Over the next 10 years, we are likely to see the convergence of two independent evolutionary paths: one leading to an augmentation of machine capabilities; the other with the augmentation of human capabilities. This convergence will not happen at a specific point in time; instead, it will be the result of progressive overlapping, to the point that it might be difficult to identify a defining moment. The following decade will likely be quite different from the present one. 5G will probably be remembered as a transitional system, artificial intelligence (AI) as a misplaced objective. We are looking forward to a communications fabric created by autonomous systems that will exist both in the physical world as well as in cyberspace, determining a continuum that gives rise to digital reality and where intelligence is an emerging property of the ambient. Hence, the dichotomy between AI and natural intelligence will no longer exist and AI will be considered as a tool for human augmentation and as the glue connecting minds and machines.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘Towards symbiotic autonomous systems’.

在接下来的 10 年里，我们很可能会看到两条独立的进化路径融合：一条导致机器能力的增强；另一种是增强人类能力。这种收敛不会发生在特定的时间点；相反，它将是逐渐重叠的结果，以至于可能难以确定一个决定性的时刻。下一个十年可能与现在大不相同。5G 可能会被记住是一个过渡系统，而人工智能 (AI) 则是一个放错位置的目标。我们期待由自治系统创建的通信结构将同时存在于物理世界和网络空间中，从而确定产生数字现实的连续体，并且智能是环境的新兴属性。

这篇文章是主题问题“走向共生自治系统”的一部分。