The Ultimate Mobile Platform is Humanity Itself

It may sound like something out of bad science fiction, but according to remarks from Dr. Genevieve Bell at the Intel Developer Forum, there isn't so much one common future of mobile as there are around seven billion individual mobile futures. Humanity itself is the ultimate mobile platform, according to Dr. Bell, and the responses of humanity and its actions are what are truly defining the concept of the mobile future.

Indeed, looking at it how Bell describes it, the concept makes perfect sense. Mobile technology—really most technology in this light—has been historically used to make humanity better. Extending our reach, our recall, our ability to get things done has always been job one in terms of technology development. The use of technology to remove the various impediments of humanity has been the case pretty much ever since there was technology.

Since Bell is an anthropologist working for Intel, this point strikes closer to home than some may expect, and gives Intel a bit of a focal point to work from in its future development processes. People, according to a recent study that focuses on the results of 250,000 interviews across 45 countries, are after technology that's personal and as free of hassles as possible, while also helping to not only keep people focused on the moment but also to fully realize ultimate potential.

Achieving all that could be difficult, but with new innovations in terms of power consumption and use, it's easier to create devices that function in low-power environments and can thus be more ready to function remotely and in places where space is a premium. This increases the chance that the technology in question will have more impact and help provide the desired results.

Context is also important, as technology will be increasingly called upon to provide information or services in certain situations that it would not be called upon so to do in others. A smartphone might be able to analyze walking patterns, and thus make certain functions available that wouldn't be made available while standing still, or while walking with a different user.

Mobile technology could indeed be said to offer these benefits, and several others besides. Not only does it allow us to, as noted previously, extend our reach—just look at the concept of the mobile workforce—but it also allows us to overcome some of our shortcomings. Consider the sheer number of mobile reminders out there; any time a smartphone suggests that a user should pick up flowers for an anniversary that might otherwise have gone forgotten under the stresses of the day, that's technology making that user a better person.

It doesn't always work that way, of course—in the end, nothing does—but the use of technology can make humanity better, and the more that can be done in that direction, the better off all of humanity is as a result. Intel is just a part of that, and a part we're all glad to have around.