Google Glass and Eliza

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And read this article. Given the technological pace, it would not be more than five years (or a maximum of 10 years in case of AI) that these devices and programs will become a reality. They can then lead to a civilisation where machines interact amongst themselves with little human interference. This is somewhat similar to what happened to manufacturing when the industrial robots evolved. 

Consider this scenario. 10 years ago if I had to connect to internet, I had to do it myself. Physically set up dial up connection. In case of a problem, I would call up my service provider and someone would help me out. We were very very involved with the machines that we operated. Televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, telephone, mobiles, disc man, microwave ovens, dishwashers etc. All these durable consumer goods needed human intervention to operate and function properly. Whenever they would break down, you had to physically call help and get them fixed. We had to make effort to get the functionality out of the machines. 

10 years ahead, I will just have to dictate instructions to a machine. My morning will start with set of instructions to these machines (a la google glass). Every other machine would be networked and 'smart'. And what if they breakdown or need help. Then they can consult AI. They can fix most of the issues themselves, especially basic problems that befuddle beginners. The AI will slowly learn from the problems that these machines face like ELIZA does. This would lead to an ecosystem of machines, all serving human beings, where machines would interact within themselves and solve each others problems. I would be overjoyed to see if this happens by 2020 even with one kind of machines.

The 'smart' revolution that started with manufacturing will reach and permeate our lives soon. With so much time saved, what use will we put that time to is a question for speculation.