I always thought movies over exaggerated the future and the advances in technology it may bring. When we see movies like Star Wars we dismiss it as mere fantasy, but its a frightening thought that these movies could be a directors actual prediction of the future. They've been pretty accurate so far; I remember watching the movie 'minority report' about 10 years ago. In the show the characters played with an interactive computer screen and demonstrated possibilities in biometrics and many other fields of science. I remember being absolutely fascinated with these scenes thinking how creative the director was in coming up with such 'crazy inventions that would never happen'. But fast forward to today, these technologies have indeed become something not so fascinating and surreal anymore. At present, these things are already the norm and were looking ahead to even more exciting possibilities. That was how I felt 10 years back, what would I be looking back on 10 years, 50 years from now?
Today's lesson probably covered one of the more interesting topics we had so far. The topic had no boundaries, because in fact, the future always holds no boundaries. I was particularly interested in certain developments in several fields of technology. One of it was the concept of augmented reality. In Mike Adams report on the 10 most important emerging technologies, augmented reality was listed as one of them. Mike focused on augmented reality used in education. I was particularly interested because I have never been an advocate the typical lecture settings, classrooms, lecture notes. Sadly this is the main form of education we have in the world this day. But will it be for long? I've always felt experience is the best learning method. Experience that involves not only seeing and hearing, but other things like movement, touch and emotions. The idea of education through augmented reality is about projecting learning unto the environment around us. Students will be able to learn about anatomy by walking through the human body and interacting with it. All they might have to do is don a pair of see-through glasses. It is an exciting prospect for providing the next generation better quality education.
Imagine taking it outside the classroom. If you saw something you were not sure off, what if all you needed to do to find out about it was to put on your pair of glasses? You could start reading up and watching videos on the subject instantly. This makes learning immediate and on-the-go. The world becomes your textbook and learning playground. People will keep their eyes and ears open for things around them, instead of staring at their notes with their earphones plugged in. I can imagine technology that can allow us to simply look at something, and a search engine picks up the visual image and scans through massive databases which can allow you to view information in any form or language. When I look at google, when I look at the iPhone, the more I think that this innovation could become a reality sooner than we think.
Another interesting technology topic that always comes up when we talk about the future is the concept of practical robots. Smart robots that do more than what they are programmed to do, but can respond and adapt to changes. The technology has already penetrated our households with appliances like washing machines being 'smart' enough to judge a pile of laundry by itself. Robots may make life very much easier for us humans, eliminating the daily hassles of life, but will it slowly suck the will out of a human beings? What will happen the virtue of hardwork, or the essentials of physical training? Doing things that seem redundant may not be so redundant, it gives you time to reflect, and the hard things are what make the easier things so much more enjoyable.
I may one day come to except a robot doing my household chores, and maybe even my homework for me. As absorb as I feel it is, I may grow to slowly lose my resistance towards it. But the concept of robot companions (even as friends, not to mention lovers) is something I will never succumb to. Robot companions are gaining popularity as they do not have flaws living beings are born with. AIBO, Japan's robotic dog, is already owned by 50,000 people. You may be able to channel a robot to have fake feelings, however, you can never program a soul. Love and friendship are not only based on positive character traits but it is about accepting each others imperfections as well. Imperfections and diversity are part of the beauty of life. Humans should not strive to eliminate the human touch in relationships. If we do so, or rather, if our present attempts succeed in doing so, everything will soon become meaningless. If we one day touch the sun, but we lose our souls, what profit do we make?
Class Rating: 9
No comments:
Post a Comment