Something new is coming

Co-authors Robert Scoble and Shel Israel lead a discussion in virtual reality about how technology got us this far and why AR/VR and AI is next

Entrenched in the tech and digital worlds since before DOS was popular, tech evangelist Robert Scoble and prolific writer Shel Israel performed a reading of their newest collaboration, a book entitled The Fourth Transformation: How Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will Change Everything. Joined by people from around the world in VR and more than 5,000 guests via Facebook Live, Scoble and Israel discussed tech patterns and trends that shape our today and determine our tomorrow.

With his first reading, Israel introduced us to the book’s theme by way of its opening sentence — one with a leading clause that sounds particularly familiar. “In the beginning,” Israel started, “there were mainframes.” From there, he and Scoble spoke about the dizzying pace of technology’s progression, our ascendance out of “the evolutionary swamp [of technology],” and the ways we (you, me, us, companies, governments) might utilize AR, VR, and AI in the (very) near future.

Citing examples like Apple’s more than $10B investment into developing the next iPhone with built-in AR capability and companies focused on enabling sales based on image recognition rather than words, Scoble and Israel addressed the perpetual advances of technology. Before the internet, buried in basements, you could hear whispers, “Something new is coming.” Before the rise of the home computer you could hear them again, “Something new is coming.” Before the touch screen, there they were: “Something new is coming.”

Scoble and Israel, looking down the path of the future with AR, VR, and AI, also want to remind us: “Something new is here.”