The Winter Market – William Gibson
I wanted to invent a dream editor that can tailor people’s dream. It can have both the function of designing and playing as people like. People will not only be able to find back their childhood dreams, but also make their wildest dreams to come true. In the story, we see the “king of sleep” – an edited product of Lise’s dream after her taking drugs. The king of sleep can bring them a powerful virtual experience that allows them to appreciate their edited dreams over and over again. Nowadays, the study of dreams has entered the modern era in exciting ways, and researchers from MIT built a device that not only helps record dream reports, but also guides dreams toward particular themes. This kind of invention may have problems of addiction, because people might immersed in the well-tailored dreams and are never willing to return to the cruel reality.
reference: A new way to control experimentation with dreams
Newton’s sleep by Ursula K. Le Guin
I want to invent electronic eyes to plant for patients and blind people. In the story, “plant eye surgery” appeared several times. Eyes are an essential organ that are hard to find replacements. Therefore, the electronic eyes that use the same optics as the natural human eye and are connected to a computer enables people to see further and collect more information,more importantly, find back a bright future. The picture below explained how artificial eyes work like human eyes. At the back of the eyeball, a synthetic retina is embedded with nanoscale light sensors. Those sensors measure light that passes through the lens at the front of the eye. Wires attached to the back of the retina ferry signals from those sensors to external circuitry for processing, similar to the way nerve fibers connect the eyeball to the brain. However, using electronic eyes means running the risk of privacy leak. Because the electronic eyes are connected to computers and can be manipulated by others intentionally. Then there’s no longer privacy. Though it’s not a very creative and constructive idea, it’s still useful and is a kind of technology that worth high expectations.
reference: A new artificial eye mimics and may outperform human eyes
The Fish of Lijiang – Chen Qiufan
“The ancient city has no computers and no TV. But some of the inhabitants have decided to rent out the space on their foreheads and chests. Tiny LCDs are embedded into their skin, showing all kinds of ads, twenty-four hours a day.” I have come up with a kind of technology that can embed microchips to the skin, and make computers and screens portable everywhere. Now thousands of Swedens are having microchips implanted into their bodies so that they don’t need to carry key cards, IDs, and even train tickets. Though it is far from my idea of carrying a whole system works in the body, it exhibits the initiate modification of bodies with technology. If the technology isn’t mature enough, it may also cause infection and leison. Even worse, this kind of technology may raise ethical concerns. Are people with chips still humans or human-like machines?
reference:Sweden are embedding microchips under their skin to replace ID cards