How Technology is Changing the World!
Technology is a word that has been used to refer to the progression of the world in general and the progress of man in particular, both in terms of the development of knowledge as well as of the means of making decisions or doing things.
The term “technology” can be seen to have evolved from different meanings such as “the art of doing” (the use of tools to accomplish tasks) or “knowledge.” In most times, however, it can merely be taken as something that improves communication, transportation, business, military strength or even information exchange.
The process of creating new knowledge and application through advances in technology is an important goal for the future human civilization, since it would be impossible to sustain itself without having access to new information and technologies. Therefore the advancement of technology will become central to our current and future achievements.
As this happens, the pace at which this progress needs to occur is expected to increase further. This is likely not to affect businesses or individuals directly and will only accelerate the rate of economic growth. All these effects are intended to create value for all stakeholders involved, including the public, and therefore will increase competition and stimulate innovation within the economic sector. For example if we consider mobile phones, they are currently being deployed by governments and large institutions around the world. But according to some experts, by 2020 there will be more than 50 million mobile phone users worldwide. So what do the other features of a technological age look like?
Industrial Revolution:
It is anticipated that the number of people using their mobile phones to communicate and interact with others will rise far beyond those who are already using them. There is even the strong possibility that by 2021 a fifth billion persons or about 16% of humanity could use mobile phones to communicate or interact with others. It is estimated that more than $2 trillion annually passes between mobile phone users and enterprises.
With a smartphone in your pocket you are able to connect at any time to anyone anywhere. You are able to make calls, send emails from almost everywhere at once. And although mobile phones allow us to get connected to friends all over the world instantaneously, many aspects of society depend on the connection. Think about how difficult it is for people to find work on the internet, which is another feature of a technological age. Because with these two facets of our lives, it becomes quite clear that the technological changes being experienced in society are going to impact us much differently than we originally thought possible.
Great Transition:
Another thing that may come to mind when thinking about this subject is the fact that by 2045 the majority of Americans will know how to live with Artificial Intelligence rather than Artificial General Intelligence. Many futurists predict that artificial intelligence will advance to the point of achieving superhuman levels in productivity and performance, even surpassing humans. Now these predictions seem almost too distant for a lot of people to believe. Yet it is increasingly clear that just because these forecasts are so close to reality means that humans will soon be able to achieve the same level of productivity and performance as machines or computers.
This next technological leap to superpowers seems very unlikely, but it has a lot to do with our innate desire to feel superior and the need to distinguish ourselves from others. These advancements in AI will happen in two main ways: one is human-like abilities and capabilities that will enable machines to replicate functions such as learning (which is the result of evolution). This is especially relevant to jobs such as medical diagnosis, surveillance or traffic control. Secondly, the creation of an entirely new class of objects (such as robots, drones, self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles) that will serve the purpose of reducing costs, improving safety, saving and accelerating delivery services to consumers and enabling unprecedented data storage, processing, sharing, and analysis (such as AI-enabled search engines).
The Future of Work Will Be Digital:
As it stands now, the digital revolution is expected to produce significant changes across the entire economy in terms of opportunities and threats to jobs. As it stands today, much of the job description revolves around the internet. However, it is still not clear whether we will see mass adoption of internet-based technologies in all sectors of employment, or will a segment take hold that focuses on customer service, education or health care in order to retain customers. The internet is also experiencing an emerging generation gap. Younger generations have grown up with smartphones and the ability to participate in online communities, resulting in an increased demand for tech-savvy professionals that are comfortable working under the rules and norms of traditional workplaces. Whereas older generations worked in schools or hospitals, where they were often required to perform repetitive routine duties, the younger generation is becoming confident to pursue their interests outside of the confines of school and hospital settings.
