A Connected World

The reality of the Internet becoming more integrated into everyday life is already apparent. This can be seen with the advent of smart phones. It is a common sight these days to see people constantly checking their phones for status updates of their friends , sending text messages, or browsing the Internet. These smart phones have become more than just mobile devices, they are our constant companions and our connection to the world.

This trend is  expected to increase exponentially as time goes on. According to Moore's Law, the amount of transistors that can be placed on a microchip doubles roughly every 18 months, which in turn doubles the processing power of that chip. Moore's Law has been accurate for the last 40 years and is expected to continue for at least the next decade. Even then,  most scientists believe that new materials and technologies such as quantum computing will enable Moore's Law to continue.

Ironically, as transistors double, the size of hardware is shrinking exponentially. Pictured at right is an Osbourne Executive portable computer from 1982 and an IPhone from 2007. The Executive weighs 100 times as much, has nearly 500 times the volume, cost 10 times as much, and has a 100th the clock frequency of the iPhone.

Nanotechnology will be the Holy Grail of miniaturization. Nanotechnology will lead to unimaginable advances in technology that the world has never seen before. It will impact society as much as, if not more than, the Industrial Revolution but will be packed into a few years compared to a couple of centuries.

One of the exciting applications of nanotechnology will be will be in the field of medicine. Scientist envision a future where tiny robots called nanobots, can enter the bloodstream and deliver medicine only where needed. An example of this are nano bees. Scientist know that bee venom is an excellent cancer drug. It works by destroying cancer cells, unfortunately it also destroys healthy cells.  Nano bees offer a solution to this problem. They can be programmed to target individual cancer cells destroying them and leaving  nearby healthy cells intact. These have only been tested on mice in laboratories for now but may some day be used in humans.

Other applications for Nanotechnology include virtual reality. Nanobots injected into the body will attach themselves to neurons inside the brain and block out signals from the real world and only project stimuli from the virtual world. This may seem like science fiction but many top scientists believe this will become a reality possibly within the next 50 years.

The future will definitely be exciting and where all this technology will take our species is unknown. What is known is that technology evolves and will continue to evolve. This evolution, or "Technolution", is tied to our own evolution and one possible outcome is the merger othef man and machine. Futurists, scientists, and technologists believe this is where we are headed. As technology progresses we will see more intermingling of man and machine until the lines between them have become blurred. We will become something more than humans, we will become what is known as trans humans. We will become ever more connected to one another through the Internet and communication will be instantaneous. With just a thought we will be able to communicate with one another in a practical form of telepathy.

So the next time you are connected to the Internet with your smart phone, or the next time you are playing an online video game or making a video call think about what all this is leading to, of what we will become.