Views /Opinion

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? In the past, it was only a reflection, a face staring back, a reminder of your presence in the world. But in the near future, the mirror will not only show you who you are; it will show you what you are. A cascade of data inclusive of intelligence, memory, reaction speed, decision-making, stress resilience; all encoded in the smallest flicker of your eye, the tiniest pause before you answer, the rhythm of your breath, the symmetry of your features. The future will not ask for paper, pen, or exam hall silence. It will simply scan you.

We are on the edge of an extraordinary shift. For centuries, human progress has been measured through blunt tools: written exams, rigid interviews, recommendation letters, inherited connections. But what if intelligence, once assumed to be hidden, intangible, or unfairly assessed, could be measured with extraordinary precision? What if the countless variables that make up the way you think could be tracked in real time, across your face, your voice, your micro-expressions, and your movements? What if, instead of sitting for hours in a hall memorising formulae, you could be assessed in seconds by the most reliable of examiners: your own brain? “Exams will not disappear,” some might insist. But the truth is more radical: the exam itself will change form. The examiner will not be a professor at the front of the room but a system that watches how you process, respond, and adapt. The exam script will not be lines of ink but a series of neural signals, reaction times, micro-hesitations, repeated words, and the cadence of your speech. Even silence will be marked. In this new world, silence dressed up as wisdom will no longer fool the system.

Traditionally, society has equated slow, deliberate speech with intelligence. The person who pauses, who takes their time, who stretches silence into gravitas, is too often mistaken for someone profound. But what if this is merely a tactic; a skilled diversion, a buying of time? True intelligence, we know, is not measured in hesitation, but in speed, clarity, and adaptability. The fast speaker, who compresses more thought into a single minute than others can in five, who repeats and reframes ideas until the listener understands and is the sharper mind. Time is the one resource no one can store, and the truly intelligent know it. This is where technology is taking us: to a world where style can no longer substitute for substance, where inherited privilege can no longer mask mediocrity. For too long, the system has allowed the “C student”, supported by connections, legacy, or even luck, to command authority over the “A student.” For too long, entire industries have been built on who you know rather than what you know. But soon, one scan may be enough. One scan, and the mirror will no longer lie.

Of course, the ethical debates will rage. Who owns this data? How secure is it? Could it be manipulated, weaponised, or used to exclude as much as to include? These are real questions, and they must not be ignored. But every technology that reshapes society, from the printing press to the smartphone, has raised such alarms. And yet, if safeguarded properly, this shift could be a revolution for fairness. The iPhone once replaced our separate calculators, cameras, maps, and diaries with one device. In the same way, a future identity card, embedded with biometric, behavioural, and cognitive data may replace outdated exams, job applications, even interviews. Everything in one place. No more wasted time. No more unfair advantages. Imagine a child growing up in Doha, or London, or Nairobi, who never has to sit in a crowded hall with trembling hands over a test sheet. Instead, from the earliest years, their natural strengths are mapped and nurtured; creativity, memory, problem-solving, all captured not through artificial grading but through real, living responses. Imagine a hiring panel where no CV is needed, where the candidate is assessed not by what connections they hold, but by the richness and agility of their thought in real time. Imagine companies where promotion is no longer determined by who knows whom, but by who demonstrates skill, clarity, and potential when it matters most. The potential is enormous. This does not mean that everyone will suddenly be equal. There will still be levels of intelligence, as there always have been: low, mid, high. But the difference is that the hierarchy will be measured more truthfully. The highly intelligent will not only be visible; they will be undeniable. They will speak fast, think fast, adapt fast and technology will capture it. The moderately intelligent will continue to navigate, often tactically, sometimes convincingly, but the system will see through the tactics. And those of lower intelligence will still have their place, their contributions, their dignity but no longer the illusion of being something they are not. The concern, of course, is that such a system sounds cold, mechanical, almost dystopian. Will we lose the human element? Perhaps in some ways. But consider the alternative: the inefficiencies, injustices, and wasted potential of the current model. How many brilliant minds have been overlooked because they did not “perform” well under exam conditions, or lacked the right connections? How many careers have been derailed, not because people lacked talent, but because they lacked opportunity? In the end, a system that can truly recognise and reward intelligence may be not only more efficient but also more humane.

So, when you next look in the mirror, ask yourself: what will it show tomorrow? A reflection, or a dataset? An appearance, or a measure of who you truly are? Because the age of guessing, of pretending, of passing exams through rote learning or social privilege, is ending. We are moving toward a sharper, faster, fairer world. And while it may feel unsettling, it may also be the greatest equaliser of all. “Who are you?” the mirror of the future will ask and for the first time in human history, the answer will not depend on who you know, or how well you memorised, or how long you paused before speaking. It will depend on you, your mind, your intelligence, your truth and nothing else.

— Dr. Noora Hassan is a lawyer and scientist specialising in strategic defence consulting. Her expertise bridges law and science to address complex global security challenges.