The smartphone addiction is real: We’ve come to rely on our smartphones in almost every sphere of our lives – directions, to do lists, phone calls, entertainment. So, it comes as no surprise that experts are now saying we’re addicted to them, literally craving the rush of pings, lights and buzzes. Dopamine shots to the brain triggered by messages, texts, likes, and other sundry notifications cement a neural pattern that sees us constantly checking our phones, chasing the next shot of feel-good chemicals. One study shows that just having them in the same room with us impacts our ability to focus on a task.

But what comes after smartphones? Futurists predict the short term will see greater integration of voice-operated home assistants and clunky AR headsets. The medium term could see AR projected directly onto our eyes and computers that engage in intelligent discussion. And then, things get really weird. Heard of neural lace? Elon Musk’s company Neuralink is in the early stages of developing a technology “that lays on your brain and bridges it to a computer.” If that doesn’t sound like a brave new world…