The Newest Virtualization Trends: From The Future To The Post-Future

Methodological Foundation of the Research

The methodological basis of the study is a complex of interrelated theoretical, epistemological and ontological orientations. The ontological orientation of the study is interpretationism. The epistemological orientations of research are constructivism and nominalism. The study was conducted as part of an inductive strategy. The types of virtualization we are studying are not described in sociological theory, so the study of the supernova trends of Web 4.0 and Web 5.0 virtualization has the characteristics of real scientific novelty.

The Set of Research Methods

Within the framework of the chosen methodology, the methods of theoretical sociology were used to analyze the social essence of the process of virtualization of society. The methods of concept reconstruction and theoretical synthesis were used.

The Augmented Reality Web 4.0 as a Trend of the Future

Augmented reality technologies, although mentioned in scientific literature, do not attract much mention. Augmented Reality is seen as another fleeting trend in IT or analyzed the possibility of making a profit by using augmented reality in the entertainment industry. To date, there are only a few publications that attempt to study the impact of augmented reality on social interaction (Ivanov, 2019). However, these technologies have enormous underestimated potential. The potential of augmented reality technologies lies in the possibility of organizing a new type of social interaction (Samoylova, 2014).

It should be noted that the augmented reality is already penetrating into the daily life of society. For example, a city map on a tablet screen in a moving car is a virtual element, but it exists in the real physical world and is involved in real social interaction. This is the simplest example of the Web 4.0 augmented reality. To understand the potential impact of this technology on society's life, it is necessary to imagine the possibilities of its application in the near future. By analogy with virtual reality glasses, which show the user the images of the virtual space, you can create augmented reality glasses, which will complement the real image with virtual elements. The idea of creating augmented reality glasses has already begun to be realized. In particular, since 2020, Russian police officers have been producing glasses with built-in face recognition FindFace Security. Augmented reality glasses may be necessary for every individual if they can show information about others (their profession, name, social status, return). To implement this idea, they must be applied together with the chip containing such information. In this case, the Augmented Reality glasses will make it possible to find the right person in the crowd and generally facilitate interaction.

The Global Infofield Web 5.0 as a Trend of the Post-Future

Further development of computer technologies can open even more exciting perspectives before the mankind. The greatest potential is possessed by technologies that can provide a connection between the human nervous system and the computer network. The assumption of the possibility of inventing such a technology was first voiced by Kurzweil (2005), a futurologist, who in his book "Singularity Close" suggested using medical neuronanorobots by Freitas (1999) to connect the brain to a computer network. Kurzweil (2005) suggested that "the revolution in the field of robotics (or 'strong AI') includes reverse engineering of the human brain, which means coming to the understanding of human intellect in information terms, and then combining the obtained results with increasingly powerful computing platforms" (p. 87). The technology described is similar to science fiction, but specialists in natural and technical sciences accepted Kurzweil's forecast as a guide to action.

The feasibility of putting this technology into practice was described in a publication by a group of researchers representing 14 universities in the United States, Russia, Canada and Australia (Martins et al., 2019). In this publication, the technology of connecting the computer network with the human nervous system is called the "Internet of thoughts", for the creation of which scientists plan to introduce into the tissues of the human body "three types of neuronanorobots" (Martins et al., 2019, p. 20, Martins et al., 2012). These neuronanorobots will be capable of “transmitting wirelessly up to ~ 6 × 10 16 bits per second synaptically processed and encoded electronic information” (Martins et al., 2019, p. 2). Moving through the blood vessels, neuronanorobots can reach the brain cells and connect the human internal neural magnetic field to the external magnetic field. This technology was called "neural lace". It will enable "the integration of neural networks of the brain and computing systems at the micro level" (Martins et al., 2019, p. 13). The described technology has already been partially implemented (Dai et al., 2018), which is the evidence of scientists' ability to provide the connection between the human brain and computer network.

Implementation of neural lace technology will create a system of interaction between technology and a living organism, which will connect the brain and cloud (“human brain/cloud interface” (“B/CI”). The ability to exchange information between the brain and the Internet will transform society (Schroeder, 1994). In essence, this means the creation of a new type of Internet, which we called Web 5.0 Global Infofield - a global information network with the ability to connect human nervous activity with external information flows of the network. The emergence of a fundamentally new type of Internet will lead to the development of a new type of virtualization of society. Virtualization of the Web 5.0 Global Infofield type is a type of social interaction in which the boundaries between cyberspace and social interactions in real physical space are blurred due to the possibility of direct human thinking influence on virtual elements. While in all past types of virtualization computer technology has played the role of mediating communication between individuals, the Global Infofield will directly unite thinking individuals.

If implemented successfully, the Global Infofield can provide everyone with direct access to a vast amount of knowledge and reduce the speed of university studies. The emergence of such opportunities can contribute to an unprecedented flowering of science and technology, freeing people time for creative development. Presumably, the Global Infofield will be able to unite several people into a single superbrain and achieve collective thinking for solving complex problems.

Virtualization’s Effect on Social Intercation

The development of virtualization like Web 4.0 and then Web 5.0 will significantly change public life in the same way as it was changed by the emergence of the Internet and social networks (Bagozzi & Dholakia, 2002). Consistent development of virtualization can change the whole culture. The Global Infofield essentially connects the inner thinking world of man and the outer world. In this way the basic question of philosophy is resolved.

Sociologists mostly describe social changes in fact when they have already occurred. Over the past 20 years, their efforts have focused on adapting already known theories (Ignatow, 2020) to the reality of the digital age. Our proposed virtualization concept can anticipate a social change.