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Predictions 20 15

The re-engineered

brain

M A N I P U L A T I O N MEMORY

h y p e r - s e n s o r y stimulation m o r p h i n g

mood

h a c k i n g sleep

MANIPULATION MEMORY

DARPA, the research agency for the Department of Defense, invests $40 million in grants toward !memory-creation research

NOW

MIT researchers are able to switch on and off memory associations

Northwestern University proves brain stimulation can improve human memory

In The Future... Memories won’t just happen as we move through life; they’ll be manufactured, bought, sold, and swapped. Welcome to the Memory Marketplace. Just because you haven’t traveled abroad doesn’t mean you can’t remember your trip to China. Just because you didn’t grow up in a happy home doesn’t mean you can’t fondly recall a joyful holiday with your family. This new era of memory manipulation will also signal the blurring between real life and fantasy. We can create the past we wish we had--no more hours spent complaining to friends or therapists. Imagine the psychic energy freed up by that.

NEXT

FUTURE

TomorrowVision: The new field of Memory Manufacturing accelerates, complete with Memory MD’s !to rewire any purchased past visions that malfunction.

morphing mood

NOW

British Airways’ “Happiness Blanket” changes colors with your mood, alerting flight attendants to your needs

Wearable technologies track your daily !mood patterns

The Pentagon jolts soldiers’ brains with electricity to boost energy levels

“Brain Pacemakers” trigger improvements in severely depressed patients

Bye-bye, bad moods. !Biochemistry and tech merge to create an era of psychological and cognitive health. Today’s temperament-tracking wearables will segue into brain implants that tweak your mood via electrical impulses and chemical delivery. They’ll be able to perfectly curate a mood-cocoon, too: Tiny electrodes will trigger video streaming that calms you after a stressful day; will brighten lighting to boost your energy; !and will release chemicals that lift you when you’re lagging. ! With better moods just a jolt away, get ready for the Death of Depression.

In The Future... NEXT

FUTURE

TomorrowVision: No more Prozac. !Big pharma, are you ready?

hacking sleep

NOW

“Sleeptexting” is one of the fastest-growing sleep disorders among Millennials

Aurora’s !$175 headband that plays lights and sounds promises to help wearers program their dreams

German researchers zap brain with electricity induces “lucid dreaming”

Prescriptions !for Provigil, a drug designed to treat narcolepsy, rise !10x in past decade; !popular among those with !high-pressure professions

We won’t be wasting eight hours a night on sleep. Instead, our beds become docking stations. While our bodies rest and REM is orchestrated, we’ll be able to slip into custom-tailored dreams that have been produced like a big-budget flick. Or we can mine our subsconscious in moderated psycho-sleep sessions, in which worries and anger are worked through. Or we can let part of our unconscious go on auto-pilot, while other areas of our brain can be productive, learning languages and other skills via programmed modules.

In The Future... NEXT

FUTURE

TomorrowVision: The “24/7” life becomes literal as we can !be productive even while asleep in our interactive CocoonBeds. MOOCs and other skill-building businesses arise to boost our brains in the night, while film studios create nocturnal tales for purchase. !A new class of Sleep Specialists emerge to maximize our nighttime potential and minimize glitches.

hyper-sensory stimulation

NOW

Artist Mark Farid is crowd-sourcing his next performance: 28 straight days in a virtual reality world

LUSH Spa’s signature Synaesthesia Massage promises to alter !your mind and induce one !of 11 moods

Tenga Japanese manufacturer pioneers virtual porn

Psychedelic drug use in the US now as common as it was in 1960s

As our lives become more digital, more connected, more saturated with information, we’ll need an escape; avenues to unplug from the monotony of screens and data streams. The solution will be extreme experiences that reconnect us with the most basic elements of our humanity: our senses. To remind ourselves that we are man, and not machine, we’ll turn to next-gen hallucinogenics, synesthesia sessions in which our senses cross-pollinate, and all kinds of intense sensations. !

In The Future... NEXT

FUTURE

TomorrowVision: Sensory indulgence will be commoditized via products and professionals who give us memorable moments, from “spa days” that surround us with scents, sounds, and textures, to consultants who can induce otherworldly “trips” that punctuate our overly digitized lives. A Black Market will arise for new recreational drugs that push our bodies to the very brink of what they can handle.

What will you do differently today? tomorrow Now that you know everything about