How AI and AR Will Impact the Way We Work and Live

For decades, science fiction novels and films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and Colossus: The Forbin Project have envisioned a society in which artificial intelligence (AI) creates "hyper-smart" machines that act on their own inclinations—often with terrifying results. In real life, AI advances—in addition to emerging technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)—are now having a profound impact on the way we work, play and live. And a recent survey from stable|kernel examines how tech professionals and users actually feel about this situation. The "2017 Technology and the Human Condition" findings indicate that, for starters, a majority of the survey respondents generally trust computers more than people. In fact, many believe that, as these technologies advance, people will lose the ability to think for themselves. There are also considerable concerns about the potential for AI to eliminate more jobs than it creates. Lastly, there's a lingering sense of possible regret about all of this, as people grow so immersed with AR and VR that they lose their human connectivity. A total of 150 mobility developers, user experience designers, project managers and mobile device owners took part in the research.