How We Read and Write in the Future Will Blow Your Mind (Seriously!)

 

Such great headways we made from carving our stories on rocks, trees and cave walls, to writing them on parchments and tablets, then to the invention of the printing press and personal typewriters. And, finally, to this era of Personal Computers (PC), artificial intelligence (AI), and Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) . 

Standing at certain points in time of these developments and looking ahead makes reality seem like a miracle. And if the inventions of the past seemed like marvels, the inventions of the future would therefore be deemed sorceries.

It's AD 2043, and we look into the future of writing, all the way to AD 2077 in narrative and immersive, real-case scenarios style.

[Scene 1: A Buzzing Coffee Shop in 2043]

Jane: (Sipping a steaming latte, she glances at Ada, a fellow writer, her brow furrowed in concentration) Hey Ada, writer's block again?

Ada: (Sighs) Worse, Jane. The publisher wants my next novel in a "multi-sensory format." Apparently, immersive experiences are all the rage now!

Narrator: 2043 is The year sensory storytelling and sensory story consumption takes center stage. Companies like Sensoria develop AI algorithms that analyze a writer's work and generate corresponding sensory experiences – sights, sounds, even smells – for your enjoyment via AR/VR, and nano biochips embedded into your mind. A dystopian novel literally transports you to a world choked with smog, with the metallic tang of pollution filling your nostrils as if you're in the story…and, you are!

[Scene 2: A Crowded VR Arcade in 2052]

Jane: (Strapping on a VR headset, she enters a bustling marketplace) Wow, Ada! This is incredible!

Ada: (Grinning beside Jane, her avatar adjusting a virtual quill) Told you so! Sensoria just launched this version 2.0 of their Immersive Reader – a VR integration. I'm writing a choose-your-own-adventure space opera, and readers can literally navigate the story!

Narrator: Virtual Reality seamlessly blends with storytelling. Imagine exploring the fantastical landscapes you create, experiencing the thrill of a spaceship chase firsthand. Scriptic, a VR writing platform developed by MetaVR, allows writers to craft stories within the VR metaverse, manipulating environments and characters with hand gestures as they please.

[Scene 3: A Serene Home Studio in 2061]

Jane: (Relaxing in a floating chair, dictating thoughts into a sleek earpiece) "The stars shimmered, casting an ethereal glow on the alien urn..."

Narrator: The rise of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) revolutionizes writing. Companies like NeuroMuse develop BCIs that translate your thoughts and emotions directly into digital text. This opens doors for a new wave of stream-of-consciousness narratives, capturing the raw essence of the writer's mind and enabling you to connect your mind to theirs and therefore see, smell and feel things just as they did and captured in their writings.

[Scene 4: A Virtual Conference in 2077]

Ada: (Her holographic beam across the conference room, addressing a gathering of renowned authors) "The future of writing is a collaborative dance between human creativity and machine augmentation. Writing has not been more exciting..."

Narrator: AI co-creation becomes the norm. AI assistants analyze your writing style, suggest plot twists, or even generate alternative endings. Platforms like Symbiosys allow seamless collaboration between humans and AI, blurring the lines between author and assistant.

[Message from Tomorrow]

Skillful writing of the future won't be so much about writing based on personal capabilities as we know it. It'll be more about how skillful we are at mastering and leveraging all the writing technologies of tomorrow for maximized creativity. Far from AI taking our writing jobs, they're, instead, our co-creators and invaluable writing assistants.