The Potential Evolution of Tech in '24

I look at the world daily, contemplating where we are and what is coming. These questions drive me, not just with technology but in all areas of interest, especially those that bring change to humanity. What will change in the world in the following years, and will it influence for good or bad? What are the emerging technologies with longevity? What will be the next 2009 iPhone? A tool so revolutionary that humankind experiences what one could only call an evolution. What are the ones still emerging??

We currently have leading main technologies we call emerging technologies: augmented and virtual realities, quantum technologies, and generative AI. Despite being in use and some being older than others, these technologies are early in their growth and adoption phases. I will explain what I foresee as the next world-changing potential technology and go into how this will bring about changes to our world that will leave us saying, what would we do without??

In 2023, the world has seen many changes, especially with Sam Altman's OpenAI release late last year of ChatGPT and subsequent acquisition by Microsoft and evolutions to versions 3.0 and 4.0 using Artificial Intelligence via Large Language Models (LLM) and Machine Learning. This field has been popular this year, with Google's Bard, Meta's Llama, and many flavors of the LLMs further specialized in various industries, disciplines, and studies. This emergence has brought controversy to the world. Is AI going to change the manner of work? Are we going to work for machines? While AI has been around since the '90s, we have experienced an explosion this year in the public use of technology, and with any technology, the growing pains of having both good and evil are showing their faces. The potential good that this technology allows is far beyond that of the bad, and thus, people need to see these potentials put into use so adoption spreads, trust is built, and benefits abound.?

We are about to experience a revolution in education, trade training, the police, homeland security, border security, and advanced industry training, amongst other educational benefits. The educational technology described will be revolutionary using these emerging technologies by doing and seeing rather than reading and studying. You ask how is this possible? We are seeing it to a degree done with Virtual Reality, but in the next year, Apple will release its AR/VR system that will spur competition. This combination is precisely what the world needs to move into an era where knowledge is being introduced into the mind and imagination by means it has never been able to before introducing these technologies. We will see a dynamic shift in learning from children to adults, and it is beyond exciting because the world needs thought leaders, engineers, mathematicians, scientists, tradespeople, and doctors. As we move further into a world of technology and various geopolitical and ecological situations, we will also need protection, and this technology can benefit from these issues.

Three years ago, I had an idea with the Microsoft Hololens that I knew at the time that only one institution, The University of San Francisco, was working on a similar product, and that was a training platform for Surgery using the Hololens. Since then, more products have emerged, still using primarily the Hololens. Nevertheless, the cost and functionality of AR only leave this technology incomplete. The potential of having a system in which you have the capabilities of both Augmented Reality, the overlay of information onto the world as we know it, our mental reality, AND a Virtual Reality in which you can dive into facts you have yet to experience. This combination is groundbreaking as it will expand our known realities into three interconnected realities. By combining Artificial Intelligence with Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, we will be allowed a robust backend (intellectual dataset) that can be overlaid in either AR or VR to demonstrate a skill, allow for hands-on training via a virtual environment, see details that could not ever be seen in any manner other than through video graphics, and the capabilities are indeed too numerous to list.?

The widespread introduction of Generative Artificial Intelligence this year has increased the educational potential of technology and the ability to gain information instantly. Generative AI and AR/VR have the potential to be great aids that we will go into further, with a backend of the educational resources in books adapted into a new medium. Adapting today's knowledge to this medium will be a monumental task. Still, it is an endeavor that can benefit the world with instantaneous knowledge transfer without months of readjustment in the workplace or for a child to grow with the ability never to wonder how something works. The world has the potential to become a place capable of expanding knowledge into a new era with a medium that can replace even computers in the field of education.?

As I have stated, three technologies are emerging as transformational agents in the educational landscape: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR). Their intertwining pathways are not only reshaping the contours of education but also blurring the lines between real and virtual, personalized and standardized, and passive and interactive learning.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is much more than the algorithms used in its learning and abilities and data crunching. Using adaptive learning algorithms allows the technology to craft individualized educational experiences, giving individualized learning opportunities to every student at their own pace and style of learning, and soon in a manner known to be the most effective. Through deep understanding, AI allows machines to interpret and act on vast amounts of data. AI is powering educational chatbots and visual assistants in virtualized worlds. These chatbots are transforming into round-the-clock tutors, offering timely academic assistance tailored to individual queries. However, the actual evolution and wonder will come from the visual assistant, the data overlay onto a real-world surface. The explanation of a mathematical formula line by line, showing a cellular structure and photosynthetic system in a tree, the clouds, the stars, and the planets show just some of the endless possibilities.?

