of new, advanced technologies, such as nerve
tapping, we might be heading down a path of more harm than good. If computers
are doing all the talking, we may end up in a civilization where people are
less valued than the computer doing the communicating. If that happens,
I'll be nerve tapping from Mars.
— Todd Barrish, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Dukas Public Relations
I doubt that many people would be able to keep up with the technology. It would require the practiced discipline of a ventriloquist to master that interface without subvocalizing.... in this case I suspect the loud mouthed equivalent of the urban porch stoop would be replaced by the mutterings of an asylum.
I am not at all sure that many I see using cell phones in public would welcome this interface (especially in book stores.) Part of the appeal of cell phones seems to be that people can broadcast how important their lives are to everyone within hearing range.
Like the image of the Marlboro Man and cigarettes that's taken a generaton to beat back, the contemporary cell phone user seems to be reliving the image of the industrial tycoons, the moguls, the shakers and movers who had them when they were rare..... (Banechek, was my favorite, calling the Mobile Operator from his car...)
There is something about typical cell phone users that cries out "look how important the minute detail of my everyday existence is.... it transcends modesty and privacy..... you MUST know the details, you must hear what I am discussing."
Even with Bluetooth, these shouts of not-so-quiet desperation ring out compelling all to hear....
I don't think people would want to give that up, and muttering would just be too unintelligable to convey the importance these urgent communications demand of all within earshot.
I agreed with you in saying there is no stopping to this 'inevitable evolution and i don't think it's the responsibility of a thinkernetter to determine which technology is 'way of the top' for humans! I think it's superflous to say a a particular technology is "anti-human" simply because someone does not have need of it. Just think of countless number fo people for whom this technology will obviously bring much needed relief. I think of a guy like Stephen Hawking! He will welcome such technolgy like 'manna from Heaven!!! Has he being notified anyway of this technolgy?
So for the folks that think voiceless communication is not for them, don't envy those whose exustence is about to be revolutionize by a Necklace!!!
"It is not rational or reality-based to think we can stop parts of Internet evolution in its tracks."
Not sure that's quite true. This is not an inexorable, natural process we're talking about here. These are artifacts created by humans, or their next-of-kin, and such things are occasionally rejected by the target audience. (Think: Smell-O-Vision.)
If people don't buy into "nerve tapping" then it won't endure beyond the initial spate of geeky enthusiasm.
It is a very interesting post . However it seems to me that in this race for enhancing communications related technologies , we as people know less and less about communicating with others.
It is nice to be be able to talk or chat with someone across the world but sparing a thought for the person across the room or maybe in the same building seems less a priority. Reaching out and just plain simple communicating with words and touch have resulted in some of the greatest accomplishments of the human race. Now we need technology for the simple task of saying "Best of Luck" to someone who needs it the most.
While the race for the latest great way of communicating is on, are we creating a world of even greater disparity . Money will decide who can buy what and thus how they can communicate and the associated social networks they join.
Is this technology for the sake of human enhancement or for the sake of technology ? If it helps someone who cannot speak and reach their potential , then cheers for it. Else it will generate advertising revenue for some, sales for some and greater disparity for most.
Specifically on the idea in this post, we are already talking about too much information and clutter , what will happen with such concepts and ideas.
All of us want "to get away from it all and rejuvenate" . What will happen to this feeling ?
I see here the same basic fallacy as in "In Praise of Slow". Many of the changes envisioned are part of an all-pervasive worldwide change in how human beings live and interact. It is profitable to debate how best to adapt to these changes, or how to use them for good. It is not rational to talk about stopping progress, "not going there". No one has the power to stop or prevent basic elements of an inevitable evolution.
Put more simply is part of the purpose of ThinkerNet Blog internetevolution.com to stop elements of Internet evolution from happening? It is exciting to think about molding, shaping evolution as a force for good, adapting to changes, figuring out how to use them to enable us to do things we could not do before. It is not rational or reality-based to think we can stop parts of Internet evolution in its tracks. The problem with drawing a line in the sand that no one can cross is that it would have to be a very large number of lines in a large number of sands and you could never police them all!
Carl Honore the author of In Praise of Slow was born and grew up in Edmonton. It is possible to find resonance with some of his ideas including the slow home as a kind of counterbalance. But if you compare Honore videos with Ray Kurzweil videos you can see that Kurzweil blows Honore out of the water. You know Kurzweil has won when the entertaining parodies start!
I read the post but initially didn't think about music - I'm sure they'll figure something out hehe.
Not so long ago the Nature Journal reported an experiment where monkeys used their thoughts to control a robotic arm to feed themselves. I don't know the science behind it but it surely is a fascinating accomplishment.
Amazing story though it is hard to believe. what will happen with the singing then?Will everybody will be able to sing great, the singing depends on the ability of the vocal chords not brains.But If i think that I am singing well will the other person will hear it the way I think but not the way I real sing?
Apart from being a bold fashion statement, this could be very useful for the prosecution of thought crimes -- but potentially hazardous for friendly communications, especially for those of us with a tendency to utter imprecations under our breath.
Indeed, most people have internal editors to keep them from saying everything that may come to mind...
"Always happy to hear from you. I suppose you want to borrow money."
"I hear you won the Pulitzer. It should have been me, dammit!"
"Congratulations on your marriage. I give it six months tops... Hello? Hello?"
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