Future

This AdvertisingAge article reports Neil Dessau, the senior VP-chief marketing officer of AMD, recently said the worlds of film and video games are about to fuse. From the article: "It's possible to have a video game of "The Godfather" with a character that looks like Marlon Brando. And soon it will be just as possible for Marlon Brando to star in a new film.

This globeandmail.com article reports Ray Kurzweil told a crowd of 2,000 video game developers at GDC that games will have taken over the world and everything will be virtual reality. From the article: "Ray Kurzweil thinks the future of our society hinges on video games.

The 60-year-old futurist, best knows for his hypothesis of technological singularity, told a crowd of 2,000 video game developers last week at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco that he thinks games are on the cutting edge.

This BBC News article reports Ray Kurzweil predicts computers the size of blood cells will create fully immersive virtual realities by 2033. From the article: "Exponential growth in processing power and the shrinking of technology would see the development of microscopic computers, he said.

"We will see a billion-fold increase in the price-performance of computers in the next 25 years," he said.

"Virtual will compete with reality," he told the Game Developers Conference.

Pea-sized computer

Mr Kurzweil said it was possible to accurately predict the growth and change in computing power by looking at how it had developed over the last 50 years.

"There will be a 100,000-fold shrinking of computer technology over the next 25 years," he said.

This BBC News article reports Edward Castronova, an Associate Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, said the appeal of online virtual worlds such as Second Life is such that it may trigger an exodus of people seeking to "disappear from reality". From the article: "Virtual worlds have seen huge growth since they became mainstream in the early years of this decade, developing out of Massive Multiplayer Role-Playing Games.

And the online economies in some match those of real world countries.

Their draw is such that they could have a profound effect on some parts of society, Edward Castronova, Associate Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at Indiana University, told BBC World Service's Digital Planet programme.

Three articles (1, 2, 3) based on a 40-minute interview with Ray Kurzweil are available on ComputerWorld. It talks about the singularity, pervasive computing, augmented reality, storage as a philosophical issue, exponential growth" of computational power, portable computing, virtual reality, immortality, and strong vs. narrow AI. From the first article: "Ray Kurzweil is a futurist and author whose book The Singularity Is Near: When Humans Transcend Biology (Viking Adult, 2005) predicts advances in computing technologies and biological research over the next four decades, culminating in the merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence.

This theage.com.au article presents Ray Hammond (an European author and futurologist) vision of the future. From the article: "IT'S the year 2040 and Ray Hammond is getting advice from his software assistant Maria. Located in an implant just behind his left ear, Maria has a direct connection with Mr Hammond's brain. Linked with Google and other search engines, Maria is able to filter, search and speak softly to Mr Hammond, as quietly and as transparently as if she were his own thoughts.

Financial service providers, banks and retailers have made it their business to connect with Maria. As a result, she is able to provide Mr Hammond with the best deals around.

And, of course, Maria is much smarter than Mr Hammond. Too smart to let him know.

This BBC News article reports how virtual worlds may be used as places where employees can meet, mix and get on with the job. From the article: "Video games are big business and soon they could be big in business too.

A whole generation is growing up for whom video games are a key part of how they relax, whether it be fragging friends in a first person shooter or backing up the main tank in a Warcraft raid.

And it is not just youngsters. There are plenty of older folks who shake off the dust of the working day in many different virtual worlds.

Statistics from the the US Entertainment Software Association (ESA) back this up. It claims that the average player is 33 and has more than a decade of gaming under their belt.

A virtual character, or avatar, for all the virtual worlds in which people play is the goal of a joint project between IBM and Linden Lab.

Read more at:

BBC News

In an interview carried by www.silicon.com, William Gibson (of Neuromancer fame) seems to be lukewarm on the 'future'.

Read more here

This GPS World article takes a look at the future technologies for the next 3 years, 3 to 5 years and 5 years plus. Virtual Worlds, User Interface Technologies, Augmented Reality and Seamless Work/Life Systems are mentioned within these timelines. From the article: "Physical location and orientation data—such as that provided by GPS—will be one of several keys to information technology business growth in the next several years as IT becomes more and more consumer-centric, says market-research firm Gartner Inc.

It will be consumer-driven innovation that continues to move into the enterprise space, continuing the trend begun by the PC. Companies that can't adapt may find themselves struggling to keep up, the market researcher suggests.