What comes after our smartphones?

Published 7:53 am Friday, October 6, 2023

Even for a lot of us members of the ‘Long In the Tooth Club’ it’s hard to imagine what life would be like in the year 2023 without smartphones as an integral part of our day to day existence. Yes, I know the members of our club have actually lived life without them, but consider all the things that these incredible little gadgets have replaced in that everyday existence:

– cameras (both still and video)

– physical photographs (and photo albums)

– photo editing

– watches

– calculators

– flashlights

– compasses

– physical money

– mail

– pedometers

– home telephones

– alarm clocks/timers

– cassette/voice recorders

– calendars

– personal assistants for reminders

– radios

– video games

– televisions

– typewriters/pen/paper

– dictionaries

– books/newspapers/magazines

– maps

Heck, I even use my phone now to tune my guitar.

You get the idea. Every single one of those ‘things’ (and in actuality much more) have been supplanted by our smartphones. But, not only our ‘things’ have been inexorably altered but our relationships, too. Nearly instantaneous communication with even the most remote corners of the planet is now possible through them. Even the ways that we communicate have been forever altered through them as well, as you can either text, make a phone call, or actually put your face on the screen.

There’s just no way around the fact that few aspects of modern life haven’t been indelibly impacted by the advancement of smartphones. But here’s the craziest part of all: just 15 years ago they didn’t even exist.

If you think about that for a moment, it really does boggle the mind just how revolutionary those 15 years have been. In fact, I’ll go as far as to say that it’s been arguably the quickest and deepest technological advance ever witnessed in human history. There is little argument that the most powerful technological tool ever developed for regular folks is either in your hand or sits nearby as we speak.

So given those facts, the hard question becomes this: what’s next? What will we see from the next generation of smart technology?

We are already seeing people wearing them, as Apple watches and the sort are becoming more popular. So it shouldn’t come as a shock to hear that technology exists even now for devices that attach to your clothes that work as a nonphysical, screenless smartphone by actually projecting calls, messages, and information onto a surface, like your hand held in front of it. It uses a microphone for hearing your voice, tiny speakers for relaying info, and cameras to scan your surroundings.

I read about one demonstration where a chocolate bar was held up to the device and the artificial intelligence powering it read its contents, nutritional information, and the potential health risks involved in consuming it. Seriously. In other words this thing will not only tell you what is in the food you’re eating but also why it might be bad for you.

There are also eyeglasses being developed that utilize the same concept, with the information cast on the lenses so the wearer alone can see it and hear through small speakers built into the frames. While it’s true that basic technology has been around for a while, the infusion of artificial intelligence into the mix could be a game changer.

Most technology zealots do believe that our addiction to screens isn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon. In fact many of them feel that our smartphones will morph into gadgets that have multiple foldable screens that can be extended to triple or quadruple the available screen surface.

There are other things in development as well, but what becomes clear once you get past the surface of what is evolving in front of us is that nobody really knows what is up next. As mentioned here, there are a lot of good and educated guesses. But just like 15 years ago, who in the world could’ve seen then what we have now?

There are some who still believe ‘ambient technology’, meaning gadgets actually integrated and built into our bodies, will eventually become a reality as well, although most agree that could be many, many years in the future. However, with the speed we are seeing technology evolve, who knows?

I do have to say that with the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence and all of the potential negative issues that could accompany it I hope that those brainiacs who are behind the development of whatever we have coming up will be over-mindful and ultra-careful in their efforts. It is becoming all too evident that given the fact that pretty much everything in our lives is now revolving around computer-anchored technology (including things like the very electricity in our homes through our power grid) the wrong technology in the wrong hands (or developed by the wrong people) could be a potentially catastrophic arrangement, and on many levels.

It is my hope that those brainiacs will take all of that and more into consideration as they move into the uncharted waters of new technology that hopefully will move us forward instead of creating even more problems for us in the future.

One thing is for sure — it’s hard to imagine what we might see as a regular part of our everyday lives 15 years from now.