Augmented Reality (AR), the visual sibling to VR, superimposes the digital world onto the real one and transforms the world into the most extensive dynamic learning environment or classroom. Imagine visualizing a complex molecule in 3D in a chemistry class or witnessing a historical event unfold in a history lesson. AR makes these scenarios possible by offering vivid and interactive 3D visualizations of abstract concepts, facilitating an enhanced understanding of intricate subjects. The gamified environments created by AR captivate learners, holding their attention and ensuring a meaningful and sustained engagement with the subject matter. In addition, AR's applications in field training, such as archaeological digs or nature treks, provide students with enriched experiential learning, offering a tangible overlay of theoretical knowledge of the real world. Other fields that benefit from AR include medicine, as the technology has begun to train surgeons on an AR dummy rather than a corpse or live patient. Moreover, the opportunities continue after that. All trades and skills can be implemented into the technology via the AI to overlay on a display what needs to be done to analyze an issue, where to weld something, the angle a board requires to be attached when constructing a home, and endless opportunities.

As previously stated, virtual Reality (VR) adds a whole other experience, bringing a Virtual World, which the brain has been found to interpret while using a VR Headset as if it is the physical reality. This brain and technological connection allows for potential in education, medicine, and other trades, including cooking, as an example. AI envelops users in a simulated environment, so anything is possible, from exploring the pyramids of Egypt to journeying through the human circulatory system. The possibilities are endless with the addition of other components, such as a digital scalpel, wrench, pen, scent production machine, or hundreds of other potential devices.?

For example, PTSD can be assisted through the assimilation of the events and smells back into the patient's cognitive functions, but at the same time, knowing you are safe with a trained professional gives security to the situation. Training through both AR and VR enhances cognitive recall and comprehension by creating immersive experiences that can emulate real-world scenarios or construct new educational realities. Such immersive environments, especially in fields like medicine, offer risk-free simulations, providing invaluable training experiences without real-world consequences.?

A virtual risk-free environment can benefit the world of education and enterprise in medical fields, simulations of airplanes for ATC, cockpits for pilots, an engine for mechanics, an electrical grid for an electrician, engineer, or foreman, name the field, and a benefit can be found. AI's contribution to the technology allows what is pulled from the world to instantly have the entire dataset's intelligence immediately accessible to the user. Another use case would be for the generation of the Virtual Environment. To Expedia's proceeds, rather than programming all aspects, AI research into the environments and a robust VR coding dataset would allow for endless detailed settings customized in the style described, rather than the limitations of current VR and AR trainings.?

The world is approaching a new style of learning. With significant enough adoption, this approach moves the world from books and computers to a visual learning method. The learning process could transition from books and computers to this visual method, increasing man's potential.

The real magic emerges when AI, AR, and VR are combined to work in unison. For instance, imagine an AR history lesson on ancient Rome that adjusts its complexity based on a student's previous answers and engagement, detected by AI. Alternatively, a VR medical training simulation offers real-time feedback using AI algorithms, ensuring learners refine their techniques immediately. This fusion promises content that evolves in real-time, adjusting to individual needs and providing instantaneous feedback.?

As I have stated, Apple Vision Pro will be coming out in 2024, and developers have been touting the quality of the technology, which only gives me more excitement in writing this article and benefits the quality of the educational capabilities this technology will bring. This week, there have been stories regarding VR allowing a paralyzed patient to speak. Still, it could enable the user to walk in any location or use limbs they have lost, potentially alleviating the stressors caused by the inability to do so or phantom pain relief even though "hacking" the brain. The technologies independently are not new, but a wide-scale adoption has never been achieved as we have seen Meta's Metaverse be eliminated by the company primarily due to the inability of Meta to achieve a body with the technology, something that is with this technology not needed in AR and with proper LiDAR and Cameras like used for Face ID a body in VR can be easily achieved allowing for the potentials mentioned above. The medical benefits of having the capacity to have all three realities in your application are what gives this technology such a possibility. My only fear is the price point bringing a barrier to wide-scale adoption.??

As the lines between AI, AR, and VR continue to converge, we are on the brink of an educational revolution. It is a horizon where learning is immersive, personalized, and incredibly dynamic, appealing to both the expert and the layman, and we are fast approaching this turning point.?