Designer Dor Tal from Israel developed a concept gadget Future Control, which can analyze the information taken from the Internet in order to make “predictions” about the actions of its owner.
The Future Control Project focuses primarily on a new mobile application that requires access to the personal data of social networks, bank accounts, e-mail, calendar, messages, calls, etc. The algorithm of the app will analyze the information and provide predictions for the future. Future Control is going to be a kind of reminder-assistant, something similar to what is offered by Google Now.
Google Now is a personalized search service from Google Inc, implemented in the Google Search app for Android and iOS. It uses natural language processing to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform various actions. The service responds to various user requests and displays information based on user preferences, predicting them based on their habits and mode of the day.
However, it is expected that Future Control can go beyond the possibilities of Google Now and ‘predict’ things that Google knows nothing about. For example, the device may advise a user to buy flowers to his girlfriend because of her bad mood.
As planned by the Israeli designer, each owner of the app will receive personalized ‘predictions’ in the form of a projection using a small desktop gadget or “smart” watches.
What are your thoughts about this concept? As for me, I’m not quite sure whether I find the idea fascinating or terrifying.
On the one hand, what the Future Control app promises sounds impressive, and the recommendations of a sophisticated digital assistant may prove quite handy on many occasions.
On the other hand, though, technology seems to be getting dangerously smart. Personally, I wouldn’t be comfortable with giving an app full access to my whole life, including bank accounts and personal messages, even for the sake of getting personalized ‘predictions’ about the future.
What about you?