Society Is Changing, Coronavirus Edition
Readers of my blog have heard this over and over, but in light of the current state of affairs, I absolutely have to bring this up again. The technology that is going to change society the most is technology which moves data and connects people digitally. It is no longer centered on transporting people or moving things which is the technology that transformed the 20th century.
Over the past 48 hours I’ve lost count of how many times someone on the news remarked how much our society has changed in only a week. Newscasters are broadcasting from home, kids taking online classes, people ordering home deliveries instead of going to restaurants. Movies are coming out via streaming instead of movie theaters. People are visiting with FaceTime instead of driving over. Social media has become...social.
Everyone is marveling how far technology has come that so many people can continue to work and learn from home. The technological marvels of today are exactly the opposite of the 20th century. A hundred years ago, we marveled that a business man could travel to Europe in a day for a meeting. Now we marvel that he never has to leave home and can do it from his living room.
Sure, not everyone can work or learn from home, but 30 years ago it would’ve been so much more difficult before the internet. And 30 years from now it’ll be just as stark a difference from today. There will be more robots, more drones, more self-driving vehicles. There will be many less jobs that require people to travel to their workplace.
I’ve worked for large manufacturing companies all of my life and have seen the gradual displacement of factory laborers by robots and machines. I’m confident that new technology will allow people to move to new and more gratifying jobs. Even today, people are making money by playing video games online or talking on YouTube every day. 20 years ago, an online gamer like Dr Disrespect would’ve been digging ditches and cracking up everyone at lunch break.
Things in the very near future may be permanently different. How many theaters may never open up again? How many large conferences may decide to go all online for the foreseeable future? How many employers may decide that perhaps working from home needs to be seriously considered? Schools may setup a permanent online option for emergencies or special situations.
The future technologies that will change society the most will be data oriented, not powered by engines. It’s not about moving people or things on wheels. Those technologies are still important and will continue to improve. They just won’t change society much more than they already have. That was the technology that changed the past.
Everyone is marveling how far technology has come that so many people can continue to work and learn from home. The technological marvels of today are exactly the opposite of the 20th century. A hundred years ago, we marveled that a business man could travel to Europe in a day for a meeting. Now we marvel that he never has to leave home and can do it from his living room.
Sure, not everyone can work or learn from home, but 30 years ago it would’ve been so much more difficult before the internet. And 30 years from now it’ll be just as stark a difference from today. There will be more robots, more drones, more self-driving vehicles. There will be many less jobs that require people to travel to their workplace.
I’ve worked for large manufacturing companies all of my life and have seen the gradual displacement of factory laborers by robots and machines. I’m confident that new technology will allow people to move to new and more gratifying jobs. Even today, people are making money by playing video games online or talking on YouTube every day. 20 years ago, an online gamer like Dr Disrespect would’ve been digging ditches and cracking up everyone at lunch break.
Things in the very near future may be permanently different. How many theaters may never open up again? How many large conferences may decide to go all online for the foreseeable future? How many employers may decide that perhaps working from home needs to be seriously considered? Schools may setup a permanent online option for emergencies or special situations.
The future technologies that will change society the most will be data oriented, not powered by engines. It’s not about moving people or things on wheels. Those technologies are still important and will continue to improve. They just won’t change society much more than they already have. That was the technology that changed the past.
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