So recently I received my brand spanking new Macbook Air. What an incredible machine, but whats really interesting is that the thickness of it catches eyes everywhere. Now for common tech junkies like me and you ( considering you are reading my blog ) this technology seems normal.
The fact is a large proportion of the world doesnt realize where we are with technology. Before I continue I would like to just take a trip down memory lane and revisit some awesome movies and books which contains science-fiction technologies that seemed impossible..
1. Star Trek (1979) brought us a few concepts like the Electronic Clipboard used by Lt. Uhura ( aka Kindle ) or the touch screen control panels used by the ship ( iPad interface ). Start trek also features other technologies including, the communicator badge, cell phones, bluetooth, etc. ( all of which we have today. =) )
2. The War of the Worlds ( 1953 ) showed us death ray guns, shooting your enemies with an invisible force instead of hardware ammunition. Today we have military lasers capable of knocking out missiles and Non-lethal sonic guns ( Long Range Acoustic Devices ) to be used by soldiers to protect live events.
3. Rossum’s Universal Robots (1920 ) introduced the world to the world of automata and robots. This was a concept that was very far fetched at that time. Nowadays we find robotics everywhere so much that we dont even realise its around us.
Therefor taking these few into account and looking at the years, we have a average of say 60 years. 60 years takes us back to 1950. In 1950 the IT Proffesionals and Fat Cats bragged with devices and gadgets such as:
- Television – 27th Oct, 1951
- First Video Recorder – 31st Oct, 1951
- First Computer Hard Disk – 31st Oct, 1956
- Computer Modem – 31st Oct, 1958
OK thats some awesome things to brag about, but if we look at today, 60/50 years later we have smart phones which combines alot of seperate devices we had 20 years back ( video recorders, phone, internet.. wait all of the above list actually ). We have google glass, cloud computing where all your documents are safe, massive social networks; making the world as large as your keyboard. Its become clear that in 60 years the world has grown massively. But all this is fine and we think everything is going good.
But then we read chilling and hair raising headlines like, UN Expert Calls For Moratorium On ‘Killer Robots’. Say what?
Yeah technology is growing at such a pace that we already have robots ( droids ) capable of distinguishing between faces, keeping their balance, using weapons and I am sure a lot more ( refer to the infographic attached ). So are we certain at how far along in technology we really are? All of a sudden things that seemed like science-fiction yesterday is actually around today.
There are tons of other examples I can mention, Invisibility, Materials that can shape like clay but hard as titanium. All of these things mentioned makes the world either a better place or a worse place to live in. Lending a helping hand or Increasing the jobless rate.
I guess there is a place for everything in this world. It just amazes me at how quick technology is growing and I look forward to see what is coming next. One day a droid might be knocking on your door without you even knowing its a droid, and I quote ” These might not br the droids you are looking for”.
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