Virtual beings

travelers’ expectations, USA Today, September 23, 2000, reported: “The angry woman with children in tow had some choice words for the theme park marketing director. Where were the live dinosaurs she and her kids saw in the park’s TV commercials? She had paid good money, only to view fake ones.” What will virtual humans be like 1,000 years from now? What will real humans be like 1,000 years from now? Will there be any difference? Will we see, hear, or feel any difference? The short answer is no. Will this process of developing virtual humans indistinguishable from real ones take 1,000 years? Also no. Ours may be the last generation that sees and readily knows the difference between real and virtual things. Moving the time frame in a little closer might help identify some transition points. If Ray Kurzweil’s claim that the pace of scientific discovery is accelerating, we can expect 100 years of progress in something like 60 years. So let’s start with the 100-year horizon. Within 100 years, digital media will replace traditional media, leading to simple, convenient, user-