Virtual Reality, Sex And Chocolate Cake: Desire In A Post-Virtual World

This post was cowritten with Moran Cerf, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. In a recent essay (see Post-Virtual World), we explored two technologies that will fundamentally change our experience: invisible interfaces and intelligence-to-intelligence (i2i) communications. Invisible interfaces require no obvious interface--no keystrokes, voice or gestures-- for our minds to communicate with computational systems, enabling data to be uploaded directly to our brains. Invisible interfaces thus allow for i2i capabilities, direct communication between humans and/or Artificial Intelligences, historically known as telepathy. Elon Musk's Neuralink and Bryan Johnson's Kernel, both pursuing versions of invisible interfaces, reflect the understanding that recent neuroscience research places these capabilities within reach.