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Kaspersky has found the trends of the future that people are most interested in, based on the analysis of questions submitted to the Safer Tomorrow online platform.
Since its launch in early February, the platform, powered by a foretelling neural network that provides answers on significant topics of tomorrow, has received over 7,000 requests from users all over the world. The most popular questions were dedicated to the future of cars, food, health and immortality.
Kaspersky created the Safer Tomorrow project to raise awareness about the likely development trajectories of society and technology. The global cybersecurity company believes that technological progress presents humankind with endless possibilities and is committed to securing technology to make the world a better place. The company also believes that the more people are exposed to existing knowledge about tomorrow, the more certain they will feel about the future, and the more prepared they will be for upcoming opportunities.
Car-related topics were the most popular among users, including requests such as: ‘What will cars be like in the future?’; to more specific inquiries like ‘Will people make custom cars with 3D printers?’, and ‘When will there be flying cars?’. Requests about food were also diverse – while some were asking ‘Will food be healthier in the future?’, one user wondered, ‘Will cats stop stealing food?’.
Meanwhile, questions on health included ‘Will cancer remain a lethal disease in the future?’ and ‘When will we heal all the illness?’. Many people also wanted answers on immortality, pondering whether ‘humans will ever be immortal?’, and even, ‘When can we upload our mind to a computer and achieve digital immortality?’.
Other popular questions people asked the neural network surrounded the future of money, artificial intelligence (AI), jobs and ecology. At the same time, some used the platform to get answers on personal issues, like ‘When will I find love?’ and ‘How long will I live?’. A number of people also asked about the meaning of 42 – the ‘Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything’ from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books written by Douglas Adams.
“Kaspersky has always been thrilled about the opportunities the technology of tomorrow can bring to everyone. With the Safer Tomorrow project we wanted to share this passion with people around the world and spark interest in possibilities that the future holds for us. Seeing such lively feedback from a great number of users, who are looking for answers to their futuristic questions on our platform, shows that the future is something that occupies the minds of many and is worth being secured today,” says Andrew Winton, Vice President for Global Marketing at Kaspersky.
The neural network, specially developed for the platform by a branch of global advertising agency BBDO, uses the latest machine learning architecture and techniques. Its algorithm has been trained to analyse requests and provide predictions based on data collected from hundreds of thousands of related sources. These references include science fiction books and magazines, selected media and blogs. It also uses insights from Earth 2050 – Kaspersky’s award-winning interactive project that provides a futuristic image of what the world will look like in 30 years’ time.
Anyone from around the globe can ask the foretelling neural network a question about the future and get an instant answer at www.safertomorrow.online.
The Safer Tomorrow project also included a temporary billboard that stood at Castlepoint Station on the Wairarapa coast of New Zealand – one of the first locations to see the new day and meet the future. From the very start of the project it displayed a selection of predictions on the LED screen and was livestreamed on the project’s online platform 24/7, up until late February.
Image: MIT Technology Review
