Scenario 2012: A Babelicious Reality

AJ0111 — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:23:35 +0000

Global unification has not been welcomed in the past, biblically that is, but in the flattening world of today and tomorrow one language awaits us all: technology.

The biblical tower of Babel is a symbol of unity. Back when everyone spoke one language it was built “for the glory of man,” and not to worship God. Stretching to the heavens, the prosperous city showcased the collective power of mankind. Angered by the audacity, God then confused human language and scattered the builders all across the Earth.

Today, we are seeing bodies like the UN functioning as unifying global entities, coordinating between countries at a higher level. In fact, futurist Ray Kurzweil predicts there will be a World Government by 2020.

This globalization faces many obstacles, the most basic of which is language. The soultion? Kurzweil argues that by 2019 language translation will be widely used. In fact, it’s already been deployed by the U.S. military. Using a program IBM developed, troops in Iraq automatically get Arabic-to-English translations. IBM is also using a program for translating television broadcasts in Arabic and Chinese.

Director of the International Center for Advanced Communication Technologies Alex Waibel says this translation technology is a decade away from being used commercially. Electrodes attached to the mouth and throat can pick up words even when they are only mouthed.

Waibel argues, “In the future, we could implant the electrodes into your mouth and throat if you want and have your mouth become multilingual.”

Category: Government
Year: 2020
Tags: babel, language, translation, translate, translator, languagetranslation, globalization

Performance Enhancing Drugs for the Workplace

AJ0111 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:07:00 +0000

In the past we have consumed certain drugs because they keep us awake or make us feel good, even if they had dangerous side effects; but soon we will come across powerful drugs and techniques to boost our cognitive capabilities.

As an example, a recently developed drug has caught some attention. In the healthy human being, Provigil fatigue and suppresses sleep. That sounds great when you walk into your office exhausted and you can’t imagine going through the rest of the day without it; but it was originally used in the treatment of narcolepsy. (The off-label use of this drug resulted in a $425 million penalty for Cephalon), the producer.) Provigil is known to boost working memory, executive function and attention and has attracted a variety of fans ranging from athletes to the French military.

In comparison, tobacco was promoted in 1560 for their medicinal uses, and as early as the Stone Age humans chewed plants containing caffeine to stimulate awareness, ease fatigue, and elevate mood. We’ve seen how both the caffeine and nicotine industries have shaped today. Provigil, our contemporary counterpart, is newer to the game but its effects are stronger and safety is still debated. Might they be even safer than caffeine and nicotine? How will Provigil and other developing enhancers shape the future?

From an ethical dimension, humans have been taking drugs for a while, including the aforementioned, and in a way we have co-evolved together with them. They were useful to us, and so we helped them to reproduce and scale. We might try to imagine how the world would be without coffee and cigarettes – might that lead to lower productivity or other negatives? It’s certainly difficult to quantify. Jumping forward, what if we increased productivity by 10% by using new drugs such as Provigil? How would/will this transform our economy? How intrusive are we willing to get?

Category: Health & Medicine
Year: General
Tags: drug, drugs, pharmaceuticals, medication, medicine

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Scenario 2012: A Babelicious Reality

Performance Enhancing Drugs for the Workplace