You don’t want to know how many people have come up to me and told me: “Hey, I just heard they stopped Google Glass” target=”_blank”>Google Glass. See, I said it all along, that kind of stuff will never catch on.” And they all did it with a smug smile that communicated that they were sure that people would turn away from this tech folly and go back to life as usual. In fact, only last week, I asked a group of people to think about what the future might hold for their jobs in 2025. An impossible assignment, I know. And one of them, a young woman, looked at the group and said: “I think people will turn from social networks and go back to talking to each other more.” Part of the group sighed with relief as there are many people that would love to see that happen. But I doubt it. For one, technology is here to stay. Just as we are not going to move away from central heating to an open wood fire in the middle of our living room, we are not going to step back from new technology. Why? Because it would just be a step back in the way we are living our lives.

Lets just be honest. We are so used to having everyone literally at arms’ length. Reach for your phone and you can talk to your friends, exchange messages, catch up with what they have been doing and share your own stories. I doubt that principle is going to change. The way we experience it will change though. The big question is how we are going to be integrating technology into our daily reality. We have seen a lot of talk about the internet of things. Though I like the idea of my fridge talking to my shopping list, that does not sound like the tech enabled future that we can all get excited about. In fact, in a survey held by Affinnova back in November 2014, 92% said it is difficult for them to say what an IoT (Internet of Things) enabled product needs to have for them to purchase it. However, they do say that they will recognize it when it is there. For me the essence of that survey is that IoT is not something we dream about. It is like water, we use it, but we don’t really appreciate it.

I believe that there is more. Much more. Stuff that we can dream about. A couple of months ago, I visited NuFormer‘s Virtual Reality Experience Center. I had tried the Oculus Rift” target=”_blank”>Oculus Rift before, but these guys took it to a new level. As I stood on level ground in a square space, the projection had me jumping from stone to stone and precariously balancing myself not to fall off into the vast sea of hot lava beneath me. (No, I don’t have video of that.) I was amazed at how much this system could trick all of my senses into being in a completely different place. Even though my mind could still recall that I was in that room, my body was definitely jumping those stones. I was doubtful a year and a half ago, but my body did not doubt this experience.

However, I don’t really see us stuck to huge glasses and a battery backpack as we go through life. Granted, this will change over time, but still. And then last Friday Magic Leap posted a short video about a day at their office. This is an interesting video in that they have chosen an interesting mix between virtual reality and augmented reality. I mean, when fighter robots make holes in your ceiling and come for you, that goes a bit beyond regular augmented reality.

Robots aside, I can see technology as demonstrated by Magic Leap enter our world. I personally am not much of a fan of games where opponents need to be shot, but I can imagine incredible fun for kids with a setup like this and a version of Kinectimals on steroids. But moving away from the games, imagine working with this on a daily basis. No more screen restrictions and all your stuff literally at your fingertips. When the technology making that possible isn’t too intrusive on your experience of daily life, this opens up endless possibilities. Teaching biology by showing the animals close up. Running tests for new products without having to produce them first. Interacting with every day objects which enhance your experience. I think there is much to be said for this. And I am interested where this will take us.

Oh, and obviously I would love to sit down with you to hear your opinion about this. Or you could leave it in the comments and we can discuss it here. Or on social networks, or Skype or… or…

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