Session 9

This week was a much awaited one by me and my class mates. This is because it was about Emerging and future technologies. Technology is a world without boundaries and this makes it an area full of excitement. The exponential rate of change in technology has seen many disruptive and evolutionary changes. Gone are the days of buying music CDs and Walkman because iPod and iTunes is in. everything nowadays is more compact and faster than ever. So where are we moving towards?

One of the videos that we saw in class was about clay tronics. The plastic chips an electronics may eventually results in extinction of silicon chips. plastic technology can be very helpful in future because it is less fragile and can result in electronic goods such as phones and television screens that are flexible. A possibility of application of plastic chips and sensors can be on medicines casing, where the packing can let an individual know the time at which them medicine should be taken. The video also mentions the possibility of having plastic sensors in contact lenses so that one can browse internet too easily. I personally think such a technology can be quite freaky. These technologies can raise privacy issues. For instance, the plastic chips and sensors may easily be transplanted or rather fused in to one’s body, so someone else can keep track of where you are. Here’s the link to the video – Plastic electronics! - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_Tv5Ox_U90

Meanwhile, the drivers of change and development of technology were explored. One of the drivers is the unmet demand in the market. There is a gradual move towards technology driven opportunities from market driven opportunities. Furthermore, the technology driven opportunities are resulting in supply of goods that can create demand. Apple exemplifies this point very well. The existence of iPhone and iPad has created demand for such products. Mass media also plays a vital role here. Then there is confluence of 4 ‘Smarts’ – Smart people, Smart money, Smart ideas and Smart alliances and partnerships. More importantly, imagination is the secret ingredient that is required to be able to innovate.

Other technologies that we looked at included augmented reality, artificial intelligence and robots. As we looked at different technologies, several problems that it may result in were recognized. For example if are reliance on robots rise in the knowledge economy, then we may have social problems because employment in previously labor intensive industries would rise. If robots would be designed to do low skilled jobs then what will people with low skills do. Also, problems like income distribution may rise. Though the robots can help do risky tasks such as working in coal mines, they would create unwanted unemployment.   

Another, issue that crops up with technologies such as robots with artificial intelligence and robots that are made to look like humans is where to draw a line to tell difference between a human and a machine. Can machines become smarter than human beings? If humans begin to interact with robots such as Milo of project Natal and AI Robots in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2wYWAlg8Do, the definitions of relationships may change. To what extent will we get engaged with such technologies?

Another technology which interested me was the augmented reality. Augmented reality blurs the line between what is real and what computer is generated by enhancing what we see, hear and smell. Augmented reality may be seen in our smart phones, laptops and even the windshield of cars.

Like every session, we had presentations in class. The presentation which I enjoyed the most was about living on water. Presentation explored possibility of living on water and the ongoing projects of floating islands around the equator. It is an interesting because it may help solve our problem of growing population and overcrowding in cities. But there are many obstacles to overcome, which may include the legal issues and other socio-cultural impacts.

My personal rating of this session is 9.5/10