We have reached a place, where smartphones have evolved from mere devices to part of our lives. The first and last thing we do in our day is, check our phones. We are in a stage, where if we leave home without a phone, we feel incomplete or disconnected.
An era, where lots of words can be communicated using an emoji, or a GIF. A time, where our attention span has reduced to 10 seconds. A community that speaks their thoughts via texts. Every day we are bombarded with so much information that it’s getting difficult to align what to keep and what to exclude.
We are in a part of evolution, where we have to accept and move along. But how far are we, when these devices can read us? What IF smartphones become so powerful that they can read our minds?
Seems scary, but don’t you think it is happening now, without your knowledge?
Social Media Algorithm
A few people believe that Social Media are reading our thoughts because you might see a feed that you were thinking about. Well, even I have been a victim of that. But, it’s because of recommendation algorithms.
How does it work?
The “recommendation algorithms” are machine learning algorithms. It works by collecting data about your interests, likes, and interactions. So if you search more about ‘games’.
The algorithm will analyze what you are looking for and also include a search from other users who have the same interest. And, it will align the fields for you. Algorithms are very complex and they are upgraded constantly, to give us better suggestions.
Modes and Routines
There are some modes and routines, which are already preset in the smartphone. Well, you can check them to tweak and make the changes. But, they are set to extend your phone’s performance, based on your usage.
For example, when I purchased the Samsung phone, the battery was really bad for the first few days. Only later I understood, that the phone was understanding the usage and based on my performance it was tweaking in the back-end for a better experience.
Some modes and routines, that might be set on your phone:
- Night Mode: Depending on your time zone, the phone would reduce the blue light emission and create a filter. So you can sleep better.
- Power Saving Mode: When the phone reaches a certain battery level, it will turn to battery saver mode, which reduces power consumption.
- Drive Mode: The moment you turn on your maps and connect to your car, it turns into Auto mode. Which has bigger buttons and an easy view of the route.
- Background App Refresh: Smartphones now can scan which apps you have not using for a long time and send them in sleep mode. So that they do not consume battery and data in the background.
These are some routines, but you can also set custom routines, to automate redundant tasks.
What IF its real!!
Above were examples that need human effort to make a few tweaks. But what if that reality is not far away, where smartphones can literally read us? What would happen and how will it help? Well, here are some ways that I feel it will help:
- No Language Barrier: One of the issues that we face in this world is the limitation due to language. We face the challenge when we reach a new destination where the language is different. Smartphones can help us to communicate in real-time, more effectively.
- Productivity Boost: No more missed meetings, no messages unanswered, and all will be scheduled based on your convenience. A smartphone will easily allocate time for you to the best while managing these redundant tasks.
- Safety Improvised: Nowadays smartwatches can detect falls, ECG drops, etc. But if a Smartphone is powerful, it will detect what is wrong within seconds, based on your patterns.
These are some thoughts I have that could happen. But yes, we might lose our privacy, open to security issues and it will be always if somebody is peeping into our lives. It’s still far away, but What If!! Phones Can Really Read Our Minds?
