Dr Patrick Noack is an executive director at the Dubai Future Foundation
November 09, 2021
The Matrix is here. I’ll pull some strands together and I think you’ll agree.
Exhibit 1: the metaverse. That digital space where much of our lives may be lived is becoming a reality. In due course, built by technology giants like Facebook (sorry, Meta), Tencent, Snap and Microsoft, the metaverse will combine digital with virtual reality. Things like non-fungible tokens, digital currencies and experiences will be available to buy from the corporations from which we regularly buy goods and services in the "real" world. Nike, for example, indicated its intent to make and sell virtual branded sneakers and apparel in a recent trademark application.
Exhibit 2: neural interfaces. I have written about these before. These are technologies that connect our brains to digital devices. There have been massive strides relatively recently as well-funded private sector startups have joined the field and made significant progress in connective hardware and our understanding of parts of the brain. Some of such startups were acquired by established tech players. Specifically, Facebook purchased Ctrl-Labs in late 2019. Separately, US-based scientists reported in early October their success in mapping all of the brain cells associated with movement – the motor cortex.
Exhibit 3a: our bodies. These can be understood as a neural interface – a device that allows our brains to interact with the world. It is a biological interface, capable of taste, touch, hearing, smell and vision. In due course the neural interfaces from Exhibit 2 should plug straight into our brains and be capable of replicating the sensations of the functions of the body.
We could pause our consuming and gas-emitting bodies only to re-awaken them in a world where solutions were found and implemented.
Exhibit 3b: our brains. It appears that neurons, which fire the brainwaves to produce our thoughts and feelings, do not age quite like the rest of us. In 2013, neuroscientists at Yale University demonstrated that mice's brains were able to live twice as long as their bodies. Our own minds, scientists suspect, can also survive far longer than our bodies.
Pulling these exhibits together, it is not difficult to see how, in decades or centuries to come, our brains alone, without the need for bodies, are fully connected to a life-like virtual world.
With my sci-fi cap on, it’s not hard to imagine a battery of jars housing our connected brains. The space to hold the sum total of humanity’s brains would not need to be that much, either as each jar would need to be less than 20 centimetres on each side.
Just imagine: with good enough neural interfaces, we would not even know that we were body-less, because all experiences feel so “real”. This, moreover, would be quite an ecological solution to life, while allowing our lives to be so much longer.
Our life as a metaverse-connected-brain-in-a-jar would not be passive.
We would work, code, harvest, produce and consume, as much as we are now and billions of times more. But without the commute. Our interaction with AI and software would be much closer and more seamless, as there would be parts of the metaverse maintained and serviced by programmes. We might not even know they were programmes, so good is their probability-driven, machine-learning-based, rational decision-making.
But, most importantly: would we want that? Is this imagined way of life a dystopia or a utopia?
Consider this: given the choice, none of us would have decided 20 years ago to want to interact with one another onscreen, be exposed to divisive fake news or really care about some influencer’s opinion about hedgehog-flavoured crisps.
Dystopia is only possible if we make it so – and I acknowledge we appear more than capable.
But the brain-powered metaverse could also be a form of collective intelligence used for good. We could come together to solve problems that affect all of humanity. We could pause our consuming and gas-emitting bodies only to re-awaken them in a world where solutions were found and implemented. Virtual reality and remote machine operation would be our tools and means to improve the world and fix what’s broken. People – their brains – could be kept safe until the world is a better place. It could be like landing on a new planet that’s fit for living.
I am not advocating a collective move to living in a jar. Far from it.
In keeping with the mandate of the Dubai Future Foundation, I am saying that we need to anticipate technologies that may have an impact on our lives. We must anticipate the combination of emerging technologies: the metaverse will not exist in isolation, like neural interfaces will co-exist with other technologies.
I see these coming together and I see the opportunity and the obligation to provide a steer towards the common good.
We live in an era of stupendous innovation and today’s reality is unfamiliar to people of two generations ago. We are not on autopilot to a future decided by tech developers. We can shape the future to our needs and a radically different future ahead, that of ditching our bodies and unleash our brains to solve the problems of the planet, may be one of the options ahead.
There is always the option of settling on another planet, shipping ourselves there and hoping that it will sustain us long enough. But there surely must be a better, third way, which may simply mean that we will anticipate the implications of the Matrix and decide against developing it altogether. Developing a technology that has no clear social benefit, and doing so simply because we can profit, should not be reason enough.
May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium (Malacca, Malayisa)
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia scheduled for October 10
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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Cryptocurrency Investing for Dummies – by Kiana Danial
There are several primers for investing in cryptocurrencies available online, including e-books written by people whose credentials fall apart on the second page of your preferred search engine.
Ms Danial is a finance coach and former currency analyst who writes for Nasdaq. Her broad-strokes primer (2019) breaks down investing in cryptocurrency into baby steps, while explaining the terms and technologies involved.
Although cryptocurrencies are a fast evolving world, this book offers a good insight into the game as well as providing some basic tips, strategies and warning signs.
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
