Technological changes

writing sample

Technological advances are not constant. It progresses exponentially, the more we advance, the faster we do it. The changes technology will bring in twenty years is akin to the amount of technological change of the last thirty. In casting an eye backward three decades to look forward twenty, the single most significant difference to our lives is a result of the cell phone, the smart-phone to be exact and all the associated technology.

Social media and our phones connect us to more people than ever before and in more ways. Voice commands for directions have sent maps back into the dashboard. The calculator gathers dust long forgotten in a junk drawer. Even trips to the library to answer questions now begins with picking up our phone and say, "Hey, Siri." That same software currently resides in many homes and provides a virtual assistant who handles everything from turning down the lights to reminding us to feed the cat.

We no longer huddle by the flickering glow of a television arguing over which of three channels to watch as the device in our pocket can conjure up our favorite entertainment at will. The organic light-emitting diode display technology of the smartphone now hangs on the wall of every home, serving as the gateway to the global community our phones helped spawn.

It is nearly impossible those living in 1988 could accurately predict the changes to be wrought by the gray brick of a phone lugged about by those able to afford its $2500 price tag. The same could be said today in trying to envision the world twenty years from now. The technology many see dominating the future. Is the simultaneous development of robotics and it's companion, artificial intelligence. Companies are investing billions to perfect humanoid robots with artificial intelligence. This fosters a "when not if" technological precognition.

As Japan is discovering, it needs a healthcare worker class now for its rapidly lopsided population. They have a sizeable graying population and not enough young citizens to care for them. They are leading the forefront of robotics to deal with this issue, and in the case of the Henna Na hotel in Japan, that future may already be here. This hotel uses both a female robotic form and a more comical raptor in a bow-tie for its concierge. Japan's ministry of education is also planning to use an army of robots to teach English to students.

Once disseminated into our everyday lives, self-aware robots will change the world in ways unlike anything in the history of humanity outside of sowing seeds for food.  This revolution will eliminate some jobs. The drudgery of food production, long since the bane of humanity's workload, will change to thinking automatons as will janitorial services, construction, sales processing, accounting, and even gardening.

But, new jobs will spring forth just as they have always done when technology significantly changes the world. Creating and powering these smart machines means energy and lots of it. A large solar industry will not grow from climate concerns, but the need to power our robotic creations and the factories to build them.

The darling material bantered about for both the outer shell and its internal electronics is graphene, carbon atoms in a hexagon lattice. Just as the cell phone's rare earth material based battery found its way into every electronic device and associated devices, graphene could significantly alter electronics similarly.  Robotic forms made from graphene will be light; the outer skin self-repairing, and the internal electronics faster than those made of contemporary materials. New industries and business will arise dedicated to creating, using, and manipulating this substance.

The mechanical and electronic discoveries needed to give these future robots the fluidity of human movement will likewise ripple into everyday lives as much as the liquid crystal displays of today's mobile phones are found in everything from cars to toasters.

The future is approaching, and it is a robotic laden one.

Technological advances are not constant. It progresses exponentially, the more we advance, the faster we do it. The changes technology will bring in twenty years is akin to the amount of technological change of the last thirty. In casting an eye backward three decades to look forward twenty, the single most significant difference to our lives is a result of the cell phone, the smart-phone to be exact and all the associated technology.

Social media and our phones connect us to more people than ever before and in more ways. Voice commands for directions have sent maps back into the dashboard. The calculator gathers dust long forgotten in a junk drawer. Even trips to the library to answer questions now begins with picking up our phone and say, "Hey, Siri." That same software currently resides in many homes and provides a virtual assistant who handles everything from turning down the lights to reminding us to feed the cat.

We no longer huddle by the flickering glow of a television arguing over which of three channels to watch as the device in our pocket can conjure up our favorite entertainment at will. The organic light-emitting diode display technology of the smartphone now hangs on the wall of every home, serving as the gateway to the global community our phones helped spawn.

It is nearly impossible those living in 1988 could accurately predict the changes to be wrought by the gray brick of a phone lugged about by those able to afford its $2500 price tag. The same could be said today in trying to envision the world twenty years from now. The technology many see dominating the future. Is the simultaneous development of robotics and it's companion, artificial intelligence. Companies are investing billions to perfect humanoid robots with artificial intelligence. This fosters a "when not if" technological precognition.

As Japan is discovering, it needs a healthcare worker class now for its rapidly lopsided population. They have a sizeable graying population and not enough young citizens to care for them. They are leading the forefront of robotics to deal with this issue, and in the case of the Henna Na hotel in Japan, that future may already be here. This hotel uses both a female robotic form and a more comical raptor in a bow-tie for its concierge. Japan's ministry of education is also planning to use an army of robots to teach English to students.

Once disseminated into our everyday lives, self-aware robots will change the world in ways unlike anything in the history of humanity outside of sowing seeds for food.  This revolution will eliminate some jobs. The drudgery of food production, long since the bane of humanity's workload, will change to thinking automatons as will janitorial services, construction, sales processing, accounting, and even gardening.

But, new jobs will spring forth just as they have always done when technology significantly changes the world. Creating and powering these smart machines means energy and lots of it. A large solar industry will not grow from climate concerns, but the need to power our robotic creations and the factories to build them.

The darling material bantered about for both the outer shell and its internal electronics is graphene, carbon atoms in a hexagon lattice. Just as the cell phone's rare earth material based battery found its way into every electronic device and associated devices, graphene could significantly alter electronics similarly.  Robotic forms made from graphene will be light; the outer skin self-repairing, and the internal electronics faster than those made of contemporary materials. New industries and business will arise dedicated to creating, using, and manipulating this substance.

The mechanical and electronic discoveries needed to give these future robots the fluidity of human movement will likewise ripple into everyday lives as much as the liquid crystal displays of today's mobile phones are found in everything from cars to toasters.

The future is approaching, and it is a robotic laden one.