Category Archives: Technology

Future, Science, Technology

The Future of Technology Part 5 – Quantum

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Basically anyone able to read this is at least familiar with the laws of physics, things like motion, gravity, time, density, momentum, energy etc. You may not know all the details or the scientific explanation but when you see something happen in real life you know whether it is following the basic laws of physics.

My goal is to give the average person a high-level basic understanding of the general laws of Quantum much the same way we have a general understanding of the laws of physics. Moving forward it will be absolutely imperative if you hope to understand the future development of technology.

Quantum will play a significant role in nearly if not all future technology and will eventually become as much a part of our everyday lives as traditional physics. Without a basic understanding of the quantum laws these technologies will look like pure magic of miracles, furthermore it will seem impossible that such a device could exist.

First, we must realize more than one set of laws exist and a given particle may ONLY be governed by one set at any given time. First we have the laws of Physics that govern the interactions of objects in our reality and second we have the Quantum laws the govern the world of particles and atoms. I predict there will be a third set of laws discovered in the future that govern the universe and creation in general but that’s a topic for another day.

Below are basic descriptions and laymen explanations for each of the core principles of quantum. While reading this it is important to remember that particles in a quantum state ARE NOT subject to traditional physics laws such as gravity, time, distance, density, location and so on.

Quantum Entanglement

Once particles are placed in a quantum state they can become entangled one with another. Then the same quantum state can exist at two or more physically separated locations at the same time regardless of the distance.

Quantum Superposition

Superposition is a feature of a quantum laws whereby it exists in an infinite number of separate quantum states at the same time. For example, electrons possess a quantum feature called spin, a type of intrinsic angular momentum. In the presence of a magnetic field, the electron may exist in two possible spin states, usually referred to as spin up and spin down. Each electron, until it is measured, will have a finite chance of being in either state. Only when measured is it observed to be in a specific spin state. In common experience a coin facing up has a definite value: it is a head or a tail. Even if you don’t look at the coin you trust that it must be a head or tail. In quantum experience the situation is more unsettling: material properties of things do not exist until they are measured. Until you “look” (measure the particular property) at the coin, as it were, it has no fixed face up.

Quantum Superlocation

To be fair to Einstein, the concept of superlocation (superposition) does seem to be impossible in the sense that it is not possible to observe this phenomenon in the world we physically observe everyday. It is not like gravity, which can be proved by something as simple as a falling apple. The question of superlocation only arises in the world of subatomic particles. In that realm of existence, the laws of classical physics no longer apply. The principle of quantum superlocation states simply that a quantum particle can exists in 2 or more distinct locations at the same time and will remain in all those locations simultaneously.

Superconductivity

When Superconductivity is achieved electricity flows without resistance from the material it moves through, so that ZERO energy is lost in the transmission process. It occurs when electrons (the negatively charged carriers of electricity) unite to form pairs, balancing each other’s properties in a way that allows them all to move in unison. The phase in which this happens is delicate, typically occurring only when a material is cooled to near absolute zero.

But if wires could be engineered to act as superconductors at room temperature the lossless electrical transmission would greatly reduce global energy usage and usher in a host of new technologies, such as magnetically levitating vehicles.

Quantum Teleportation

Quantum teleportation is a “disembodied” transfer of quantum states or particles from one physical location to another. The quantum teleportation of a qubit or particle is achieved using quantum entanglement, in which two or more particles are inextricably linked to each other. If an entangled pair of particles is shared between two separate physical locations, no matter the distance between them, the encoded information is teleported simultaneously to the opposite location.

This technology has the potential to move physical objects any distance at an instance.

Quantum Tunneling

Quantum tunneling is a phenomenon where an atom or a subatomic particle can travel through and appear on the opposite side of a barrier that should be impossible for the particle to penetrate. It’s as if you were walking and encountered a 100-foot-tall wall 20 feet thick extending as far as the eye can see. Without any equipment the wall would make it impossible for you to continue. 

However, in the quantum world it is possible, for an atom or electron to simply “appear” on the other side, as if a tunnel had been dug through the wall without disturbing it. “Quantum tunneling is one of the most puzzling of quantum phenomena.

