Short stories from the year 2050

Grandpa is looking for his granddaughter. «Hello!» No answer. «Hellooo, Lena»—Lena is just sitting up from lying down: «Yeah, Grandpa, what’s up?»—«Where were you?» – «Oh, I was just at an ABBA concert.» – «Excuse me? They’ve been dead for ages. They were the iconic band of the 1970s.» – «Yeah, I know. They’re a cult phenomenon again today.» – «Did you watch a concert from back in the day?» – «No, they have brand-new songs.» – «Wow, that really blows my mind. How is that even possible?»

Lena: «Well, unfortunately, ABBA never got back together because one member flat-out refused. So they used artificial intelligence and holograms to make it happen. Thanks to AI, you can replicate anyone’s vocal tone. Thanks to AI, we can compose new songs that sound as if they were written by the group themselves. And the new songs sound absolutely amazing. And they’re performed by holograms of the original band members.» – Grandpa: «But how did you get to the concert?» – «Today we can take part in it via XR—Extended Reality. It looks as if we’re right there. But my VR Transformer goes much further than that. You probably remember me telling you that I recently bought the Transformer for 1,000 LT.» – «Yes, that’s right. So how does it work?» – «It’s very simple. I lie down, put on the VR Transformer, and suddenly I’m right in the middle of the action with my avatar. It’s just like being there. I can’t get infected either. After the COVID-19 pandemics, we’ve all become more cautious and have created virtual worlds as a substitute. Now we can participate in events without masks or social distancing rules without any restrictions.»

«Wow, can I join in too, Lena?» – «Sure, Grandpa. But first you’ll have to go through an XR training program; otherwise, you’ll feel sick during the performance. But most people feel that way, and it goes away.» «We use technologies like XR, avatars, and holograms not only for concerts, but also for meetings, training sessions, and so on. We no longer have to travel and can still participate.”.

»Ultimately, that benefits the environment, too.« – »Well, Lena, you've really got me curious. Since I retired, I haven't really kept up with these things. I wanted to distance myself a bit from the digitalization craze of the last few years.« – »Oh, come on, Grandpa. These are all very sensible developments, aren’t they?« – »Of course they are. Please don’t keep me in suspense. I’d finally like to see and hear ABBA perform their new songs again.”

* Jörg Eugster is «The Ambassador of the Future». In his column, he regularly reports from the year 2050 on how technology and lifestyles have evolved.