Techn0shaman interviews Miss Metaverse - Katie
techn0shaman: This is rather interesting, I am usually the interviewee but this time around I thought it would be really great to interview the internets favorite female futurist! Miss Metaverse! She is so lovely, Katie has been an excellent source of futuristic content for the better half of a decade now and her impressive list of accomplisments + her amazing personality has really made this interview special. I am so happy to have had to chance to sit down [virtually] and get to know her thoughts on some burning questions I had to ask!
"Hey Katie, it's such an honor to sit down and be able to connect with you on such an important day, in what has turned out to be a chaotic year! We have been friends for quite some time now, and last time we got together was for VRTO 2020 - Now that we are approaching All Hallow's eve, I was thinking of some things that have to do with family.
Samhain is the time of year in which the veil between this side of the yawning grave and the Summerlands is the thinnest. It is now that we honor our ancestors, the spirits of family and friends that have crossed over the rainbow bridge continue to guide us and reach across the dimensions of time. Genealogy - the science and technology of family lineage is something that is exponentially accelerating because of the democratization of genetic technologies - when we propagate this technology forward 20 years to 2040, the possibilities that will be available to us in the coming years are really exciting!
When you think about your ancestors and your strong family lineage and the power of the hundreds of thousands of years of hard work and determination that got you to where you are today, do you ever wonder what your great grandmother x10 was like and how she lived her life? - I would love to get to know my ancestors - with the complete understanding of genetics we will have the possibility to fuse that technology with 3D bioprinting, or nanomachines that could potentially simulate the exact biological code of our past of beloved families."
"Katie: Our generation, the Millennials, are the first to have our digital lives stored online forever. We’re using genealogy websites, cord blood banking / stem cells, and DNA testing to find out who we are and where we came from, but many mysteries remain.
Emerging technologies and industries like AR / VR / MR, synthetic biology, and nanotech (nannites), are evolving exponentially and will allow us to time travel in the present.
Technological resurrection is the future and will take many forms. It will also be wildly entertaining. I look forward to the day I can step into a holodeck and spend an afternoon hanging out with my ancestors, exploring their world, and even becoming a part of it."
techn0shaman: "In the future when it is possible to bring people back, humans and AI will be faced with the moral dilemma of deciding on whether or not it is right to do so. Do you think in a post resource scarcity society we will bring back our ancestors, digitally and/or physically?"
Katie: "When most people think about the ways in which we may one day be able to bring the dead back to life, they probably think of techniques like cloning or DNA sequencing. The problem with these is that they would be essentially bringing a new human into the world, without their knowledge and experiences.
Cryonics companies have only been around for a few decades and it’s uncertain how successful this method will be in bringing deceased people back to life in the future.
Emerging technologies such as AI and VR will be the first steps towards this future. It’s likely we’ll meet or interact with our ancestors based on digital models in VR well before we’ll interact with them in the physical. I predict that by 2050, we will find the right balance between both digital and physical experiences.
Now is a good time to start considering the moral implications of engaging with controversial figures from history, whether in a digital space or IRL. If they’re experienced in a controlled simulated realm, then we’d view them as advanced video game characters, as harmless NPCs. Let’s keep them that way."
techn0shaman: "Ancestors, obviously are not only human, we have many many animal ancestors in our lineage too. Farther back in history before we were human, and more recently as friends and coworkers, family, and pets. We have a very close connection to the non human entities that surround us - With the likelihood of the possibility of bringing back and our animal ancestors - what is the thing you are looking forward to the most in regards to being able to connect to pets and friends that have crossed over?"
Katie: "Both of my parents died by the time I was 21. I’ve also lost several loved ones over the years. Even though they are gone, I still feel like I can connect with them, even if it’s a daydream of a conversation I’d be having with them.
I often think about what it would be like to meet my parents in some future virtual or physical experience. I like to believe they’re in Heaven, a higher realm full of love and blissfulness.
In the meantime, I’d love to know what my dog Kitty is thinking. She’s a tiny fluffy teacup Pomeranian (aged 9) and she has such a personality. I would totally have Kitty technologically resurrected one day, you know, for science."
techn0shaman: "Generational wisdom is something that comes to mind when I think about my ancestors, the knowledge they had, the experiences they went through, and the beliefs and ideologies they held. I would love to be able to communicate and learn from my family going back thousands of years, I’m sure I could teach them a thing or two as well :P Katie - how do you think family life will change if we were to bring our ancestors into the future with us - what do you think they would find the most shocking about being able to be brought back from the otherside?"
Katie: “Our lives are not our own. we are bound to others, past and present. And by each crime and every kindness, we birth our future.” - Somni 451
Have you ever watched the movie Cloud Atlas? This discussion reminds me of that film.
I’d love to meet my ancestors and experience their realities. I’d want to learn all about what their lives were like and what the world was like during their lifetime.
I often think about what it would be like if my parents could see how far we’ve come even in the past 15 years, before smart phones, social media and the faster and much more advanced internet. To have my ancient ancestors visit us in the future would be a trip!"
For more information on Miss Metaverse you can check our her podcast series called "NuHumanity" which you can learn more about here:
