Bioelectric powered tatoo computers may sound outlandish to us now, but in a single generation the rate of technological change is about to sky rocket. There are many contributing breakthroughs that will bring about the next techno revolution.
Nanotechnology, quantum computing, and neural interfaces have each relentlessly progressed over the past couple of decades. But these tools are still far out of reach for most people. There are also weak economic forces driving them to market, either separately or fused. The limiting factor on progress has been humanities inability to rapidly design and test the feasibility of imagined gadgets.
Software design and implementation appear as an occult art to the average person. The necessary skills required to gain mastery in code development can take years. New languages and platforms are continually being developed increasing the diversity of required skills for professionals in this field. The breakthrough that will enable accelerated technological change will be when machines can interpret our thoughts. Organizations who are dedicated to mastering the human-machine interface will be well positioned to capitalize on this emerging market.
A clear and dedicated global research effort would be a welcome initiative. What's needed to mature the human machine interface is something beyond the incredible hardware to interpret voice, gesture, and thought. The essential software process can better match the way we think about problems. Instead of struggling to map our thoughts into organized methods and structures which only mimick our ideas, we must empower machines to better represent abstract concepts.