Facebook Unveils New InnovationsSMU SMC

At their annual F8 conference in San Jose, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook unveiled new projects that prove their innovative power. Facebook plans to enter technology fields that have previously been seen only in sci-fi movies. Zuckerberg and his teem look to bring concepts like brain-to-Facebook connectivity and augmented reality to our everyday lives. These once seemingly impossible technological ideas are becoming a reality.

Facebook’s Direct Connection to Brain

At last week’s conference, Building 8, Facebook’s division that specializes in advanced technology, uncovered their plan to allow people to control technology with their brains. One of the ideas mentioned includes mind-reading technology that allows users to type with brain power alone. This will not allow Facebook to read people’s minds and store that information, but instead will just gather and send the thoughts people would say out loud anyway. This project is not that far off from becoming a reality as Facebook has posted jobs on its site for two-year project involving “advanced brain-computer interfaces.” Additionally, Building 8 explained that they also have plans to create “audacious science” that allows users to hear with their skin.

Augmented and Virtual Reality Become Real

Additionally, Facebook announced its new augmented reality feature. After investing heavily in an acquisition of a virtual reality company, Zuckerberg realized that the immediate future is in augmented reality. Inspired by the success of Pokémon Go, Zuckerberg developed technology that allows Facebook users to insert filters and other features over their photos. This feature also translates to the new stories interface that Facebook introduced a few weeks ago. Companies will have the chance to create these filters and masks. This gives advertisers yet another platform to use to reach online audiences. Additionally, this new feature furthers Zuckerberg’s assertion that augmented and virtual reality are the channels of the future.

With little elaboration on these lofty plans, we have to stay tuned to see how Facebook changes our world next.

For more information, check out these links:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-aims-to-connect-directly-to-your-brain-1492642672

https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-sets-sights-on-augmented-reality-1492536654