Bill Gates Looks Five Years into the Future

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

(Note:  I am a subscriber to "Gates Notes," the fairly regular blog of Microsoft founder and philanthropist zillionaire Bill Gates, and I find his knowledge, musings, and insights on many subjects to be so compelling that I would probably cough up the money for a paid subscription if that was the only way that I could read what he has to say.  Fortunately for my budget, "Gates Notes" is currently free.)

In a blog posting that came out a week ago today, the co-founder of Microsoft and its former CEO predicted, with the air of complete certainty, the next big thing in personal computing.  Gates said that within five years instead of bouncing around between programs and "apps," each computer user will have a personal "agent" embedded in their computer which will, based on voice requests from the user, move seamlessly form one function to another.  Gates said that he has been thinking - and writing - about the concept of personal agents in computing for years, but that the goal had only become attainable with the recent major advances in the field of artificial intelligence.

As the multi-billionaire put it:

"In the next five years, this will change completely. You won’t have to use different apps for different tasks. You’ll simply tell your device, in everyday language, what you want to do. And depending on how much information you choose to share with it, the software will be able to respond personally because it will have a rich understanding of your life. In the near future, anyone who’s online will be able to have a personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence that’s far beyond today’s technology."

That may sound a bit scary to those who value the simple things in life, like privacy, but for those like me who are in a mad rush to get things done before last call, it comes across as convenient as hell.  And for the lonely and neglected, it will be one more friend to share the day with:  first Siri, and then Alexa, and now . . .  and now . . . drat!  I haven't even named the cat yet and he's been stopping by for breakfast for over three years now!

Thanks for the update, Bill, and the heads-up.  Alexa and I are both eager to meet our new agent!

And so is Rosie!