FINAL CONTACT: "GRAVEWATCH". Photo Illustration for the Future of Communication GEO (Germany) Special issue. Fictional Representation and Caption: Interactive gravestones became quite popular in the 21st century. Adding snippets of video of the diseased was quite easy to program since nearly every family had extensively documented their family time with small digital videocams. AI (artificial intelligence) computer programs made conversations with the dead quite easy. These virtual visits to the underworld became passé within a decade however, and graveyard visits became less common. By mid-century many people wanted to insure that their relatives would continue paying their respects, and keeping their memory alive. New technology insured regular visits to the gravesite to pick up a monthly inheritance check issued electronically by a built-in device with wireless connection to the living relative's bank account. Face recognition (and retinal scanners on high-end models) insured that family members were present during the half-hour visits. A pressure pad at the foot of the grave activated the system and after 30 minutes of kneeling at the grave, watching videos or prerecorded messages or admonitions, a message flashed on the screen, indicating that a deposit had been made electronically to their bank account. For the Wright family of Napa, California, there is no other way to collect Uncle Eno's inheritance other than by monthly kneelings. ["Gravewatch" tombstones shown with "Retscan" retinal scanning ID monitors.] MODEL RELEASED
- Filename
- USA_SCI_COMM_07_xs.jpg
- Copyright
- ©Peter Menzel, www.menzelphoto.com
- Image Size
- 949x1024 / 582.8KB
- Contained in galleries
- The Future of Communication, for GEO Magazine
![FINAL CONTACT: "GRAVEWATCH". Photo Illustration for the Future of Communication GEO (Germany) Special issue. Fictional Representation and Caption: Interactive gravestones became quite popular in the 21st century. Adding snippets of video of the diseased was quite easy to program since nearly every family had extensively documented their family time with small digital videocams. AI (artificial intelligence) computer programs made conversations with the dead quite easy. These virtual visits to the underworld became passé within a decade however, and graveyard visits became less common. By mid-century many people wanted to insure that their relatives would continue paying their respects, and keeping their memory alive. New technology insured regular visits to the gravesite to pick up a monthly inheritance check issued electronically by a built-in device with wireless connection to the living relative's bank account. Face recognition (and retinal scanners on high-end models) insured that family members were present during the half-hour visits. A pressure pad at the foot of the grave activated the system and after 30 minutes of kneeling at the grave, watching videos or prerecorded messages or admonitions, a message flashed on the screen, indicating that a deposit had been made electronically to their bank account. For the Wright family of Napa, California, there is no other way to collect Uncle Eno's inheritance other than by monthly kneelings. ["Gravewatch" tombstones shown with "Retscan" retinal scanning ID monitors.] MODEL RELEASED](https://www.menzelphoto.com/img-get2/I0000V4BJNzcfR4o/fit=1000x750/USA-SCI-COMM-07-xs.jpg)
