By Dick Pelletier
In the last two decades, advances in computing technology, from
processing speed to network capacity and the Internet, have
revolutionized our lives. From sequencing genomes to monitoring the
climate, many scientific advances would have been impossible
without an increase in computing power – and now with quantum
computers (QC) 
on the verge of harnessing atoms and molecules to calculate
billions of times faster than silicon-based computers, scientists
predict an even more amazing future unfolding.
In a recent
Fortune Magazine article, writers Peter Schwartz and Rita
Koselka describe a QC world that includes microscopic sensors
embedded in our homes, vehicles, and workplace that monitor our
well-being 24/7; and a thin headband of ultrasonic transducers that
wirelessly transmits information both ways between the Internet and
our brain, and to other headbands.
UVA scientist Stuart Wolf anticipates
that within 20 years, instead of cell-phone conversations we will
have “network-enabled telepathy” – we will ‘speak’ directly to
another person’s headband from anywhere in the world using just our
thoughts.
Several trends drive this future forward. The cell-phone and PC
are already beginning to merge and will eventually be reduced to
mere ‘chips’ on our headband. If you wonder how devices can get
smaller and still be accessible, keep in mind that vastly-improved
voice-recognition software will soon arrive.
While voice technology only works efficiently on fast processors
today, rising bandwidth will one day make this the only way to
communicate with PCs and cell-phones. Goodbye keyboard!
The following scenario portrays what life might be like in this
quantum future:
(cont.)
Your driverless hybrid knows it is warm and rolls the top down.
You drive to the freeway on-ramp and relinquish the wheel. Your
headband screens a video to enjoy on the way to the airport where
there is no ticket check-in or security line. In a split second,
micro-cams identify you and provide your gate number.
While boarding the plane, you see a familiar person. Your
headband immediately flashes his virtual business card and displays
it on your eyes. “Dr. Horton”, you call out. “It’s so nice to see
you again. How was the conference”? Only the slightest flicker of
Horton’s eyes betrays that he is Googling your details too. “Hello
George; the conference was fine and congratulations on your
promotion”.
This may sound like science fiction, but it is not. Sony has
already patented a system that beams data directly into the brain
without implants, and most experts believe this futuristic world
will soon become reality.
With our headband, we can speak or think any question, and get
an immediate answer. Everyone will have access to something
approaching all information all the time. Just consider some of the
potential ramifications of unlimited information availability. The
necessity to learn languages might disappear. If the devices were
cheap enough, and the network truly ubiquitous and global, the
economic playing field could be leveled. No more inequality in
third-world countries; if information is power, everyone will have
it.
Some may find wearing this revolutionary headband unsettling,
but proponents say it’s only a piece of clothing; you can always
take it off. As with previous disruptive technologies – radio,
television, the Internet – this too will one day become a natural
part of our lives. Go “magical future.”
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