Quantum tunneling is not new, it forms the basis of many modern technologies such as electronic chips, called tunnel diodes, which allow for the movement of electricity through a circuit in one direction but not the other.

Particle & Wave Duality

Wave-particle duality refers to the fundamental property of matter where, at one moment it appears like a wave, and yet at another moment it acts like a particle. In traditional physics an item with either behave as a particle or a wave.

In the Quantum world ANYTHING can interchangeably act as a particle or a wave and at times both simultaneously.

Uncertainty Principle

Formulated by the German physicist and Nobel laureate Werner Heisenberg in 1927, the uncertainty principle states that we cannot know both the position and speed of a particle, such as a photon or electron, with perfect accuracy; the more we pin down the particle’s position, the less we know about its speed and vice versa.

In other words, if we could shrink an elephant down to the size of an electron, we would only be able to precisely calculate its speed or its location, not both at the same time.

Though the Heisenberg uncertainty principle is famously known in quantum physics, the same uncertainty applies to problems in pure math and classical physics—basically, any object with wave-like properties will be affected by this principle. Quantum objects are special because they all exhibit wave-like properties by their very nature.

Back to the physical World

Next I will be working on part 6 of the series (The Future of Advertising) this will be one of the most exciting/disturbing portions of this series.

Future, Health, Technology

The Future of Technology (Part 4) – Augmented Reality

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Shift form Virtual (VR) Augmented (AR) Reality

We are in the midst of a fundamental shift away from the more traditional Virtual Reality to a more subtle and fully integrated Augmented Reality. While much of this technology is still in the development and testing stages some have reached production and many are lagging behind waiting on a network truly capable of supporting the use intended by designers/developers. While VR has been popular for many years it generally consists of expensive equipment, restricted movement and limited interaction with reality.

Virtual reality is a “replacement reality” and is almost never mistaken as reality. It is an entirely virtual made up world that has no way of interacting with the real world and generally requires limited mobility of the user. Augmented reality on the other hand is mostly real world (75%ish) with additional content seamlessly integrated and once we apply two basic rules the average person will not be able to distinguish real world from augmented content. Rule one keep three feet between yourself and others, rule 2 never touch anything unless necessary.

Augmented reality (AR) has been around for decades but the technology to truly make it a “Reality” has only been publicly available for the last few years. For true full scale AR you need several things, first you must have an incredible wireless network to handle the immense volume of data (the data stream) required to render 4D graphics in real time, second you need lightweight affordable hardware to process and display these graphics, third you need to condition the general public to keep enough space between one another (let’s say 6′) so that there is room to display “augmented content” into the real world and lastly everyone needs to be conditioned not to touch ANYTING unless they have permission or a legitimate reason to do so.

The data stream will soon be complete, the hardware is already available and will continue to become more integrated through things like smart glass, AR windshields, glasses, contact lenses and even retinal implants, as a result of the “pandemic” we have now been conditioned to keep space between ourselves and others in addition to not touching anyone or anything without express permission. the stage is set and it will lead to the inevitable acceleration of real world augmentation on a mass scale.

Gaming

In part 7 of this series I will cover the future of gaming in far more detail so the remarks here will only cover how AR relates the future of games. It would be impossible to write about the either the beginnings of AR or the future without acknowledging the contributions of the gaming world. Many of the advances in AR technology and real world testing comes from that multi-billion dollar industry.

Probably the most known AR application is the poke’mon GO game launched in 2016 and currently has over 140 Million active daily users with 2+ billion dollars in annual revenue. Players of this game use their mobile device (cellphone/tablet) the chase, capture & fight mythical creatures that through AR have seemingly been added to our reality. These creatures are currently only visible through the screen of a wirelessly connected mobile device but in the future such augmentation will be available with compact lightweight and affordable glasses.

There are now over 100 games available using similar formats and technology. In the near future “Traditional 2D/3D” games as well as VR games will be considered obsolete. Games will no longer be processed by a console, tethered by a controller or limited by a viewing screen such as an antiquated television set. Based of predictions by HP, Sony, Nintendo and others I foresee at least 350 million active daily AR gamers by 2024.

