The smart tech of the future is both transformative and a bit creepy: 2030 isn’t that far away, but the smart tech likely to be at the world’s fingertips — outlined in a recently-released report (pdf) by strategic foresight consultancy The Future Laboratory and Vodafone Smart Tech — looks set to catapult us into another world. The report presents a vision of 2030 where smart tech currently being developed is poised to offer unprecedented connectivity, both individually and globally.

This tech will offer more immersion, but will also have more control over our daily lives. 2030 smart tech will be a lot more immersive, bolstered by stronger infrastructure (some countries could be well into 6G territory) and consumer demand for seamless interactions with devices customized according to personal preference. While these tech developments will allow us to make better use of our resources, space, and time, they’ll also harvest more of our data, monitor more of our activities, and put more choices about our lives in the hands of devices.

Let’s start with the really outlandish stuff — mind and body-controlled digital devices: By 2030, some smart tech will be so responsive as to “remove the need for active interaction entirely,” the report tells us. Case in point: The AlterEgo device, which picks up the signals sent from the brain to the mouth when a user “says” thoughts in their head. AlterEgo translates these brain signals into words, so users can have full human-computer interactions with AI assistants or machines without saying anything aloud. The Mediated Atmosphere project uses sensors to track user heart rates and facial expressions, to automatically regulate their workspace by adjusting light and sound.

Also coming our way: “Hyper-sensory versions of reality.” Extended reality (XR) — basically any combination of real-and-virtual reality, including VR, augmented reality, and mixed reality — is set to become a major feature of our daily lives, with the lines between tangible and intangible becoming blurrier. XR technologies, forecast to add USD 1.5 tn to the global economy by 2030, will fundamentally alter how we experience the world. We might be projecting content onto a nearby surface as we read a recipe or visit a museum, or we might be entering the metaverse or following work instructions using specially-designed smart glasses.

And tech you’ll forget is even there: 2030 smart tech will be deliberately unobtrusive, like the minimalist wooden control pad by mui Lab that controls temperature, opens smart doors, plays music and performs a host of other tasks, but is specifically designed to not engage a user’s attention.

Smart tech could also meaningfully address some of today’s most pressing social problems — like waste, poor urban planning, and health issues, the report shows. That’s the direction being taken with smart cities, including here in Egypt.

Tech will offer innovative ways to enhance environmental sustainability: Consumers will be shown, through data, how their environmental footprints are altered by their daily choices. Dimpact, for example, helps users assess the environmental impact of consuming digital media content, while Doconomy allows individuals, corporations and brands to measure their environmental footprints — and calculate the environmental impact of financial transactions. Personal devices will be increasingly geared towards sustainability, and designed to work across different generations of tech, to cut down on waste. Resources like food, or solar energy, may in the future be automatically shared between homes, coordinated by smart tech devices that communicate directly with one another.

In smart cities, vehicles and infrastructure will optimize space and anticipate human needs: Smart, autonomous mobility systems will slash commute times and make city environments greener and more livable. Electric, autonomous vehicles will be the norm for ride-hailing services, with apps like Quarter Car offering vehicle partitions so users can opt for privacy. Argodesign is testing a project where autonomous drones deliver groceries to outdoor fridges, which are automatically stocked based on consumers’ previous purchases. Urban connectivity will give rise to things like vertical farming, and buildings being used as energy-producing community utilities.

And digital solutions could help facilitate independent living, diagnose illnesses, and even alleviate pain: Assistive tech like Vodafone’s Connected Living app automates some tasks, while helping users perform others. The app is designed for people with intellectual disabilities, but the tech can also help the elderly live independently. 2030 AI will be able to monitor vital measurements — including heart and respiratory rate, hydration, blood pressure and blood sugar levels — to prevent chronic health conditions before they even appear. Google is currently exploring an optical sensor that monitors cardiovascular health, which could be put in a bathroom mirror to track blood flow dynamics, like changes in skin color. Meanwhile, VR tech will increasingly be used as a way of delivering medical treatments — including treatment that reduces activity in the five regions of the brain associated with pain.

But what about the ethical issues? All this monitoring and data gathering will put the onus firmly on companies to show they’re taking meaningful action to safeguard data privacy. Researchers at the CyLab Security and Privacy Institute are currently working on a prototype of a label that could be put on smart devices — ranging from security cameras to toothbrushes — offering privacy information vetted by experts. And MIT-launched tech company Butlr was designed to provide real-time data on an individual’s movements, body temperature and behavior, but without violating privacy. The tech uses passive infrared sensors, which detect only body heat — so it can’t identify who you are, only where you are and where you’re going.

How much of this will land in Egypt by 2030? It’s unclear: The future outlined in the Vodafone report is a global one, and doesn’t give country-specific data. So it’s reasonable to imagine that the rollout of these tech developments will vary, and that the rate of adoption will depend on the state of each country’s digital infrastructure.

But our appetite for smart tech is clearly soaring: Smart home device adoption in Egypt is growing rapidly, we noted last year. As of January 2021, smart home devices were in 1.6 mn homes, up from 280k in January 2020. Market value rose to USD 133 mn in January 2021 from USD 94 mn in January 2020, and device purchases saw a 94% y-o-y increase in 2019, according to data from last year’s Digital 2021: Egypt report by Data Reportal.