Dr Jordan Nguyen - A Humans Guide to the Future

To my loving parents, grandparents and family, who have been a consistent light in my life, my inspiration. I love you more than words can describe.

To my future family, my children I have not yet had. I hope we did everything we could and that the world is a good place this is also for you.

TECHNOLOGY IS EVOLVING AT THE FASTEST RATE WEVE EVER SEEN, BUT IT MAY BE THE SLOWEST RATE WELL EVER SEE AGAIN!

What does this mean for the future of the human race? Do we resist these changes or embrace them?

Australian biomedical engineer, inventor and visionary Dr Jordan Nguyen has lived a life of curiosity and wonder - exploring positive opportunities in science and technology, including robotics, artificial intelligence, bionics, extended reality and avatars. He believes that technology is a powerful tool that we as humans can choose to harness to create a better tomorrow.

In A Humans Guide to the Future, Dr Jordan takes us on a journey through the big innovations being developed around the world, along the fun and amazing rollercoaster of his own adventures, and to envisage where our collective future is headed.

Written by one of this generations most exciting voices, this is a book that will deepen your understanding of new and emerging technologies and fuel your imagination at the dawn of what will be the most transformative era in human history.

Contents

Technology is just a tool.

Whats fascinating is how we choose to use this tool,

for tomorrow may be bright and rich with experience,

but thats up to us.

It should never be about the technology itself.

Its all about the human odyssey,

and what we learn about ourselves along the way.

Our world is advancing at a pace weve never seen before, and it can be overwhelming. Think of how much youve already outsourced your cognitive processes to your smart devices and sometimes feel like part of you is missing if theyre out of battery or left at home. Your dependence on GPS to find your way along that route you always take but never seem to remember. Those voice-activated assistants that always make us question if theyre really listening. Facial-recognition ID that sometimes likes to irritate us mildly by not recognising us when were overly tired and looking a little rough. And, of course, heart-rate monitors, blood-pressure sensors, those bits-for-tracking-the-fit and all the other techy stuff we find ourselves hurled into lovehate relationships with. Honestly though, you aint seen nothing yet!

The thing is,

Were living at the fastest rate of change
the world has ever seen.
But it may also be the slowest
well ever see again.

The rate may seem to slow here and there when events occur with global impact, but they barely affect advancement when considering the big picture. Living in these times of rapid change means we should consider how technology will play a defining role in the world of tomorrow. In all my travels and among the many people Ive met, what Ive found is that this both excites and creates a sense of fear. Do we try to resist these everevolving changes coming our way or do we learn to embrace them? How can we embrace them? Will they lead us to a better future or will we fall into turmoil and chaos? Whether we like it or not, were having a massive impact on our earth. As the human population expands, so too does our consumption of natural resources. It is within our capabilities to harness technology to benefit the planet: to better model, understand, anticipate and steer our global changes and challenges. All major advancements come with new sets of ethical issues that our world needs to work through. I believe the present is an ideal time not only to explore the positive sides of these shifts, but also to activate our individual and collective potential.

Through my broad range of adventures Ive met people from all walks of life, and Ive become increasingly certain that collectively we can create a better future absolutely.

The way I see it, our only way forward is to embrace and guide these technological revolutions and work together to ensure they are used for the good of humanity and our planet. Ive loved technology for almost as long as I can remember. Ive always been fascinated by visions of the future of-fered by science fiction whether they be exhilarating or cautionary but for me its never just about the technology itself. Its about our dreams, humanity, purpose and finding the positive global impact we can achieve through bringing our imagination into reality.

Im Dr Jordan Nguyen, an engineer, inventor, documentary presenter, speaker and entrepreneur. My imagination runs wild and I chase the ability to turn dreams into reality. I want to show you the latest visions for the future and share my adventures as I learn that nothing is impossible, find great sources of inspiration to tackle big human-fuelled ambitions, and assemble super teams to bring our ideas to life.

Im the founder of Psykinetic, a Sydney-based social business where we use the latest biomedical, bionic, robotic, artificial intelligence and extended-reality technologies to create inclusive and empowering solutions aimed at improving independence and quality of life for those with disabilities, our elders and beyond. Ive developed many projects over the years including a robotic tour guide at university; avatars to preserve the memories of loved ones; and a smart wheelchair that could make its own decisions in navigation and, coupled with unique biomedical technology developed during my PhD studies, could even be controlled by the power of the mind. Ive also worked on automated software systems for medical equipment, life-support systems, 3D-printed motor prosthetics, smart-home systems, virtual-reality rehabilitation, and eye-controlled systems for communication, gaming, transportation and music creation.

On the media side I founded Time-Captain Studios primarily to create documentary films that explore science and technology working towards a better future. I travel the world, usually with documentary crews as a presenter and journalist (having worked with production groups including ABC Catalyst, The Feds, Meridian Line Films, CICC, Matavia and Beach House Pictures), to witness first-hand the effects of science and technology across the globe. Ive been through China to see how their mindset has been shifting and to experience the fast pace of innovation from their startups to their groundbreaking scientific advancements. Ive been around the US to see cutting-edge research and meet some of the great minds behind many amazing technologies like applying virtual reality to psychological rehabilitation and advancements in biomedical technology, to name a few. Ive been to Vietnam to discover how its focus on telecommunications infrastructure helped its people pull themselves up from being one of the poorest nations after the Vietnam War to thriving in the top twenty fastest growing economies in the world. And how, in a great tale of economic kinship, theyve partnered with East Africa to help them emulate the same lessons, working with them to build their own telecommunications infrastructure to unbelievable levels within short time frames. Ive been through Tibet to see how humans have come to thrive at high altitude and make unique uses of technology. Ive gone into the tunnels with the rail workers and engineers who are building the most challenging trainline in the world; visited large-scale stations there that can measure cosmic rays from galactic events like supernovas; climbed the declining Tibetan glaciers with scientists to take samples for predictive modelling on how long they may last; and trekked to some of the most remote regions of Tibet, where technology has even reached villages rarely visited by foreigners.