Entertainment

This Topic will also be covered in detail in Part 7 of this series but for the purpose of this article it is sufficient to say the television as we know it will likely cease to exist within our lifetimes. There will be no reason to limit the viewing of digitized content to a single spot in your home. The line between movie and reality to continue to blur past the point of separation. Television style content will be available anywhere anytime and may or may not include content from the real world. movies may not be the same every time you watch them and everyone watching the movie (even on the same screen) may have different experiences and even view differing content.

Movies and shows will be integrated and overlayed with augmented content. Commercials will no longer exist as stand alone segments but will become part of the entertainment you are currently watching and will be ever evolving.

Healthcare

I will cover the future of the healthcare industry very extensively is part 9 of this series. For this post I will briefly touch on a few of the ways AR will be used in the healthcare field. AccuVein is one example. The handheld device uses a laser-based technology to “see” through your skin and into your veins. It’s intended to make it easier for doctors, nurses, or others to find a vein to draw blood or place an IV.

The ability to visually overlay previously collected data onto the patient in real time is where we will see the largest application for the healthcare industry. In June 2020, neurosurgeons at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore announced the first augmented reality surgery. A doctor used it to help place six screws during a spinal surgery to help with serious back pain. Soon after, they used it to remove a spinal tumor from another patient.

Wearing the AR headset will allow doctors to see things like MRI’s, CT scans, x-rays, vein scans, ultrasounds and other data collected projected onto the actual patient and even see some of them simultaneously all while administering treatment or conducting a surgery.

Advertising

Advertising in my opinion is one of the most technologically advanced sectors in existence. I will be covering the current use and future of advertising in Part 6 of this series. In relation to AR the uses for advertising are almost endless.

Most advertising in the future will be targeted through use of augmented reality. We will see signs, posters billboards, ads on the floor, even building walls will become universal target ad space.

GPS

The future of geolocation, navigation, tracking and mapping will be entirely AR based. With a combination of smart windscreens mobile devices and contact lenses we will be able to visually see augmented digital markers directing us to the desired address or location. These markers will be indistinguishable from real world painted markers.

In the future we will be directed by GPS not to an address or a location but instead to a specific parking spot. After exiting the vehicle your smart glasses or contacts with resume navigation and take you to the specific shelf, office or room you were looking for.

Education

The use of “Virtual” learning during the pandemic has conditioned everyone to be more accepting of remote educational content delivery. In the future it is likely that a combination of remote learning and augmented reality will replace traditional schools altogether.

Future, Technology

The Future of Technology (Part 3) – Money

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The Future of Currency

Money, currency and other forms of financial transactions are on the verge of a dramatic transformation that will forever reshape the way we conduct business and trade both locally and globally. The Covid-19 pandemic not only accelerated the shift toward digital and contactless payments, but also led to a more mainstream acceptance of physical cash alternatives like cryptocurrency and that will only become more commonplace moving forward.

The End of Cash

Prasad, a senior professor of trade policy at Cornell University, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and the former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division, says that “the era of cash is drawing to an end and that of central bank digital currencies has already begun.” This is one of the few things I agree with him on.

Though there are an infinite number of ways future currency can evolve but I predict a balanced combination of cryptocurrency, stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and other intergrated non-contact digital payment systems will lead to the complete demise of physical cash in our lifetimes.

In 2010 99.5% of small businesses accepted cash as a payment option, in 2015 that number dropped to 97%, by 2020 it was 90% and by December of 2021 only 70% of small businesses in the US accepted cash as a payment option. In a recent poll conducted by Travis Financial (Credit Unions) they discovered that only 16% of US consumers always carry cash, and additional 9% carry it sometimes and an additional 12% carry it only when needed furthermore a whopping 63% of US consumers no longer carry cash at all.

The truth is the age of cash as a currency has already ended and by way of the pandemic we have already passed the point of no return in our journey toward a completely cashless society.

In the very near future ALL transaction no matter how insignificant will take place using a digital means of transacting all seamlessly connected through the data stream. While true money (gold & silver) will never be completely replaced physical fiat currencies will only exist in museums and numismatic collections.

