We all know that we are living in the fourth industrial revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.<\/p>\n
We already seeing solar panels and smartphones in Malawi villages where there is no potable water or power \u2013 the impact of this technology can only be touched upon \u2013 but it is a positive impact.<\/p>\n
If we let our imaginations run riot \u2013 where would humanity be, with regard to technology, in the next 20 years? We are already seeing 3d printing being used to craft human body parts, or food; artificial intelligence used on a day to day basis and wars being fought with remote drones. These are just a few.<\/p>\n
Here are some other thoughts from innovators on what will become the norm in our day to day lives. The list is endless \u2013 so I will just focus on those that take my fancy. With regard to information \u2013 we are already seeing all media on demand \u2013 movies, TV shows etc. have a look at Netflix which offers this exact choice for a very reasonable fee. How about phone or internet connection implants into the human body?<\/p>\n
Instant information and wireless everything is already a reality for most countries \u2013 from here \u2013 I believe that we will be immersed in virtual reality and virtual presence within a couple of years. One small mobile device will do everything we require. On computers, we need to be watching out for computers equivalent to the human brain; or those that never crash and never need to reboot. How about mind reading computers that can communicate with humans via their thoughts, or holographic touch screen computers? Data transfer will become instant or faster than light.<\/p>\n
In electronics we are already seeing intelligent jewellery, watches and the like, that can monitor the wearers body performance and even transmit medical data directly to the clinic if necessary. In transport we could be looking at solar powered and electric cars (that do not need recharging).<\/p>\n
Some hybrid cars are already available on the open market. Imagine cars that self-drive on smart highways, or satellite controlled cars. How about unmanned cargo ships or cars that fly? One of the most interesting areas is around alternative energy options.<\/p>\n
We are currently still dependent on fossil fuel as our main source of energy. Problems here is that it is finite, it creates enormous amounts of pollution \u2013 and currently it has been fuelling brutal wars in and around oil producing countries. What will happen when it starts running out? Some areas being worked on currently include wireless energy, electricity generation from biomass and even free renewable energy.<\/p>\n
In society we are currentlyexperiencing digital money and a cashless society. How about paperless society \u2013 as books and newspapers get replaced by virtual instant news. How about bio-identification (which biometrics is making big inroads into currently) or identification or credit card implant.<\/p>\n
We already have implants in valuable pets such as dogs which can be scanned to identify a number of facts about that animal. When will this happen for humans? Of course, this technology will also mean that individuals can be tracked wherever they are in the world \u2013 a blessing for some, a curse for others? Everything and everyone will be connected.<\/p>\n
Amongst the idealists within us \u2013 this revolution is seen as a means of heralding in a time where warfare and its causes are totally eliminated, and perhaps world peace will exist. Idealist talk about all humans becoming one race eventually \u2013 however the recent experience of the UK and the Brexit (Britain Exit from the EU) vote does contradict this point of view. On the other end of the scale \u2013 some people look at massive unemployment with robots replacing humans in the workforce. Others talk about world destruction by humans or technology.<\/p>\n
Whatever you guess or imagine, know that this will become a reality of sorts within yours or your children\u2019s lifetimes. How we as humans evolve using this technology will be a reflection of our sense of global morality and collective responsibility. Will we use it to make or break this world?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We all know that we are living in the fourth industrial revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before. We already seeing solar panels and smartphones in Malawi villages where there is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27892"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27892\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27894,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27892\/revisions\/27894"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}