Blue words follow "China Well-off Network"
In the new book, Bill Gates believes that "outbreaks of epidemics are unavoidable, but pandemics can be prevented."
The official account of Science Power hereby compiles and publishes some key content, hoping to help you Be inspired.
The following is an excerpt from the new book How to Prevent the Next Pandemic, by Bill Gates
The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing companies to rethink workplace productivity.
The lines between once-disparate realms—brainstorms, team meetings, even brief conversations in the hallway—are blurring. The structures we believe are critical to office culture are already beginning to evolve, and this change will only intensify in the coming years as businesses and employees adapt to new ways of working.
I think most people will be shocked at the pace of innovation over the next 10 years, as the software industry is now focused on developing remote work scenarios. For example, I often use the chat feature in online meetings to add comments and ask questions. Now, when I meet with others, I miss this high-bandwidth interaction because it doesn't distract the team.
Eventually, digital meetings will evolve beyond simply replicating a live meeting, real-time transcription will allow you to search for a topic across all your company's meetings. You might be able to have action items automatically added to your to-do list when mentioned, and analyze video recordings of meetings to learn how to make you more productive.
One of the biggest drawbacks to online meetings is that the video doesn't let you see who is looking where. A huge amount of non-verbal communication disappears, removing the human element. Switching from square and rectangular seats to other virtual "seating" arrangements will make the atmosphere more relaxed, but it will not solve the problem of lack of eye contact. This will change as we bring attendees into 3D space. A number of companies, including Meta and Microsoft , have recently unveiled their visions for a " metaverse ", a digital world that both replicates and augments our physical reality. (The term "Metaverse" was coined in 1992 by one of my favorite modern science fiction writers, Neal Stephenson.)
The idea is that you will use a 3D avatar (a digital representation of yourself ) meeting people in a virtual space that feels like they are in real life is often referred to as "presence" , and many tech companies have been trying to capture and build it before the COVID-19 pandemic. . Done right, “presence” can not only replicate the experience of an in-person meeting, but also enhance it.
Imagine that engineers from a car company living on three different continents were in a meeting where they took apart a 3D engine model of a new car and discussed the details for improvement.
This type of meeting can be done with augmented reality (AR, where a digital layer is superimposed on the physical environment) or virtual reality (VR, where you enter a fully immersive world) .
This change won't happen anytime soon because most people don't yet have the tools to capture it, in contrast to videoconferencing, where many people already have computers or cell phones with cameras. Right now, you can use virtual reality goggles and gloves to control your avatar, but more sophisticated and convenient tools like lightweight glasses and contact lenses will become available in the coming years.
Computer vision , display technology, audio and sensor improvements will capture your facial expressions, gaze and body language with extremely short latency. Think back to when you were in the midst of an intense video conference discussion and were trying to come up with an idea. It became quite difficult when you couldn't see the change in people's body language as they were about to finish an idea. A key feature of the
metaverse is the use of spatial audio, which makes spoken voices sound as if they are actually coming from the direction of the person speaking.
True presence means technology that captures the feeling of being in the same room with someone, not just the physical appearance.
In the fall of 2021, I put on my headphones and attended a Metaverse conference. It's magical to hear people's voices seem to move as they move. At a Metaverse conference, you won’t feel that the sound of the conference is coming from your computer speakers, but that you will feel like you are there in person.
We are moving towards a future where we will all spend more of our time living in digital spaces. The Metaverse may seem like a brand new concept now, but as technology advances, it will gradually become an extension of our physical world.
Of course, workplaces where there are some large economic entities will not change that much, or may transform in different ways than I describe here. If you're a flight attendant, your job may have changed a lot in recent years, but not because of digitization; if you're a waiter in a restaurant, your customers may now use QR codes to scan menus to make their decisions. Want what you want and order directly from your phone; if you work in a factory, technology has been changing your job long before the pandemic.
It is true that digitization will eventually change our lives in one way or another.
Think back to How the way you assess your health may have changed since 2020. Have you consulted a doctor online in the past few years? Before the COVID-19 pandemic, had you ever made an online health appointment? During the pandemic, the number of people using telemedicine services even increased 38-fold.
During an outbreak, the benefits of telemedicine are clear. People who had previously had a negative attitude towards online reservations suddenly saw the practical benefits of this method. If you're not feeling well, it's much safer to make an appointment at home because you don't have to worry about infecting others or catching it yourself. Once you try telemedicine, you'll find that its benefits go far beyond protecting you from infection. For many people, seeking medical attention can be time-consuming because you have to take time off work or find someone to care for your children, go to the hospital, sit in the waiting room, wait for your appointment, then leave the hospital and commute to work or home. This may be worthwhile for some types of exams, but may be overly cumbersome for many non-essential exams, especially behavioral health exams. As new tools become available, doctors in some departments may become more flexible in how they treat patients. Now, for your annual physical, you may need to go to your doctor's office to check your vital signs and have your blood drawn, but what if you had a private, secure device at home where your doctor could monitor your blood pressure remotely Woolen cloth?
In the near future, your doctor may be able to view data collected from smartwatches with your permission to learn about your sleep status and any abnormalities in your dynamic and resting heart rates. Instead of going to a hospital clinic to have your blood drawn, you can get your blood tested at a convenient location nearby (perhaps your downstairs pharmacy) and the results will be sent directly to your doctor. Even if you move to another state, you can still see the same primary care physician you've trusted for years.
In the future, these may become a reality.
END
Author: Bill Gates
Editor: Su Feng
Reviewer: Gong Zimo
Visual: Long Hao
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