In the Technology Innovation Game, my combined technology that I would like to see invented would be a hologram and a phone. I have seen a hologram projection of a Tupac concert video at Coachella in 2012 that was made by Digital Domain Media Group. The company is now bankrupt; however, it was fascinating to see a pre-recorded projection of the late influential rapper. The combination of the hologram with the phone would create and establish an augmented realism that goes beyond the simple interaction between the user and the technological hardware.
Development:
I would like to see this technology made possible for the consumer and not just used in a lab. I grew up watching: Back to the Future, Star Wars, and Star Trek. These sci-fi shows reminded me of holographic technologies that were hands free and allowed the individuals and images to interact with their environment. This technology would be great for people living far away from each other that wanted to chat in augmented reality, or someone wanting to relive a recorded memory of someone they have lost. It would also be a great way to keep a video diary. Imagine leaving a three dimensional video time capsule to your children or great grandchildren!
Any new technology that adds something different to the discussion of how it affects our lives, also takes away something in the way we use to do things. In Always-On/Always-On-You: Tethered Self, Sherry Turkle reminds us that having these technologies somehow gets us closer to being a cyborg. That we are constantly linked in to a digital landscape that is changing our relationships in the way we act and behave around each other. Turkle argues that our identities are shaped by a rapid response behavior that is pressured by the need to readily and immediately communicate towards one another (pp.131-132). Thus, our thinking time has greatly diminished, and replaced with the social conditioning of a producing agent.
So how does the combination of a hologram and a phone change the digital landscape? This augmented technology would allow for relationships to be geographically extended with a more realistic sense of face to face communication. For example, a hologram image and recording could train us how to fix a car standing right next to us, instead of reading a laborious manual. Another great use for this technology, would allow doctors assisting in holographic form for the delivery of a baby in countries lacking the proper equipment or knowledge. Despite the negatives which Turkle points out, the limitless positives outweigh the drawbacks of having such a technology.
Conclusion:
Perhaps I am taking an optimistic position and my bias is preventing me from seeing the danger that may lie ahead with such a technology. Nevertheless, it is difficult to predict with great certainty how it will affect our cognitive psyche. Moreover, any new leap in technology will bring up moral questions as to how and why it is being used. We should not shy away from these questions, but rather cultivate and be responsive to them.