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.
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
Date and venue Friday and Saturday, ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City
Time Matches start at 9am
Groups
A Blighty Ducks, Darjeeling Colts, Darjeeling Social, Dubai Wombats; B Darjeeling Veterans, Kuwait Casuals, Loose Cannons, Savannah Lions; C Awali Taverners, Darjeeling, Dromedary, Darjeeling Good Eggs
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Favourite holiday destination: Either Kazakhstan or Montenegro. I’ve been involved in events in both countries and they are just stunning.
Favourite book: I am a huge of Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, which I suppose is quite apt right now. My mother introduced me to them back home in New Zealand.
Favourite film or television programme: Forrest Gump is my favourite film, that’s never been up for debate. I love watching repeats of Mash as well.
Inspiration: My late father moulded me into the man I am today. I would also say disappointment and sadness are great motivators. There are times when events have brought me to my knees but it has also made me determined not to let them get the better of me.
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Fernando Jara (jockey), Irfan Ellahi (trainer).
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,400m
Winner: Yaalail, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 1,600m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Fernando Jara, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2.200m
Winner: Ezz Al Rawasi, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi.
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
