What 4 Technology Gurus Predict Will Blow Your Mind in 30 Years and Why Learning SharePoint Isn’t Enough to Deal with It

In her post, "What will blow our minds in the *next* 30 years?" TED ideas editor Helen Waters compiled the predictions of some amazing TED speakers, including four tech gurus.

I think they do nicely to put our daily lives in the tech industry into some perspective.

But, because IT, and particularly the SharePoint technology world, is all about problem solving, among other things, I've also included four workarounds until the technology reaches general availability. Or at least CTP status.

#1: Prediction for Future: Bubble People

Who predicts it: Forrest Norrod, vice president and general manager, servers, Dell 

What he said: “People will live in a ‘bubble’ of personalized experience, where what each of us sees and hears of the world will be different from anyone else. This will result from a combination of factors, most notably personalized advertising and the gradual evolution of our personal electronic devices.”

Workaround until the technology is user ready: Read fiction. It’s an oddly self-contained, bubblish way to gain empathy.

#2: Prediction for Future: Your Brain Taps into the Cloud

Who predicts it: Ray Kurzweil, inventor, futurist, CEO, KurzweilAI, speaking in session 8 of TED2014

What he said: "In the 2030s you’ll be able to connect to that directly from your brain… my 300 million modules in my neocortex won’t cut it — I need a billion more. I’ll be able to access that in the cloud.”

Workaround: Join a Toastmasters Club.

#3: Prediction for Future: The Learning Pill

Who predicts it: Nicholas Negoponte, founder of MIT Media Lab, speaking in Session 1 at TED2014

What he said:  “You’re going to swallow a pill and know English. …once it’s in your bloodstream, it basically goes through and gets into the brain and when it knows it’s in the brain it deposits the information in the right places.”

Workaround: Learn something new. Yeah, you’re in the technology field, so that’s sort of a given—hey, you’re ahead of everyone else! Videos are great for getting the gist of how-to’s, but pair them with text, and hands-on work to exercise the myriad regions of your brain. And if you’re over 40, start learning a musical instrument or a foreign language. Because learning SharePoint, though it could help slow early-onset Alzheimer's--isn’t enough.

#4: Prediction for Future: Self-Modification

Who predicts it: Blaise Agüera y Arcas, software architect, designer, and imagery authority at Google, formerly a Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Microsoft who was responsible for the architecture of Bing Maps and Bing Mobile.

What he said:  “I don’t doubt that we will be able to alter aging mech­a­nisms, “fix” various bugs in human “design”, make novel organisms, and ultimately modify our own natures.” 

Workaround: Walk. Yes, dammit, walk. At the least. You know it’s good for you. It’s also good for helping you solve problems and stay creative. Which you need in today’s odd and rapidly changing technology world.