I recently returned from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Along with more than 150,000 of my closest friends, I got to see and experience the latest technology that will soon be a part of our every day lives.
I saw robots, home automation, smart watches, digital printers, immersive gaming, cars that drives themselves and much more. It was nerd heaven to be sure.
Of course consumer electronics just touches the tip of the iceberg. Commercial and government use of technology is where the real advances are taking place.
Surveillance cameras, data mining, biometrics, cashless transactions and the fact that personal privacy is being surrendered on a daily basis in the name of convenience are all uses of technology that we should all be concerned about.
While I am geeking out on drones, I’m not sure how I feel about the authorities using that same technology to spy on citizens.
While cashless transactions and retinal scans or fingerprints are convenient for commerce, I wonder if our worst fears from the science fiction movies will become a reality. Will identity theft run rampant?
And what about smart technology and robots taking over tasks that humans now do? Will those whose jobs are lost be able to find work? Or will we become the fat, lazy humans as portrayed in Pixar’s WALL-E, unable to do anything for ourselves? If we take those fears to their logical conclusion, will this new form of intelligence seek to become dominant as we have seen in science fiction films?
I would submit that we as human being adapt slowly to new technology. Apple tried tablets long before the success of the iPhone and iPad. Remember the Newton?
Many people still purchase DVDs even though streaming services offer movies and shows on demand.
I still boggle at why anyone would buy a music CD with so many avenues for downloading and/or streaming music.
Yes, we move slowly.
And as technology advances at breakneck speeds, I believe we are hitting a stopgap, both personally and in the workplace. There are several reasons for this.
First, there’s no doubt that the technologies mentioned above will continue to find their way into the workplace, but we are a change-averse species.
I believe one of the key reasons is that many technologies remove the human element which makes the workplace a great place to be. Is it natural for workers to resist dramatic change. No one believes the change can be stopped entirely, but it can be slowed. And as long as a robot with artificial intelligence is knocking on the door of the job currently held by a human, you can rest assured there will be great resistance.
It means that there are many who will continue to do things “the old way” just because it appears to be more convenient. Call it stubbornness, perhaps, but because we have learned these old way, practiced them and mastered them, many will stick with the status quo.
The next reason has less to do with willingness than the sheer ability to understand and adapt. Let’s face it, once we get used to doing things a certain way, it can take a great deal of time and effort to make the switch.
Remember teaching your parents how to program a VCR to record their favorite program? While this generation is more tech-savvy, dramatic changes can still be daunting. Some learn faster than others, but it’s not enough for the IT department to implement the latest technology. Those who will be using it have to be able to keep up.
Finally, while consumer usage affects mostly individuals in their own homes, technological change in the workplace can affect the entire company and various departments in the company. The larger the company, the more challenging deployment of tech can be.
Again, as rapid as we are advancing, how do larger corporations help keep the various branches of the company on the same page? It’s a massive effort to coordinate, and one which management must carefully evaluate before rolling out the latest and greatest. After all, this years’ great advancement may be dwarfed by next years’ model.
When I look at my first computer purchased in 1980, and then marvel at the power of the iPhone 6 which I now carry, I recognize that the advances we have experienced are nothing more than miraculous.
If I hand my iPhone 6 to a 3-year old child, I become aware that it is the most primitive technology of its kind that the child will ever know.
It took 34 years for these changes to come about. The next ten years will be more dramatic. We’d all better buckle in because this ride is getting interesting.
What are your thoughts? Please share your comments below!