Yet this recent promotional video seems to have provoked a bit of controversy. We see a little girl lost in her daily activities who can’t seem to separate the device (no, I’m not going to call it that) from her everyday environment. The comments on social media seem to me to be a bit 'backwards' moving with a desperate desire to cling to that old 'c' word. It's fine to hold on to conventions and recognize those important inventions from yesterday. But the future is here. And nostalgic notions of mainframes will soon be replaced with the presence of (but perhaps not the direct recognition of) mindframes.
You see, our devices—call them what you may—are extremely personal and now can help make us smarter and perhaps even help make us more healthy. It's less a thing and more a vital component to life. Apple's Health Kit and Health Record are poised to become important tools that drive health and wellness. While the jury is still out on Apple's movement into health and their tactics, it's important to recognize the trend that this 'box of circuits' is flowing with its electronic circulatory system that inexorably bond and binds with humanity.
A small leap into the future—and driven by the musings of Elon Musk and his company Neuralink—suggests that biological intelligence will merge with digital intelligence. And even today, technologies already interface with the human brain yielding science fact vs. science fiction. Deep brain stimulation (DBS), for example, is an important therapeutic modality for movement disorders including Parkinson's disease. Further, these DBS devices are also tools to stimulate and sense brain activity. So the direct connections between man and machine are already here.
So good for you Apple! In an interesting way, technology is really going away and leaving a pure user experience that changes everything.
Any questions?
John is the #1 global influencer in digital health and generally regarded as one of the top global strategic and creative thinkers in this important and expanding area. He is also one the most popular speakers around the globe presenting his vibrant and insightful perspective on the future of health innovation. His focus is on guiding companies, NGOs, and governments through the dynamics of exponential change in the health / tech marketplaces. He is also a member of the Google Health Advisory Board, pens HEALTH CRITICAL for Forbes--a top global blog on health & technology and THE DIGITAL SELF for Psychology Today—a leading blog focused on the digital transformation of humanity. He is also on the faculty of Exponential Medicine. John has an established reputation as a vocal advocate for strategic thinking and creativity. He has built his career on the “science of advertising,” a process where strategy and creativity work together for superior marketing. He has also been recognized for his ability to translate difficult medical and scientific concepts into material that can be more easily communicated to consumers, clinicians and scientists. Additionally, John has distinguished himself as a scientific thinker. Earlier in his career, John was a research associate at Harvard Medical School and has co-authored several papers with global thought-leaders in the field of cardiovascular physiology with a focus on acute myocardial infarction, ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.