The subtle tech revolution - How tech will blow our mind.


People across the world are slowly feeling worried. Each day that goes by, people hear news about the coming end. They start hearing a slow but steady drum beat heralding humanity's inevitable doom and it is getting louder and closer each day.

I am not talking about the apocalypse but something more subtle and real. I am talking about the speed at which technology is getting better and cheaper each day.  I am talking about how factories are warehouses are slowly getting filled with machines and robots rather than humans. I am talking about what people consider is the real apocalypse- for what is humanity when all the jobs are gone? What is man when his source of pride and wealth has been reduced to a set of computer programs performed by robots? 

Aside from the obvious economic impact, some people feel that the most devastating effect of technology's encroachment on humanity is the loss of humanity itself. People need well paying jobs to survive and to realize their dreams. Without a job, man ceases to be an economic and social being. The greatest civilizations were built by men with dreams and the means to attain them. If technology's progress is not slowed down, soon machines will be able to do of the jobs humans do. Just look around and you will see it is already starting to happen. 
"Cube" will be the first 3D printer marketed to the mass consumer thru Staples (image source here)

This encroachment by technology started with the manufacturing industry when factory workers were replaced by robots that could complete more tasks at greater efficiency and at a fraction of the cost. Technology was seen as a disruptive force in society. Something that had a shock effect that sent ripples we can still feel decades after it started. Today, however technology's impact is more subtle. 

Hapifork helps you keep track of your food in-take (image source here)
It no longer comes in huge and cumbersome machines that takes up a lot of space. Technology is slowly starting to change our lives in very small, yet revolutionary ways. Just look at the advances in wearable technology and nano-technology. The most famous of this kind of tech is Google Glass w/c will soon change the way we see and interact with the world around us. Today you can buy a fork that helps you keep track of your food in-take (hapifork) or bracelets that help you see how many steps you took each day and how much calorie you burned. 
Fitbit Flex is one of the most popular fitness bracelets in the market (image source here)

Today we hardly feel like technology is encroaching on our lives but rather enhancing it. Today we no longer feel revulsion towards the machines and computers that perform “human-like” activities, but rather encourage it. It seems as if technology has adapted to our own sensibilities and has found the sweet spot in our hearts for it to be openly accepted. This kind of subtlety should not be misunderstood as inconsequence because these little innovations are slowly changing our lives and the way we live it. Take the case of 3D printing technology. When it first came out, it was mainly used in industrial settings. However, with the help of miniaturization and advances in manufacturing, we are now slowly seeing a rapid growth in consumer targeted 3D printers (see Staples selling 3D printers). It seems like a very simple machine that people thought would be used mainly by small businesses and upstart inventors. Until one day, someone thought about 3D printing a gun and it actually worked (see story here). Now serious questions are being asked about the tech, not only from a legal stand-point but on a philosophical one. Should man be given the technology to produce anything within its imagination? Is man responsible enough to be given such power? These are serious questions we need to ask when we talk about the future of our relationship with technology. 
The worlds first "test-fired" 3D Printed gun (image source here)

I am not saying we should fear them or start destroying them. All I am saying is that we have to start asking the right questions about ourselves and our ability to make sense of all these changes. 

You can read more about my take on wearable technology in "Wearable Technology - The Game Change"

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