Future Self

Although the consciousness of the self is considered one of the most intriguing issues of the 21st century, very little has been written about its accompanying experience. Prof. David Passig presents another installment in his series on Futures Studies, where he tackles the experience of human consciousness, known as Qualia, and the next phase in its evolution. Passig reviews what we already know about consciousness and how it is experienced by the self, from prehistoric times to the modern day, as reflected in ancient philosophies and modern sciences. He describes the new measuring tools that detect its existence and degree of awakening and analyzes the pattern of its emergence and its perception in the private and collective existence of the Homo sapiens. Passig proceeds to identify the next stage in the evolution of the Qualia. This stage will include new sensory experiences with materials and objects around us. This Qualia will take humanity toward a highly advanced stage of 21st-century urban civilization. It will bring forth new sciences, breakthrough discoveries, new philosophies, a fresh theory of epistemology, and technologies the mind cannot yet conceive. This optimistic essay claims that humankind is only taking its first evolutionary steps and that contemporary fear of Artificial Intelligence is shortsighted. Prof. David Passig is a futurist studying technological, social, and educational trends. He pursued his Ph.D. in Future Studies from the University of Minnesota and is a Full Professor at Bar-Ilan University, where he heads the Virtual Reality Laboratory. Passig studies how 3D technologies and Brain-Computer-Interfaces (BCI) advance human intelligence. He is a consultant to many worldwide organizations on futurizing decision-making processes. He is a member of the Israeli National Council for Research and Development and several national and international review committees of studies and projects with long-term implications. He is among the founders of Thinkz.ai, an IoT platform for facilitating IoT communication. He also served as the chief advisor to the Commissioner for Future Generations in the Israeli Knesset. His bestselling books, The Future Code, 2048, Foresignito, and The Fifth Fiasco, have been translated into many languages, with the first two winning the Golden Book Award. The author will happily answer any inquiries: www.passig.com