This blog is in response to a LinkedIn post and question posed by my cousin, Nadine Dietz in which she is reflecting on a presentation I had given at the CMO Moves Summit West at Google HQ in San Francisco entitled, “Marketing to Machines and Augmented Humans”. Nadine asks me this question in her post, “…we need an update here please!” While the predictions I made in 2020 during my presentation were grounded in current trends and research, the reality is that the path of technological progress is often serendipitous, shaped by breakthroughs, societal changes, and the global economic landscape. Instead of trying to answer my cousin’s question in a LinkedIn reply, (and not enough character spaces allowed by LinkedIn for my answer), I wrote my answer here as an article.

Nadine Dietz — 2030: Augmented Human Race… Tamara McCleary we need an update here please! This is a mere 5 years away. What’s your timeline like now?

Let’s start by addressing the white-hot field of artificial intelligence. While the emergence of ChatGPT, DALL-E, and other large language models has already sparked awe and controversy, we’ve barely scratched the surface of AI’s potential. Imagine a future with an AI sidekick as ubiquitous as a smartphone – a cognitive collaborator that can engage in nuanced dialogue, comprehend complex topics, and lend a hand with everything from analysis and automation to coding and research projects.

Armed with specialized AI chips delivering stupid-level compute power, these AI assistants could be real-life versions of Jarvis from Iron Man – auxiliary minds turbocharging our productivity and creativity. It’ll be like combining the knowledge of Aristotle, Turing, and Einstein into an ever-present thinking partner. My mind reels at the possibilities!

But believe me, that’s just a single swell in the technological tsunami coming our way. Keep your eyes peeled for quantum computing potentially hitting a significant milestone with fault-tolerant, scalable systems. With their cosmic-level computing capabilities, quantum machines could blow the lid off realms like materials science, cryptography, and financial modeling by crunching calculations that would take classical computers literally longer than the age of the universe.

By 2030, we could be programming genes and cells to eradicate entire classes of diseases while also 3D printing organs, regrowing tissues, and developing neural implants, granting new cognitive and physical capabilities previously confined to comic books.

The domain of biotech is also barreling towards the uncharted and unbelievable. Advancements like CRISPR gene editing, mRNA therapies, and brain-computer interfaces aren’t just theoretical sci-fi fodder anymore – they’re actually happening in labs! By 2030, we could be programming genes and cells to eradicate entire classes of diseases while also 3D printing organs, regrowing tissues, and developing neural implants, granting new cognitive and physical capabilities previously confined to comic books.

And then there’s the gargantuan global push towards sustainable energy sources gaining momentum. With solar, wind, next-gen nuclear, and cutting-edge battery storage all on the rise – not to mention potential breakthroughs in nuclear fusion on the horizon – we could start divorcing ourselves from fossil fuels during this decade while remaking our energy infrastructure.

But here’s what blows my mind: all these surges of exponential technological progress will converge and compound each other in mind-melting ways! I can envision future scenarios where quantum computing and AI are paired with biotech to simulate and optimize gene therapies at a DNA level. Or fusions of quantum-trained AI powering advanced modeling that turbocharges the development of commercial fusion reactors and next-gen nuclear fission. We could literally have a symbiosis of multiple world-shifting technological revolutions catalyzing each other simultaneously.

To be clear, with great technological power comes immense ethical responsibility that we’ll need to navigate very thoughtfully as a society. There are valid concerns about the dilemmas and risks these capabilities could introduce. But if we get it right and steer an enlightened path, this convergence of innovation could help solve our most significant global challenges while giving rise to an incredible new age of abundance for humanity.

To be clear, with great technological power comes immense ethical responsibility that we’ll need to navigate very thoughtfully as a society.

So get ready, folks, because the 2020s will be a disruptive ride! These technological tsunamis are already starting to swell on the horizon. I recommend ensuring your mental seatbelts are fastened tightly. We’re in for episodes of whiplash-inducing transformation over the coming years as seismic waves of societal change crash upon us in rapid succession. It’ll be thrilling and terrifying all at once—a recursive revolution of multiplying mind-bending breakthroughs. Hang on for an unparalleled joyride at the bleeding edge of progress coming in hot!

Originally published on Tamara McCleary’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/singularity-level-convergence-ai-quantum-biotech-collide-mccleary-7mcif/