A short story from a near-future we’re already building
Every Sunday, Layla walks three blocks through the city to visit her mother, June.
It’s a quiet ritual in a world that’s grown louder—drones overhead, screens on every corner. Layla still carries groceries in her arms. Still buys the same tea: jasmine and orange peel, just like her mother brewed when she was little.
June doesn’t always remember who Layla is.
But she always reacts to the tea.
Continue readingIt’s a rainy Sunday in 2029. You step into your kitchen and greet a familiar voice:
“Wash your hands first — and don’t forget, you always overcook the garlic.”
It’s your grandmother. Or rather, her AI-trained twin — a rich synthesis of voice recordings, handwritten recipe notes, photos, and family video calls. Her likeness lives in your kitchen’s AI assistant, trained not only on the technical aspects of her cooking but the emotional cues too — her sayings, her pacing, even her eye-roll when you forget the bay leaves.
Tonight, you’re making her famous Sunday stew.
As you begin, her voice guides you through each step.
“This is the part where we stir slowly — remember how we’d hum together at this point?”
The AI pulls up a shared memory — a short home video from when you were seven, standing on a stool next to her, stirring that same pot. You smile. You hum.
As you plate the stew, she adds one last note:
“Serve it with that crusty bread from the bakery — just like Grandpa liked.”
The food is real, the memory is enhanced, and your kitchen has become a portal to the past — powered by code, but steeped in love, culture, and identity.
A recent article takes the concept of a digital twin to an interesting level. An earlier film developed by my team of Futurists rehearsed the possible future of digital twins. One possible future is a digital twin of the earth. The article describes how Nvidia recently unveiled Earth-2, a digital twin of the Earth aimed at revolutionizing meteorological simulations and visualizations on a global scale. This innovative platform, powered by Nvidia’s generative AI model CorrDiff, offers unprecedented speed and energy efficiency, enabling users to create high-resolution simulations of global weather patterns in seconds. By providing access through an API, Nvidia aims to enhance early warning systems for natural disasters and improve weather forecasts.
Government agencies and organizations like the Central Weather Administration of Taiwan and The Weather Company are already planning to utilize Earth-2 for forecasting and visualizing weather impacts. Nvidia’s venture into climate-focused technology reflects its commitment to addressing the challenges of climate change while capitalizing on the growing demand for AI-powered solutions. However, the long-term accuracy of such a complex system remains a pertinent question. The video below describes Earth-2.
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It was the eventual convergence of science and technology that ushered in a period of unprecedented human development. This synergistic relationship exploited two historical pillars of advancement: knowledge and invention. I’ve explored how the growth of knowledge drove invention throughout history, and how that combination elevated the standard of living. Now, in the age of AI, we must consider the possibility of a new era of human development. This time, the possibility space is very broad, as AI is likely to reimagine science.
Continue readingIt is interesting to watch perspectives change. In a post last week, I ran a poll exploring a possibility that is expanding: reconnecting with a lost loved one. I ran a similar poll about 1 year ago and launched it again to see if thinking changes with more exposure to possibilities. Please take this quick poll – I will report back on the before and after comparison.
Reimagining the Future 