In the future, people will: a future thinking exercise inspired by the 90s version of Bill Gates

Some days ago Benedict Evans shared in his newsletter a really good (and old) article from The New Yorker: “E-mail from Bill” where –amongst other gems written and collected by John Seabrook back in 1994– the 90s version of Bill Gates made this reflection/prediction:

“In the future, people will send each other sound and pictures as well as text, and do it in real time, and improved technology will make it possible to have rich, human electronic exchanges, but at present E-mail is the closest thing we have to that.”

We thought this paragraph was a perfect template to develop a small editorial experiment for our weekly newsletter, using one of the techniques we often use with clients, partners and students in some IAM Labs workshops: deconstruct a quote and fill the blanks

“In the future, people will send each other ________ and _______ as well as _________, and do it in _________, and improved technology will make it possible to have ____________ , but at present __________ is the closest thing we have to that.”

We invited IAM Weekly readers to share their “predictions” on Facebook and here are the results:

“In the future, people will send each other — emotions and sensations — as well as — media, — and do it in — real-time, — and improved technology will make it possible to have — meaningful, empathetic exchanges, — but at present — art — is the closest thing we have to that.”
– Nastasia Nie

“In the future, people will send each other ZaPps, Teleport a virtual reflection of yourself, while being able to alter it with emoji-enhanced movement. Where you have realtime influence, via a live connection. Improved technology will make it possible to have this “Virtual presence”, but at present glitchy VR & Snapchat is the closest thing we have to that.”
– Ronny Wieckardt

“In the future, people will send each other smells and flavors as well as thoughts, and do while moving in driverless hoverboards, and improved technology will make it possible to have flawless Skype calls, but at present Whatsapp is the closest thing we have to that.”
– Andres Colmenares

“In the future, people will send each other thoughts and 3D stuff as well as all kind of sensations, and do it in the right time (real or contextual), and improved technology will make it possible to have expanded, meaningful and digital exchanges, but at present beacons, VR or 3D printers are the closest thing we have to that.
– Elisabet Roselló

“In the future, people will send each other pictures of cats and their own faces looking like ducks in different places as well as Donald Trump memes , and do it in the middle of dinner or a deep conversation with a friend, and improved technology will make it possible to have constant fear of missing out, but at present MTV is the closest thing we have to that.”
– Nicolas Arroyo

“In the future, people will send each other pharmaceutical and gene-therapeutic devices as well as holographic tutorials, and do it in secret (for it will be illegal), and improved technology will make it possible to have health justice, but at present foreign aid is the closest thing we have to that.”
– Jorge Camacho

“In the future, people will send each other Knowledge and RAM as well as their own Digital Mind Extensions to collaborate with, and do it in order to be more efficient, and improved technology will make it possible to have enough time for high-end human interaction, but at present chatbots is the closest thing we have to that.”
– Alejandro Ruiz

“In the future, people will send each other thoughts and emotions as well as subconscious feedback through an end-to-end connection right into the brain , and do it frictionlessly, and improved technology will make it possible to have transcendental experiences in a two-minded landscape, but at present human confidence is the closest thing we have to that.”
– Andreu Belsunces

If you are reading this, now it’s your turn. Try it.

“In the future, people will send each other ________ and _______ as well as _________, and do it in _________, and improved technology will make it possible to have ____________ , but at present __________ is the closest thing we have to that.”

Post your prediction as a comment here and/or the Facebook post before July 13th. The most thought-provoking prediction will get a General Ticket for our annual event: IAM Weekend 17 (Barcelona, April 27–30, 2017)💥 The winner will be announced in the next issue of IAM Weekly.

As Jorge suggested, we will continue launching this future thinking exercises so follow us on Facebook, and join our mailing list to avoid Mark’s algorithmic tyranny 😉

Happy future thinking! 🔮