As inflation continues to rise and the currencies of the world (specifically the US dollar) continues to devalue it will become easier and easier to convince the population the only solution is to replace physical currency with virtual currency. Already most central banks either have or are developing blockchain currencies of their own. There is little doubt that all central banks will have functioning digital currencies by the end of 2022 and many are already using them in limited capacities. It is now an inevitable reality that cash as we know it will be eliminated in the reasonably near future and the most likely scenario will include the drastic devaluation of the US dollar coupled with the rise of blockchain acceptance by central banks and financial institutions.

I still do not see a clear path to any kind of unified global currency for many complicated reasons including politics, psychology and the illusion of freedom and choice. I believe we will have hundreds, possibly even thousands of ways to exchange, send and receive payments and transfer value. The one common thread is they will all be digital and ultimately processed through the data stream. All transaction will be easily tracked, publicly transparent, reported and taxed (likely in real time).

To be clear I don’t think the United States will abruptly end paper money rather they will introduce a digital version of the dollar and slowly transition away from cash.

The Future of Stocks

The rise of NFT’s, Blockchain technology, Digital currencies and electronic transactions will cause the abolition of the stock market as we know it. For better or worse no longer will one entity control the business markets of an entire country nor will the trading market be restricted to specific operating hours or global regions.

Sure companies will still have stocks and you will be able to invest your digital currencies in those stocks and earn returns or take losses. The primary difference is all stocks globally will be decentralized and converted to blockchain “Currencies” exchangeable by anyone at anytime regardless of location. The “stock market” will operate much the same way digital currency exchanges operate now with each company having their own digital currency. It is likely hundreds or even thousands of exchanges will exist and any given company can have their “Stock” listed of any number of them simultaneously.

One advantage to the new model is most companies will likely accept their “stock” as a payment method or currency to purchase services and goods. Some companies may even accept stock of another company as payment for their own goods or services.

Taxes

As the future of currency changes to an ALL-digital model I suspect the model of taxation will also change. I expect to see all levied taxes imposed as a percentage fee applied to each digital transaction and collected by the governing body at the time of transaction.

Taxes will be levied much the way sales taxes are imposed toady but will likely be a higher percentage and all transactions regardless of purpose will be subject to such fees payable at the time of transaction.

UPDATE 02/08/2022

Forbes announced today that the Federal Reserve has developed and tested a “Digital” version of the US dollar that can handle 1.7 Million transactions per second with most transactions closed in <1 Second.

Fed Designs Digital Dollar That Handles 1.7 Million Transactions Per Second (forbes.com)

Future, Technology

The Future of Technology (Part 2) – NFT’s

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NFT’s, Digital Art & Digital Media

NFT’s

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are the latest technological advancement in “cryptocurrency” to go mainstream. Recently Christie’s auction house sold the first-ever NFT artwork (a collection of images by digital artist Beeple) for a whopping $69.3 million NFT’s have attracted the world’s attention. What exactly is an NFT? In the simplest terms, NFTs transform digital (non tangible) works of art and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that can be traded on the blockchain.

Any “Digitizable” item can become a permanent NFT. For example the first tweet Jack Dorsey ever sent is now an NFT (Worth 2+ Million Dollars) Unlike other forms of data stored on Blockchain, NFT’s are non-interchangeable. This means they are not reproducible. The most common iterations of these assets are things like digital media, such as photos, videos, and even audio. An owner of an NFT possesses a digital ledger granted to provide a public certificate of authenticity for that specific item.

NFTs are de-centralized and provide ownership of a particular item to the certificate holder.  It is this function that will lead to the complete replacement of many business transactions that typically require a middleman. Things like deeds, titles, records, movies, medical documents, vaccine records, event tickets and more will move to digital ownership. And because they are decentralized on Blockchain this will theoretically provide the owner a more secure method of ownership in addition to simplified transactions.

In the near future we will see traditionally hard (Paper) documents replaced by NFT’s. Things such as diplomas, domain names, patents, trademarks, bonds, insurance policies, hunting licenses, permits, passports, drivers licenses & visas will be replaced with easily verifiable NFT tokens. Also no intermediaries are required to verify these tokens, a government official, potential employer or educator could verify your “credentials” on the spot for free.

