First contact

If you think Google Glass is unnecessary, remember the same was once said about mobile phones

Google Glass is just the beginning, with researchers working on a system based on contact lenses. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

When the mobile phone first became prevalent, in the 1980s, most people outside of the “Buy! Sell!” culture of Wall Street probably saw it as an unnecessary extra­vagance. Why, after all, would anyone need to carry a brick-sized slab of technology around with them, ­unless they were unnecessarily narcissistic and felt the need to be constantly connected.

The same dismissive arguments have been made about Google Glass, the ugly wearable computer fitted to a pair of glasses. But the news that Google is now developing a smart contact lens, aimed initially at the health care market, but utilising similar technology to Glass, should give us all pause. Because we were wrong about mobile phones. So very wrong.

Fast forward 30 years and we are welded to our devices. Many even carry more than one. What was once an extravagance is now an essential but commoditised product we replace once a year.

So in 10 years, we may all be wearing contact lenses, streaming information to others and being streamed to by advertisers. If you want to see how quickly the future can change, just look in your pocket.