The Duplication of Our Reality: Augmented, Mixed and Beyond
Travelling through South-East Asia, you can observe the jump from minimal communications infrastructure to high-speed 4G. In emerging markets like Thailand, wireless connectivity was immediately enabled for the population, leapfrogging underground fibre optic infrastructure in many cases. In the same way, it’s interesting to ponder the correlation of how the Internet of Bodies could potentially fast-forward us into another realm by-passing external peripheral devices, including Head-Mounted Displays and wearable IoT devices.
Travelling through South-East Asia, you can observe the jump from minimal communications infrastructure to high-speed 4G.
The proliferation of IoB could inevitably segment society into numerous ‘versions’ with some choosing to ‘upgrade’ themselves with injectables, chip implants or neural interfaces like Neuralink’s neural lace. Much like the Swedish trend to implant a microchip in your hand with your bank records, security access, health passes or DNA modifications (i.e., mRNA, for example).
Internet of Bodies (IoB) encapsulates a suite of technologies across a wide spectrum from invasive implantables to non-invasive wearable and proximity technologies; covering everything from activity trackers, smart-watches, brain wear neurotech to Augmented Reality wearables, and digital pills, all showing great potential in upgrading the human experience of our prime reality in countless ways but also prompting a whole new discussion. As a society, we’ll need to begin to collaborate and dialogue to uncover what this could mean for societal progression as a whole.
The Internet of Things has laid the foundation for IoB
One of the most exciting application potentials of IoB, especially with promising technologies like Neuralink, is directly immersing people into new integrated experiences that enhance our tangible reality.
In a recent interview with The Babylon Bee, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and other major technology companies, poked fun at the Metaverse, saying, “Sure, you can put a TV on your nose.” he then added. “I’m not sure that makes you ‘in the Metaverse.” — “In the long term, a sophisticated Neuralink could put you fully into virtual reality”, said Musk, as he presents Neuralink as a better alternative to the Metaverse.
The potential exists to heighten Augmented and Mixed Reality experiences to an entirely new level. The potential is limitless. However, ethics and morality must remain at the forefront of this new frontier.