However, despite these trends, the future promise of the digital economy lies in its ability to bring the whole workforce together digitally using open platforms and apps such as Google drive and Facebook groups to support collaboration, training, and virtual learning experiences. Given the growing popularity of online courses as an educational tool, the availability of flexible schedules and affordability of cloud services means that people that want to engage in lifelong learning are not beholden to expensive physical classrooms. Thus, companies will continue to move towards the future of work, where employees must be fully immersed without feeling disconnected from their organization. To this end, organizations are implementing digital transformation strategies that encourage employee empowerment and engagement. They expect their leaders to focus on empowering their teams through innovations such companies have invented and are actively researching such platforms and technology.
The Future of Businesses Has Become Digital:
With the ever increasing emphasis on speed, efficiency and reliability, businesses are taking steps to ensure that their systems will be able to adapt quickly enough to meet the varying needs of their different markets. As a result of digitization, businesses today are looking to deploy technology in other areas besides the core product/services, focusing on enhancing value and providing better solutions and products that are easy for clients to use without having to worry about the infrastructure they need to build. This requires a good relationship with their customers, who now experience multiple challenges each time they interact with a brand or retailer. Customers spend an average of four hours interacting with companies each day, and it is no surprise they spend 30% of their time in front of their screens. Consequently, marketers and salespeople need to learn how to deal with complex situations, fast, accurate and informative communication, while maintaining a sense of urgency. Successful brands need to evolve and stay true to their values, principles, beliefs, commitments and promises to offer genuine solutions and improve relationships. With a great deal of confusion and complexity at hand in the realm of modern commerce, it is imperative for businesses to develop a culture of continuous improvement and innovation on everything from financial management to social responsibility and environmental issues. By employing smart integration strategies across enterprise applications and devices, businesses can empower themselves to gain the confidence to create unique value for their customers, shareholders and suppliers.
By reinventing themselves into agile, real time digital businesses, enterprises can embrace agility and agility by putting technology into practice. When working with innovative approaches, organizations become more productive, provide better service and deliver results that exceed their expectations. Empowerment is a key ingredient to getting the best from the disruptive forces of digitization, and for creating competitive advantage. While organizations must be nimble and responsive when it comes to responding to changing market demands, embracing agile development practices will accelerate their ability to identify and respond to rapid shifts in demand and supply. Furthermore, adopting these principles will help to transform the way we think about technology, which opens the door to the future of design and creativity. Organizations will start to recognize that it is not about building infrastructure, but instead about driving growth and developing capabilities to meet evolving market needs.
The Impact Of Technology On Society:
When it comes to impacting society, it should not be surprising that technology is expected to generate positive impacts. According to the UNCTAD report from 2017, there are currently 2.3 billion people living in societies that suffer from poor access to basic needs due to limited access to safe drinking water, sanitation for children and proper shelter. These statistics also indicate the negative impact associated with lack of access to clean air and water, inadequate healthcare and high levels of mortality rates linked to poor nutrition, poor housing conditions, and overcrowded cities. What sets these statistics apart from others is that they were developed based on preindustrial times. The report estimates that by 2015 there would be 3 billion people who would be living in extreme poverty conditions worldwide, which is an increase from 2 billion in 1990. It also warns that poverty and malnutrition will cause nearly twice the amount of deaths (i.e., 4.5 million) in the coming years as we prepare for the climate change crisis.
The greatest impact of technology to the population is in the area of poverty, where people of low income, ethnic minorities, women and immigrants account for nearly half the global population, yet represent less than 1% of the US population. Poverty rates are higher among females than males and among minority populations. Low levels of literacy are likely to increase the number of people living in destitute conditions for longer periods if a new breed of migrants arrives in America. Studies show that an influx of cheap, non-traditional workers will reduce wages and lower wages, which will, over time, increase poverty. Research showed that people who migrated from other countries in the past 12 months were 60 percent more likely to have trouble finding employment compared to those who remained in their home countries because they were more prone to displacement. People living in lower incomes tend to live longer and face higher risks, as they struggle with long-term chronic illness, hypertension, diabetes, heart attacks, cancer and other diseases associated with unhealthy diets and lifestyle choices.
