Electronic tattoos, courtesy of Bill Gates

spectratg

spectratg

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Adamstown, MD
Bill Gates has discussed the potential of electronic tattoos replacing smartphones, envisioning them as a means of communication, health monitoring, and digital interaction. These envisioned tattoos could transmit data and facilitate communication, access to the internet, and potentially replace traditional functions like sending messages or making calls, without the need for a handheld screen. One novel application would be to replace your car key fob!

The envisioned electronic tattoos are often described as being thin, temporary applications on the skin, using "smart paint" and nanocapacitors to exchange information and perform digital tasks without a physical screen or bulky batteries. The potential for collecting personal data and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic tattoos raise some important ethical questions.
 

Yeah, I saw this. I think it's fantastic. Though this isn't something Gates is offering, it's simply a prediction by him.

However, it makes a lot of sense to me. Did you know Smartphones are made, partly, from precious and dangerous chemicals? Worse, 5.5bn are discarded every single year!! The amount of waste created is incredible. This would solve that problem.

I do realize that for many people, the idea is outrageous, even frightening. But a new world is being ushered in. It's not like tattoo's are anything out of the ordinary in 2025. A functional tattoo just seems like a natural step. As I understood it, these tattoos aren't visible on the skin......
 
spectratg said:
Bill Gates has discussed the potential of electronic tattoos replacing smartphones, envisioning them as a means of communication, health monitoring, and digital interaction. These envisioned tattoos could transmit data and facilitate communication, access to the internet, and potentially replace traditional functions like sending messages or making calls, without the need for a handheld screen. One novel application would be to replace your car key fob!

The envisioned electronic tattoos are often described as being thin, temporary applications on the skin, using "smart paint" and nanocapacitors to exchange information and perform digital tasks without a physical screen or bulky batteries. The potential for collecting personal data and cybersecurity risks associated with electronic tattoos raise some important ethical questions.
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Yes, there was a similar thread started here last Friday.
 

VaughanJB said:
Yeah, I saw this. I think it's fantastic. Though this isn't something Gates is offering, it's simply a prediction by him.

However, it makes a lot of sense to me. Did you know Smartphones are made, partly, from precious and dangerous chemicals? Worse, 5.5bn are discarded every single year!! The amount of waste created is incredible. This would solve that problem.

I do realize that for many people, the idea is outrageous, even frightening. But a new world is being ushered in. It's not like tattoo's are anything out of the ordinary in 2025. A functional tattoo just seems like a natural step. As I understood it, these tattoos aren't visible on the skin......
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Actually, he has referenced research and development by companies like Chaotic Moon (later acquired by Accenture) that are working on creating these electronic tattoos.

A cyborg is a being with both organic and biomechatronic (biological and mechanical) body parts. The term, coined in 1960, refers to organisms with enhanced or restored functions due to the integration of artificial components that interact with the body through feedback mechanisms. This differentiates cyborgs from biorobots and androids, which are entirely mechanical or artificial. Is this the future of the human race?
 
Not exactly the same thing, but similar. All of a sudden, when I turn on my computer, I get a message on the screen saying something like:
"Good morning (my first name). Is there anything I can help you with?" I think it's that Copilot A-I they're pushing.

Somehow it makes me feel like that astronaut being addressed by Hal. Gives me the creeps.
 
Sunny said:
Not exactly the same thing, but similar. All of a sudden, when I turn on my computer, I get a message on the screen saying something like:
"Good morning (my first name). Is there anything I can help you with?" I think it's that Copilot A-I they're pushing.

Somehow it makes me feel like that astronaut being addressed by Hal. Gives me the creeps.
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Another built-in data collecting feature of Windows. I don't abide Microsoft products...
 
I have tried Gemini and Chatgpt. None of them are good. I don't bother with Copilot. I think AI still has a long way to go.
Gemini has this obnoxious female voice. Chatgpt tell me the wrong day all the time, I just asked Chatgpt what day it is today, it said Thursday. ....WTF?
On TV, you see those robots in trade shows, but still, none of them are smart enough to replace human.
 
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spectratg said:
Is this the future of the human race?
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Clearly, I've no way of knowing - but I'd suggest YES.

There are likely to be limits we hit upon in the quest to live longer. If those limitations could be overcome by some kind of enhancement, I think people will go for it. Not to mention eventual long flights to distant galaxies. I love the idea of journeys across the galaxy, and inhabiting distant planets. However, those are far better suited to machines than to organic flesh.

Still, that's not a new idea. One of the biggest films which touch on cyborgs is, of course, Blade Runner.
 
OldOld said:
I probably won't live to see it anyway. What do I care? 🙄
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Do you really not care, or at least find interesting, what our world will become? Or what fate awaits all those that come after us?

Still, I don't think it's a "probably" in this case. We'll be long gone by the time this is relevant in the real world. Still, fascinating. IMO.
 
OldOld said:
You don't know how fast the technology may advance. So I say "probably ".
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I don't. And this is several different technologies wrapped up. But the main thrust will only come when people are willing to pay for it.

I met the first person I'm aware of who pays for cabs and groceries with an implant into their wrist the other day. Essentially, he waves his hand over the card reader and he's done. I first read about the tech in 2022.

The microchip implants that let you pay with your hand
 

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