Digital Art

Much like other forms of physical documents traditional printed, painted and drawn art will almost completely cease to exist only to be replaced by NFT’s. In 2020 nearly 90% of all new art created was digital. In addition we will see the rise of both Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality art (more on this in Part 4) creating immersive journeys where the viewer can experience the artwork utilizing a headset, glasses or implants.

I fully expect priceless works of physical art the likes of Van Gough and Picaso to be digitized into an NFT and then destroyed. Artwork of the future will be displayed in smart frames or smart walls using IOT technology (More on that in part 14) and connected to the stream. Your art collection will be ALL digital and accessible from anywhere giving you the ability to display it whenever and wherever you wish.

The pandemic has all but destroyed most museums and many art galleries, many will likely not recover and the ones that do are not likely to have a bright future.

Digital Media

In 2013 I wrote “As our society moves closer to the virtual/digital and further from the human interaction of the physical world we will see a significant decrease in communal experience centers such as museums, movie theaters, concerts, event halls, churches and seminars.” In the near future anything where the experience or content can be delivered digitally will eventually be all but eliminated by NFT’s and digital media.

Indeed we are already nearing the end of things like DVD movies, Video Game Disk’s and Blu-Rays. Everything is readily available for streaming or download in an instant. While this certainly has many advantages such as no more lost or scratched disks, always having the latest version of your favorite game or the latest episode of your favorite show there are many hidden cons to not having a physical “Disk”. Recently I have discovered numerous older movies and shown that are simply not available for digital acquisition or streaming because of political correctness. Even more frequently I have found some of my favorite classics to be modified, dubbed or missing content that is no longer considered socially acceptable. This behavior make me question the motives of those pushing for the elimination of physical media.

Books

What does the future hold for paper writings, book, pamphlets, guides and so on? While I don’t think books will ever be truly eliminated (Partly because people like me) in the near future traditional print media will be replaced with a combination of E-books, NFT’s and audio books with features unlike anything currently imaginable.

Future “books” will be bundled with soundtracks, musical leitmotifs, 3-D graphics, augmented reality and streaming video. They’ll be enhanced with social bookmarking, online dating, and alerts from geo-networking apps whenever someone in your locality purchases the same book as you, literally anything so you don’t have to actually read the “book”.

Like other forms of media mentioned earlier the books deemed not socially acceptable or otherwise disruptive my not be available at all, still others may be gradually edited and changed to become more “Acceptable”. I have already seen several instances where new copies classic books have been edited for content thereby changing the authors intent and this trend is likely to get worse as time progresses.

Entire libraries will be stored on a single device or perhaps “in the cloud” accessible from anywhere and will remain in a constant state of evolution. Imagine all of your books and media constantly being “Updated” and revised in real time subject to the whims and political persuasions of the authors and distributors.

Speaking for myself I have begun the arduous process of collecting classic films and literature of importance for the sake of originality and the preservation of history for my progeny.

Update 02/10/2022

The first real property has sold with the deed issued as an NFT

Gulfport home first in nation sold as NFT; buyer pays $655K (baynews9.com)

Future, Technology

The Future of Technology (Part 1) – Global Net

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What does our future look like and is this what we really want? I have been speaking about and writing on this subject for many years and have been mostly ignored. In the year 2000 while everyone was having a complete meltdown over the Y2K “Bug” I was warning people about the quickly evolving interconnected “Network” of computers and servers that would eventually dictate our everyday lives. Every aspect of our lives either has become or will be so interconnected that it has become impossible for me to break this down by technology types as I have done in the past. I will make every effort to avoid theories, conspiracies, and rabbit trails that require assumptions as this series of writings will be based entirely on fact, personal knowledge and experience.

This will be a series of articles (At least 20) covering how technology is currently or will soon affect and impact our lives in general and will be loosely broken down by category. First and by far the most important in my opinion is the global data network, this has been the “Missing piece” or the bottleneck that has stymied the advancement of technological advance for the last decade or more. In this series I will cover at minimum the following topics in detail and will attempt to stay on-topic for each (Although it may not always be possible due to the interconnectivity of everything)

Just remember when we think the future is a long way off, today we are closer to the year 2050 than we are to the year 1990.

