Windows Hive Edition

12Mar09

note: This post is just some fun – kerazy speculation on future tech!

I’m currently reading Redemption Ark by Alastair Reynolds. If you’re a space sci-fi fan but haven’t come across Reynolds before, I highly recommend him. Start with Revelation Space. I really like how everything he describes is very technical. His technology of the future is grounded on what we know today but developed from discoveries of particles and laws of physics we have yet to identify. It seems very plausible – well maybe only to someone like me who’s ignorant of anything beyond basic physics

Reynolds describes a human faction called the Conjoiners. They have hive-minded consciousness such that they are able to read and share thoughts and other data with each other by means of their neural implants and brains saturated with nano-technology. They are individuals who share data and not like the Borg drones. What really got me thinking is that you could consider the Conjoiners as being users of Social Networking software such as Twitter and Facebook, directly accessing these apps and data from within their minds instead of a PC and a browser.

Social Networking applications and SaaS (Software as a Service) in general is a big thing right now. So too is cloud computing (this time around at least). We’re starting to see more mainstream uses for the cloud, somewhere to store and share all our data, somewhere to locate an application (software) to do some work on that data. Microsoft Research are working on Social Desktop, which enables you to access your data online and for others to read, reference and comment your data. Could all computing go this way, making use of the infinite storage and processing power of the cloud, where there is just one super computer, the internet, to which we connect to?

Client operating systems would be very lightweight, simply providing connection, presentation, and IO. Mobile devices do this today. Large display and input devices for general application usage are an issue for mobile devices. But what if that client device was a neural implant and your brain provided the display in your mind and took your thoughts as input?

Could the cloud become the Hive? Is this the start of Conjoiner society?

I like the idea of being able to program my own neural implant – TDD obviously! Maybe an application mashup to provide a visual overlay (HUD) of statistics when watching sport, or to program my nano-teched brain to do something more efficient. I guess this would naturally follow that you could simulate the neural behaviour of talented individuals, people who are the best at what they do because of the way their brain is naturally wired. You would download a program which made you talented also – digital, not organic evolution of the human species. I know Kung Fu.

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