Parag and Ayesha Khanna
Co-Founders, The Hybrid Reality Institute
Parag and Ayesha are Directors of the Hybrid Reality Institute, which explores the implications of our complex and irreversible tango with science and technology. Parag is the author of The Second World and How To Run the World. Ayesha has written Straight Through Processing.
Website: http://hybridreality.me
Twitter: @paragkhanna and @ayeshakhanna1
“Wow, how did they do that?” We were watching Tron: The Legacyin 3-D, and our friend was marveling at how 61 year-old Jeff Bridges appeared as young as a man […]
Technology goliath IBM just released its top five predictions for the next five years. We agree with all of their sensible forecasts — with some additional thoughts. 1. Yes, You Too Can Be […]
Here are some odd questions: do you spend more time on the calls you make than on the calls you receive?
Over half the world’s population lives in cities, with millions more pouring in every year. Countries like China, India and South Korea are investing heavily in new so-called “smart cities” […]
“2010 was the year that removed all doubt that cybersecurity is now a geopolitical problem.” As reflections on the WikiLeaks saga turn into prognosticating about the future of cyber-security, so […]
This holiday season, Hybrid Reality is preparing for the next digital decade by cleaning out the attic and donating books to charity—an interesting opportunity to reflect on the future of […]
The WikiLeaks drama is only the latest in over a century of new technologies heralding the demise of professional diplomacy—yet such rumors always prove to be greatly exaggerated. One defense […]
Since it’s birth in 1998, Google has become our gateway to the Web (its supremacy threatened somewhat now by Apple and Facebook). It processes over 1 billion search requests every […]
One of the most wonderful things about the emerging global superbrain is that information is overflowing on a scale beyond what we can wrap our heads around.
‘Tis the season to be reading!In a sweeping panoramic new book titled The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization’s Northern Future, UCLA professor Laurence C. Smith delivers a well-written and […]
Inventor, entrepreneur, author of best-selling book The Singularity is Near, and futurist Ray Kurzweil recently spoke to TIME magazine about his predictions for humanity’s future. Some highlights: 1) Computers are becoming cheaper, […]
The waiting rooms of Cornell Weil, Columbia University and New York University fertility clinics have up to forty women waiting to see specialists on any given day. Many of these […]
It may seem crazy but virtual real estate is hot business these days. Last week, British businessman Jon Jacobs sold his Neverdie club in the virtual game Entropia for $625,000, a […]
While Americans rush en masse to Wal-Mart and other retail outlets on this traditional “Black Friday” start to the holiday shopping season, why not just make presents for your loved […]
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently ran a much-discussed essay titled “The Shadow Scholar.” Published under the pseudonym “Ed Dante,” the author vividly reveals how he earns fruitful living writing academic papers of […]
Smart phones. One can’t imagine life without them. Ah, the endless convenience: looking up a restaurant on Yelp, finding out a movie’s rating on Rotten Tomatoes, seeing that cute guy’s […]
Wired Magazine ran a dramatic cover story this September titled “The Web is Dead,” in which Chris Anderson and Michael Wolff voiced the concern that the open Web was becoming colonized […]
Where once only two rocks marked a sleepy border between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, recent days have witnessed an escalation in tension between the Central American neighbors over the tiny […]
Imagine being a soldier in Afghanistan today. Your platoon is attacked by a group of insurgents who set your outpost on fire. In the chaos and confusion, you step into a pile […]
What do you think of the advertisement below? Does it warm your heart? Does it bore you? Perhaps the answer depends on whether you’re a parent, or even more specifically, […]
Do you have any bad memories? Traumatic memories come in all shapes and sizes. Some are terrible gut-wrenching ones like being raped, beaten, or shot during combat. Others are based […]
We have all sat through the laborious exercise of having a family picture taken. The end result of the chaos is typical across almost all families: a happy picture showing two gray […]
Given that machines will continue to proliferate in our environment, it behooves us to begin to develop friendly relationships with them.
A few weeks ago, rumors started swirling that the United Nations was going to nominate Mazlan Othman, a celebrated Malayasian astrophysicist, to be the UN’s first Space Ambassador.
Why is it that we when we talk about our work, we inspire neither those we address nor ourselves?
In order to be marketable today and in an increasingly competitive economy, each one of us has to get our creative juices flowing and constantly come up with fresh ideas. […]
Willow Smith, Will and Jada Smith’s precocious 9 year old daughter, just released her single “Whip My Hair,” a smash hit that heralds a great career. Are 9-year old superstars […]
What if you had a crystal ball that could predict the rise and fall of the stock market? Or that predicted which candidate would win the election and thus if […]
On Thursday in Washington, several dozen futurists, military strategists, investors and journalists gathered to honor the inventors of futurism, Alvin and Heidi Toffler, and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Future […]
Let’s be honest: when we think about the futuristic scenarios, we don’t think of Tom Hanks. Most frequently associated with his brilliant portrayal of Forrest Gump, Hanks exudes the kind […]