Can a thought be automated? Is it possible to influence someone's pattern of reasoning? You are probably contemplating right now how to improve business performance and maintain operational equipment. Think again. With the augmentation of artificial intelligence (AI) and smarter ways in which apps will digitally disrupt our human conscience, now is the time to re-evaluate the future of thinking.

Going beyond human

The physical and virtual world are paving the way for powerful thinking. Smart cities are developing across the world with an ecosystem of connected devices and intelligent cloud infrastructure. The reliance on science is an exciting prospect for companies who can leverage sophisticated applications and clever cloud solutions. A future awaits in which smart implants, memory-enhancing components and high performance prosthetics will shape human behaviour. The business of biometrics is already in development. Wearable devices and body modifications are a new platform for app developers to leverage. The generation of simulated ideas could deliver untold benefits to a society becoming more dependent on the automated mind.

Think about it. You could wake in the morning and review your dreams, play them through social media and share them in a virtual environment for others to explore. Consider, in years to come, an ecosystem of interconnected apps in the cloud to help you diagnose your health in real-time and control organic clothing that can self-repair human tissue. Imagine your role at work embracing biometrics to perform duties with digitally assisted deductive reasoning inside your head. You could remove the need to meet your boss in person!

Apps will power our thoughts and allow us to telecommunicate in ways that stretch our imaginations to new dimensions. Sound implausible? The combination of biological and digital intelligence is a growing area in 'knowledge engineering' with the aim of solving complex problems by working in harmony with human expertise. Tech industry futurist, Elon Musk, recently launched Neuralink, a start-up which aims to develop technology that connects our brains to computers.

He recently stated, "If humans want to continue to add value to the economy, they must augment their capabilities through a merger of biological intelligence and machine intelligence."

Thinking long-term

I know what you are thinking. Are my apps ready to handle the future? As cyber professionals, we need to think holistically and determine what is important and ask the right questions. How quickly can you develop a cloud architecture system that offers freedom to move critical applications easily, while coping with machine-learning cyber-attacks? Do you have you the right solutions and skills in place to cope with virtual reality? Is my business model robust enough to embrace an AI-emerging world? Have you future-proofed your apps to protect your business reputation long-term and secure loyalty from data discerning cyber-citizens?

As the digital economy reaches greater levels of sophistication, the ability to think faster, work smarter and make data safer will be imperative to survival. In the future, machine-learning will be a vital part of advancing services to add value.

At the same time, we are all heading towards an era where AI will dictate transactional processes, automatically manage, learn and self-diagnose risk response and much more. Applications will no longer be confined to specific devices or cloud architecture, but will be part of an ecosystem of high-tech, ubiquitous sets of software solutions. The use of behavioural data is becoming more common too. Some insurance companies today, for example, are offering to install location sensors in customers' cars to base the price of policies on a driver's skill.

Accessing sensitive data and apps is fundamental to the way we function in our daily lives, ranging from on-line banking to purchasing goods. Therefore, the ability to authenticate a person is essential for security purposes. Digital identity is your most valuable asset. Who you are, what you do and the data you possess will have more significance as you trade and interact with companies.

Governments are already exploring paperless passports. A traveller's biometric data is stored digitally and used for identification. This is the era of 'the human as the password.'

Are we prepared?

Computers are learning how to be human. Smart machines can talk to us now in the vernacular and interact through AI. Emotional recognition can make communication between people and devices more interactive and natural. Apps are already designed to learn about you and help support everyday tasks. Humanised interfaces will require business owners to think about how the brand should feel, interact and even engage physically with the human body.

The implications of smart apps being more personal will mean a whole new go-to-market commercial strategy for customer interaction. In turn, complex challenges will unfold, whereby hackers will be ready to 'hack the human' and potentially 'breach the brain'. We need to be prepared.

While AI learns more about the way we think, so too the ability to control gadgets with our minds will become more of a reality. Machines for every means – perhaps more devices for our vices.

Today, the Internet of Things (IoT) provides objects with a digital identity. From smart refrigerators that manage your eating habits to homes that can automatically adjust to heating and lighting preferences - the transformative experience of any object could soon be controlled by our own conscience in collaboration with apps.

Neil Harbisson is a cyborg activist and best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull. He recently told F5, "I see the word application might soon also be used when adding a new organ or a new sense. We might also see augmented senses as a substitution for drugs, instead of chemicals we can just merge with cybernetics and it can give you a much more specific result."

Mind how you go

It's time to collect our thoughts. We are transitioning to a point where AI becomes pure intelligence that can mimic cogitative reasoning of human beings. We need to plan for a world where telepathic functions, the human and the manufactured conscience will work in natural harmony. Predictions suggest that business models based on today's static information and cloud architectures will face further challenges. Companies will need greater flexibility and freedom to adapt more quickly as new dynamic app intelligence caters for the rapidly evolving behavioural patterns of cyber-citizens.

Apps too will become mission-critical to protect brand equity and enter data-trade relations with customers – essentially the new form of commercial currency. So, thanks to all things that think, sync and link. Let me leave you with this final thought ...

By Martin Walshaw, senior engineer, F5 Networks.