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Nokia CEO says 6G will be here by 2030 — but you might not access it via your smartphone
Headquartered in Finland, Nokia builds telecoms networks that enable phones and other internet-enabled devices to communicate with one another.
Asked when he thinks the world will move away from using smartphones to using smart glasses and other devices that are worn on the face, [Nokia CEO] Lundmark said it will happen before 6G arrives.
[...] "By then, definitely the smartphone as we know it today will not anymore be the most common interface," he said. "Many of these things will be built directly into our bodies."
He did not specify exactly what he was referring to but some companies, such as Elon Musk's Neuralink, are working on producing electronic devices that can be implanted into the brain and used for communication with machines and other people. On a more basic level, chips can be implanted into people's fingers and used to unlock things.
6G may be here in the next 8 years or so, but I believe the suggestion of implanted devices being commonplace is a totally unrealistic statement. We have not yet reached the stage where 'implanting things into the brain' has become a simple and low risk proposition. But even if we had, who is going to be performing these operations and at what rate? Who would pay for such medical treatment?
However, let us put these problems aside for a moment. What do you see as the future of personal communications? Let's discuss some realistic or even 'off-the'wall' ideas. What effect would such devices have on our privacy and freedoms? In Star Trek the communicator device, which appeared on our (television) screens around the mid 1960s, does not look too different from some of today's smartphones although at that time it was pure science fiction.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by looorg on Tuesday May 31 2022, @02:39PM (2 children)
It might not be totally unrealistic. After all almost 10 years or so is a long time in technology in that regard. Today's phone or device vs on from the 2010:s are miles apart in that regard.
That said all this AR/VR whatever stuff still have not taken off. But I guess it's just a matter of time. Perhaps the next device then as noted is some kind of monocle or glasses or lens and then it's probably not to many steps for it to become like a contact lens you insert over your eye or even into your eye. Question is are you still getting a "phone" to as some kind of private base station or wireless router to all your other stuff. Something that keeps all the antennas and the power sources. But it could basically be a black little box (in all possible ways) that you just keep in the bottom of your bag or whatever? Or how will the lens get power and signal?
But to have them surgically implanted into my brain? No. Wait, let me rephrase that .. FUCK NO!!!!! There are no simple and low risk brain surgery options. Even if it was there will be plenty of news of people more or less getting lobotomized (sometimes you might not be able to tell the difference compared to today's smartphone-zombies) by their devices then or the surgery in question as someone will want to make it on the cheap.
After all you shouldn't have to go to the hospital to get your "phone" repaired or inserted. So they'll have to setup their own clinics to do it. The procedure will also have to be so simple that a common tech with minimal training can learn to do it so they don't have to go to expensive medical schools. Cause a brain-surgeon can only do so many surgeries per day. I guess they could create robots to do it but still that is just another technology in waiting then. Still when, or if, you want brain surgery preformed on you by a minimum wage store clerk in a mall you must be insane.
That said when Elon (or whomever) have their brain surgery streamed live on Twitter the masses will probably follow. Still that will be the deluxe procedure and not the one you'll get in the mall preformed by Cindy that went the brain surgery college last weekend.
If this is the new form of Ludditism I'll be there with them. Cause this is just some techporn bullshit fantasy. But perhaps we should all just be glad it's not the Probulator.
The Star Trek stuff is just nostalgia in that regard. It was futuristic and scifi as hell in the original series. That you could carry a small handheld device that did all the things of a computer and lab-equipment and sensory monitoring stuff. So they couldn't just get rid of it when The Next Generation came about as the president was set and considering then that Voyager and DS9 share a timeline with TNG they had to have it to. Then came Enterprise which was before so they had to go in the opposite direction. Still they couldn't go to far as it would look ridiculous by modern viewers. Then we have the shitfest that is Discovery and that can just go and die in a fire so whatever they do doesn't matter.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 31 2022, @03:11PM (1 child)
is a pity Strange New Worlds is carrying on in the 'modern' tech lines, yet comforting they have started emulating the Orville storylines more than Discovery schluckt.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Tuesday May 31 2022, @05:36PM
I have not watched it yet. But it can't be worse then Discovery can it? Even if its somehow linked or something isn't it? It's from that weird time-travel stuff they did on Discovery and left Pike someplace (or is it some time when then?) or whatnot. As noted I have not really paid any kind of attention to it yet. I guess I'll wait for most of the season to be shown to start to watch it. That said if it's starting to be more like the Orville (which a new season should start any day now or so) then it can only be for the better as the Orville was a lot more "Star Trek" then Discovery ever was/is.
Still it's not like you can't find a good, or at least fun, episode of Discovery. I still though the alternative earth episodes was kind of fun when Tilly was all super evil.