In the Future, Technology May Let Us Communicate Telepathically

According to Cisco Labs futurist Dave Evans, telepathic technology will allow us to download data directly into our brains within several decades.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on March 08 2010

PET scan of the human brain. From Wikipedia.

When the Kindle came out, everyone raved about how the digital reader had brought book-reading to a whole new level. Finally, you could store an entire library on a hard drive the size of a single book.

But according to Dave Evans, ‘chief futurist’ at technology giant Cisco Labs, e-readers, iPods, and the like could seem like dinosaurs within a decade or two. He claims that the newest technology will consist of nothing but pure data, which can be downloaded directly to your brain.

“As we understand more and more how the brain works and we can read from and write to the brain directly, we would see a world in which we communicate in a very different way,” Evans told DNA.

Evans says that researchers are working to develop “telepathic” technology, in which information can be communicated directly from one person’s brain to another. Before that, he claims, we will likely see “augmented reality” devices, such as glasses that allow viewers to see data about their surroundings.

This technology already exists to some extent, and has been used to create the Tele Scouter “instant translation” glasses that allow wearers to download near-instant language translations directly to their retinas. But before long, these devices should become far more advanced.

“For example, when I look at you, I may see information about you - background, name, et cetera,” said Evans. “If you open up a book on the solar system, you could see them animations of planets revolving around in front of you. You could literally bring the book to life.”

Does the future sound fascinating, or a little too Orwellian? Only time will tell—but if used wisely, we think the digital future could be the land of our dreams.

Filed under: Business, General Interest, Science, Weird,

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