The singularity will occur in 2045. It would look like this:
Singularity would occur this way: Robots and AI shall become commonplace and in everyday use by 2030, increasing the demand of machines for information. That information demand shall bring about the IoT business models that would finally be able to support installing trillions and quintillions of sensors everywhere on earth.
By 2035 there shall be several Google-sized companies competing for putting this data together for machines. By 2040 the Cognitive Attachments (devices connecting our brains to the internet, e.g. Neuralink, not to be confused with cognitive attachment in psychology) shall become common, enabling humans to tap into this information superhighway 2.0. In 2045 Apple and Samsung-like consumer devices shall be in common use to enhance our knowledge and cognitive abilities.
Cognitive Attachments are devices that (would) connect to our brains and nervous systems in one way or another. Once they are in common use, they shall be inevitable, and their absence shall feel more severe than the absence of smart phones today. They shall enable us, humans, to compete effectively with robots by providing us with information that is actionable when we need it where we need it.
Feeling my need for a parking spot would immediately result in me knowing that nearby parking spot’s location — turn right, my brain would know, and I could direct my car with the other part of my brain to make that right turn.
Where is dad, ah yes, he’s a couple of blocks away, and here he is. Coffee, yes, it’s ready for me in 1 minute at Jane’s Bakery, where they still have my favorite Sourdough. But it’s not so pleasant to sit outside there because there’s construction happening and homeless people sleeping on the curb, but there’s going to be a table available inside.
Homework, commerce, math, family, dating, life shall all be enhanced with them.
From Here to There: Personal Projection
This part is the most speculative to me, but it is necessary to see how it would actually occur. As many like to say, “take it with a grain of salt”.
It would occur this way: Automomous Cars Level 2 (2020: $$$) ==> R&D into AI and Knowledge acquisition ==> Autonomous Cars Level 3 (2025: $$$$) ==> R&D into AI and Knowledge representation ==> R&D into cognitive attachments (AR) ==> Autonomous Cars Level 4 (2030: $$$$$) ==> first cognitive attachments in market (2030: $) ==> R&D explodes into ad-tech for cognitive attachments ($) ==> First cognitive layer for personal assistants (2030: $$) ==> second generation cognitive attachments in market (2035: $$$) ==> First cognitive layer for personal assistants (2035: $$$) ==> Autonomous Cars Level 5 (2040: $$$$$) ==> Cognitive Attachments become a necessity (2040: $$$$$$) ==> Second cognitive layer for humans and machines (2040: $$$$$$$) ==> Machines surpass humans (2045), making cognitive attachments a must-have to be equal or better to machines.
Opportunities and Threats
I see many opportunities now that shall ride this wave. I am listing these here in an arbitrary order:
Marketplace for AI software
Marketing into our brains
Device integration with neural cells
Control-focused augmentation of animals and humans
Information superhighways 2.0
Putting IoT data into knowledge (that’s what my company Ai Incube and our Parknav product are doing, as well as notable others such as DemandBase, Adobe, and Mobileye)
These directions and opportunities occur in a number of emerging markets, including Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Driving, Smart Mobility, Internet of Things, Marketing Automation, and Fintech.
While the opportunities are very large, possibly larger than what we achieved so far as a human race, we should be smart in how we make our steps forward.
We already know that whatever can happen would. We already know that what we create can and shall be used by people we did not intend and did not sanction. As we build these industries and cognitive attachments of the future we should make sure that we are proud of what we created and that it does not come back to bite us.
We shall need cognitive attachments, and they are coming in our lifetime. They hold much promise, but we should remember that whatever we create can also be used against us. Luckily we already know what it takes to hold both sides of the rope.
