Future Technology

One of my work colleagues and I shared a ride from downtown San Francisco back to our office and we had a nice discussion about the future of technology. We started with the discussion about how certain high-tech celebrities happened to be in the right place at the right time. That coupled with a bit of luck propelled them into technological lore. My colleague is trying to help his sons figure out how they can be in the right place at the right time when it comes to future technology and how to increase their chances of becoming technological leaders.

I think if it was easy to predict where technology will be in five to ten years then everyone would be doing it. That didn't stop us from trying to figure it out for ourselves though. During my somewhat lengthy career in computers and high-tech, I have learned that people don't by technology, they buy solutions to problems. One of those problems is figuring out a way to streamline daily tasks. If you look at something as simple as cooking, think how the microwave has reduced the preparation effort of food. While not all food can be microwaved, a lot can and that has dramatically reduced the time it takes to cook a snack or meal.

As my friend and I drove, we applied the streamlining principle to our drive. We kept having to slow down for certain areas of traffic congestion. If all of the cars on the road could talk to each other and had the smarts to coordinate lane changes, we would have made it back to the office in half the time it took us. Based on that part of our discussion, my friend's boys should focus on self-driving cars. Then I threw out the idea of creating a virtual work environment that could eliminate the need to travel from your home to an office. It would immediately wipe out a significant portion of the traffic on the road. Following that logic, my friend's boys should look at virtual technologies and how to improve them.

As I mentioned, predicting the future of technology is incredibly difficult. This is because there are so many variables and unknowns. You could start moving towards one technology only to have it become irrelevant because of a significant shift caused by another. That is why it is important to always look at trends and constantly be updating your technical skills. Unfortunately that takes a lot of effort.

Tomorrowland and Imagination

Last night I went and saw the new Disney movie Tomorrowland. The previews reminded me of my first trip to Disneyland when I was very young. Back then, Tomorrowland was much different than it is today. Now it is an area used to house a few futuristic rides but when I was a kid, it was a glimpse into what life in the future might be like. It was fun and exciting to a young boy and I remember getting excited about growing up and seeing changes for a better world.

It is interesting to look back at those predictions and see how far off we were. We still don't have flying cars nor do we have super-sonic planes for the general public. We had them for a while with the Concorde, but then they started falling out of the sky and the fleet was retired.  However there are things we have today that we didn't even imagine back then. Think about home computers, mobile phones, electronic books, and large flat-screen televisions. I also think we got a few things right. One thing that comes to mind is electric cars.

I came out of the movie remembering my early trips to Disneyland and wondering what life in the future will be like for my grandchildren. Will we colonize the moon or Mars? That was one thing talked about when I was a child and then forgotten. Now it is a topic that seems to be gaining traction again. What about solar electricity? Photovoltaic cells have been around for a very long time but are just now being used effectively to generate electricity. What advances will we see there? How about life in the ocean? There seem to be a wealth of possibilities underwater.

I think our future is only limited by our imagination. We have a quote on the wall at my office from Albert Einstein that says, "Knowledge will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." I agree.