  • 1: The Global Data Network
  • 2: NFT’s, Digital Art & Digital Media
  • 3: The Future of Currency
  • 4: Augmented Reality
  • 5: Quantum Principles
  • 6: The Future of Advertising
  • 7: Video Gaming/Entertainment
  • 8: Self Driving Cars
  • 9: Healthcare
  • 10: Space Travel
  • 11: Genetic Manipulation
  • 12: Politics in The Digital World
  • 13: Retail Sales and Stores
  • 14: IOT (Internet of Things)
  • 15: 3D/4D Printing
  • 16: Farming/Food of the Future
  • 17: AI, Supercomputers, Data/Server Farms
  • 18: The Metaverse
  • 19: Public Transportation
  • 20: The Surveillance State
  • 21: Biological Implants (Singularity)
  • 22: Theoretically Possible Technologies

PART 1: The Global Data Network (The Datastream)

Back in 2005 I wrote “The ability for the implementation and advancement of ALL other technologies is ultimately reliant on the existence of a wireless data network with universal global coverage and near unlimited bandwidth” This still holds true today and even with all the advancements in wireless technology and high-speed internet the realistic possibility of such a network has only become a reality in the last 24 months. For the purposes of these writings I will be referring to this network regardless of control, name or ownership as “The Datastream” or simply “The Stream”

Every aspect of every current and future technology will both rely on and be an integral part of the stream. In the relatively near future we will reach a milestone of one trillion connected devices on planet earth. For reference in 2010 there were approximately 1 Billion Connected Devices, by 2015 we had almost 14 Billion, today we have approximately 105 Billion connected devices globally. The numbers are growing exponentially and there is currently no way to track or calculate the number of new devices although the current estimate is about 2.5 Million devices per hour.

This new “Data Stream” will ultimately replace all other communication mediums. In the future ALL “Communication” will happen through the stream. The stream will replace DSL, Dialup, Broadband, WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, IR (Infrared), Light Beam, FM, AM, Shortwave, Cable, Fiber, Traditional satellite, Microwave, Burst, Cell tower networks, and ALL Wired communication. In 2015 I wrote “This future wireless system will likely operate on the 26-40GHz range and be almost entirely low earth orbit satellite based” The new Starlink system currently being deployed by Space-X (Elon Musk) operates on the 12-42GHz Bands and is completely low earth orbit based. While it’s possible this is only the first prototype and my not ultimately be the permanent stream it is the type of unified global network needed to implement all the future technologies currently in production.

In May of 2019 space-X launched the first 60 satellites into orbit, Space-x currently has more than 2,000 satellites in orbit with a planned 42,000 by the end of 2024. This new global network when complete will have the capacity of all current global communication systems combined. It is completely absurd to think that such a system is in development ONLY for the purpose of extending high-speed internet to previously “underserved” communities as stated by Space-X. This system or one like it will become the future of all communications.

One advantage of low earth orbit (Previously considered a disadvantage) is the fact that the earth’s gravity causes a slow yet constantly decaying orbit for the satellites. Due to decay the LEO satellites have a 3-5 year service life and ultimately burn up in the atmosphere in the end. Already Space-X is launching Gen2 Satellites and is well underway developing Gen3 units. By the time the Starlink constellation is complete they will likely be launching Gen7 units with 4x-6x the throughput capabilities compared to current versions. I also suspect the later generations will include additional technologies such as GPS, Cameras and possibly lasers to communicate between satellites. I predict by the time the ever evolving Starlink constellation is complete it will have 3x-5x the capacity of ALL current global communication systems on earth combined and likely continue to double that capacity every 3-5 years exponentially.

Most devices will connect directly to the stream but all devices will also have the ability to connect indirectly to the stream through any available connection or ANY other device that is currently connected, most devices will also have the ability to connect to numerous other devices (Perhaps 128 devices) simultaneously without affecting performance. Indeed the future we are building (or allowing) looks very different than the past and I leave it to you to decide if this will result in peace & harmony for all mankind or if the future hold oppression of expression, loss of freedom and the abolition of personal privacy.

UPDATE 02/08/2022

Space X launches batch of 49 Satellites with laser crosslink communication between units.

SpaceX Is First With Inter-Satellite Laser Links in Low-Earth Orbit, but Others Will Follow (circleid.com)