Procurement News Notice |
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| PNN | 5430 |
| Work Detail | As a graduate student in 1978 I took a class at the University of Northern Iowa called Historical Development in Technology. Later, I ended up teaching versions of that class as a professor myself. In the course, students learned there are scientific methods for technology forecasting and assessment. There are established ways to predict how technology in a field will evolve and what impacts it will have on the society. There also are revolutionary technologies — so-called disruptive technologies — that seemingly come out of nowhere and render many well-designed forecasts useless. A simple example is how automotive engineers for years focused on road designs and sensor technology for highways to create a self-driving car. It seemed like it would be decades before a car and the roads could communicate in order to drive autonomously. Then seemingly overnight, the Global Positioning System provided perfect locating capacity to vehicles within inches of accuracy. Self-driving cars are now within our reach thanks to the disruptive — albeit very positive — GPS technology. Some students argued against going along with new technologies. A general worry was we must control how technology is progressing. For example, students argued they’d never give up their 8-track or cassette tape players and would refuse to accept the then up-and-coming Compact Disc players. They quickly concluded they had little control over this process. All new music was released on CDs. We often have to adapt to new technology. Many recent technological advances have come from countries with free market economies and built-in reward systems for creativity. This increases the disparity between developed and developing countries and inevitably results in global conflicts. The U.S. has been the source of many disruptive technologies. Experts would argue the U.S. has also been disruptive in social issues including gender identity, racial and ethnic diversity and equality. Social developments are often interrelated to technological developments. Barring any major global catastrophe, changes in technology will continue, mostly to the betterment of all people. Numerous technologies are bound to upend the current way of thinking. They include: Genetic modification and transgenic enhancement of plants that could reduce the impacts from drought and allow deserts to produce food, impacting the fight over resources and population growth. Technologies that could allow modification to human DNA that would overcome genetic or inherited ailments and could give more control over human reproductive systems, impacting health care and possibly nullifying abortion debates. Military technologies and development of drones, cyber-warfare and miniaturized machines, impacting defense and national security. Automation and robotics that promise to free humans from laborious work and allow more time for education, leisure and creativity, impacting learning and thinking. And the list goes on. Since 1978, our world has changed for the better in many ways. It is logical to project in a decade or two we would see more greatness from American disruptiveness in technological and social developments. Of course a few will have unintended consequences. Twenty to 30 years from now, these days will be considered the “good old days” when “life was simpler” for the 10-year-olds of today. It will be interesting to see what the politicians will try to sell us then during election seasons. |
| Country | United States , Northern America |
| Industry | Information Technology |
| Entry Date | 15 Oct 2016 |
| Source | http://wcfcourier.com/news/opinion/guest_column/technology-is-keeping-america-great/article_fcad5e76-930e-52c8-97f9-67a399e69275.html |
