Emerging Technology

The pace of technological development is increasing exponentially. We are continually finding ways of doing things faster, more efficiently, and more effectively. This is something some see as a threat, likely to cause changes which most people don’t really understand and which will be more deeply explained in the Making it Happen and Taking it Forward courses.

What we must remember is technology, whatever form it takes, can only do what we tell or programme it to do and it can only do whatever this is in the way, or how, we have instructed it. As spiritual entities we haven’t yet found a way of inhabiting a technological mechanical entity. we’ve not developed our ‘tech’ far enough to do so. We may do eventually but it remains to be seen.

Technology therefore, despite claims and descriptions, cannot be ‘intelligent’, it cannot be intuitive. All it can be is automatic which is something we spiritual beings aren’t so good at and is one of the reasons we’ve invented all this. We’ve found ways of transferring and manipulating energy to do what we need and there’s no reason why we can’t take this forward to create a’ machine’ we actually can inhabit! Science Fiction is always right – well most of the time.

We do need though to be fully aware of what’s going on and the new opportunities available to us through all this emerging technology. You can learn more about it in more detail at https://mxrb.io where there are a series of e-books covering the key topics.

The ‘blockchain’ is an advanced database for recording transactions, a bit like an old fashioned paper ledger, but with more facilities. Importantly the data it stores cannot be changed or removed other than by creating further transactions, so what’s happening on a blockchain (there are many) is completely open to investigation and completely transparent. History cannot be changed.

‘Artificial Intelligence’ is a complete misnomer because it cannot exist in real terms. What AI really is really good at is collating and curating information and data from a vast collection of resources to produce an answer or solution to something we want to know, or something we want to do far, far more quickly than we are able to review collate and create what we need from the same resources. AI can only act on the data and information banks we feed it or give it access to. AI has to be ‘trained’ to answer our questions from the resources we specify in the way we want. It allows us to do what we want quicker and more efficiently but it isn’t ‘intelligent’ just automation.

Tokenisation. Physical and intellectual assets can be ‘tokenised’ and stored as an image or token on a blockchain, thus establishing and confirming ownership of the real asset until and unless another transaction takes place to transfer the asset to someone else. These are often referred to as NFT’s or non-fungible tokens which cannot be broken down, unlike other tokens or coins which don’t really represent anything tangible only a certain variable ‘value’ allowing them to be used as a form of currency. NFTs can also be used to establish copyright or ‘smart contracts’ held on a blockchain are not susceptible to loss or alteration. We need to be aware and stay aware of these developments as they can enhance our personal freedom by releasing our internal resources to do other things, and also to alleviate potential stress and possible security matters in how we operate our lives.

There is one unique and infinite universe but each of us sees it in a different way. The picture we see coming into our sight is different for each of us. We don’t see the picture with us in it without using technology. Even in a mirror we don’t see who we really are.

There’s a lot of talk about alternate universes, parallel universes, and also the so-called ‘metaverse’. This is one area where the science fiction writers consistently get it wrong! There are no parallel universes where different versions of ourselves exist in an alternate lifetime. The only alternate universes arise from the different views you and I have of this unique universe. Other than in this context the term ‘universes’ is not valid.

The idea of a parallel universe or universes may be appealing to some and even though some scientists have claimed to prove they exist, the logic is somewhat suspect. We’re not going to be invaded and taken over or replaced by different versions of ourselves from alternate or parallel universes!

On the other hand, the technology known as ‘the metaverse’ is flexible. Metaverses (and like Blockchains there are many of them) are another emerging technology where computer code can be written sometimes using AI to create a two dimensional environment made to appear three-dimensional on a computer screen or other device such as a headset.

We can create characters or ‘avatars’ representing ourselves and others who appear as ‘actors’ in the metaverse screens. The term ‘the metaverse’ is misleading as there are multitude of metaverses or pseudo 3 dimensional computer environments used effectively for many purposes such as simulations of surgery, flight training, military simulations, (as opposed to games) and driving simulations. Whatever we need to practice or try out before we do it in the real world we can do first in a metaverse.

A recent development is in the sphere of conferencing and training or teaching where the activity is carried out ‘live’ in a metaverse, a development of video conferencing which has significant limits. The introduction of metaverse conferencing and other education eliminates the need for travel around the world to meet in person, although this like the continued existence of books and documents on paper will never be fully replaced. Face to face in person meetings are essential to establish and maintain a spiritual energetic connection, although this does come through on a metaverse in a limited way. Remember a metaverse is not real. Other than being computer code held on a server it doesn’t exist and if the server is switched off or the infrastructure you use to access it fails for any reason, it just disappears. It may be possible to provide access to later to go back to where you left off, but unlike the concept of a parallel universe nothing happens in between.

You may be encouraged to buy space or land in ‘the metaverse’. Such a thing does not exist. There is no metaverse real estate. Buying space in a metaverse is no different to purchasing a domain name on the Internet, other than there is no regulatory authority to confirm ownership, even though you might be issued with a with an NFT.

Development in the metaverse sector is far from complete and it is still very dependent on the access technology, screens, headsets and so on, in which context it may well be overtaken by holographic projection. Watch this space and if you want to see the potential as to where holograms could go, just watch Star Trek!