Futurologist gives predictions on what future life will look like – Belfast Telegraph

Renowned 20th century physicist Denis Garbor declared the future cannot be predicted, but the future can be invented. Its a motto that futurologist Dr Ian Pearson, who lived in Belfast for nearly two decades and graduated from Queens University, can probably appreciate. The leading expert tells Weekend what technological strides will shape our lives in 2022 and beyond.

Metaverse and Virtual reality (VR)

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Augmented reality technology

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It has been launched in the past a few times and failed. Like 3DTV, I think theres enough critical mass this time to see it take off this year.

And thatll lead on to augmented reality, where you overlay VR onto the environment around you like walking through Belfast and seeing offers pop up marketing information overlaid onto reality as you walk by shops. Thats easy to do.

This also has a negative side and could be seen as a gross invasion of privacy if it isnt regulated properly, because face recognition technology is obviously capable of identifying a person.

Theoretically you could walk through town and see peoples phone numbers, names overlaid on their avatars, gained through information available on social media.

Generally, most of the applications coming out of VR are positive; upgrades to Zooms where you can meet people in 3D, albeit using avatars with smart glasses.

In the next few years we might see contact lenses with 3D overlays in the real world. This year we might see a prototype for that.

Tissue-cultured meat substitutes

Weve known for many years that its only a matter of time before you can start culturing meat cells in chemical plants and vats, rather than using cows and sheep walking around a field.

This means that you will be actually eating meat tissue. So people who are vegetarian or vegan can get animal protein without the cow or sheep being killed for its meat. Some people who fall into this category may switch and start eating meat again.

This has been coming for a while, but its now starting to arrive in the shops, roughly at the right prices as well.

Cultured-tissue chicken is now started to be made. Were now at a breakthrough point in the next few years, because theres already quite a bit of momentum and that would capture that trend quite nicely.

Electronic pets

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AI pets cod relieve loneliness

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Weve seen these in the past electronic dogs 15, 20 years ago, and even before that I had an electronic cat back in the 1990s.

Theyve been around a long time but were now seeing more of those because of the advances of AI (Artificial Intelligence). Theres new chatbots to talk to about various subjects; sometimes they appear on a screen as an avatar. Its just as easy to put those into a robotic doll or pet that moves around a floor. Especially given lockdown and a lot of people feeling lonely.

I think it has reached a market point where its very useful its companionship for people.

Some research has shown that they are really good for older people and people form good bonds with electronic pets.

Its very good for alleviating loneliness, but its not a substitute for a human being. Its a good second best.

Digital dcor

A few years ago cruise ships started doing virtual windows in some of the windows because not everybody has a balcony.

If you havent got a balcony and youre looking inside a cabin, theres no reason why you couldnt have a whopping big plasma screen on the wall which looks like a window, looking out onto a nice beach or showing you what the view would be if you had an outside one.

Of course, screens have got better, thinner and illusions are becoming better each year at a good economic price. Windows in cruise ships have led the way.

Its quite likely it will start happening in peoples homes some people can buy a second TV and use it as a window. So they can have a nice view of a Caribbean beach instead of looking out at the drizzle from your Belfast flat.

Of course, you can have any view you like, and this goes along with the trend in virtual reality where we get used to going around the world virtually.

People might welcome having a view looking out at whatever views they want for the day New York City, the Grand Canyon.

One of the major television brands has brought out a high-quality projector that is designed specifically as a decor substitute.

The purpose of which is to project on a surface so that you could transform your room into an art gallery, or a window or just change the colours of the room.

Its below the 400 mark and I think it is something that could take off this year or next.

Electric cars and self-drive vehicles

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Self drive cars could improve

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Every week theres a new development that makes the battery last a bit longer, or cheaper, or less pollution when theyre made.

The thing I find interesting about electric cars, is that is couples quite nicely with self-driving cars. With the AI right now, its really quite difficult to get cars that can self-drive all day without accidents in the real environment. Its very easy to get right in test tracks.

Lately, weve seen seeing a lot of problems with people hacking into software for self-driving cars which is a potential danger.

Theres two ways of doing self-driving cars; you can either have a lot of AI and a lot of sensors, which is extremely expensive and a lot of high tech.

The alternative, which you dont hear much about, is the idea of pod systems electric pods which go around and pick people up.

Fibre-glass shells could be used which are cheaper, and these could be used for public transport in cities, picking people up and dropping them off where they need to go, using the current road surface and guided by electronic maps.

It would be more environmentally friendly and cheaper for the consumer if they could buy their own pods.

Digital afterlife

By 2050 or thereabouts the links to the brain will be so good, a lot of our thinking will take place in server phones inside your head.

Think of it as an extension to your brain, one that operates faster and has more memory and allows you connect directly to the internet.

Just think of it that its still you, with your brain, but you have an extension to it in the servers, which can be anywhere in the world.

One day when you die, or your body dies, 99% of your thinking will be taking place in the cloud, so you might barely notice that your body has died your mind is still carrying on.

By 2060, it will become cheaper, and by a decade later, everyone will be able to have this. Those born now, who will live naturally to the age of 70, probably will find that they wont die because theyll essentially live on digitally.

Androids will replace their body, while their mind will be in the cloud. Its really a question of extending your mind, not uploading.

The mind lives more and more in the cloud.

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Futurologist gives predictions on what future life will look like - Belfast Telegraph