In this lesson, we discussed about the various emerging technologies available in society today. We also learnt the different drivers for the development of emerging and future technologies. One of the main drivers is the market demand of new products. People yield for better and smarter “machines” to facilitate their lives. Sometimes, the products offered are so sophisticated that people don’t realize that they need it till they experienced it. One example is the use of mobile phone. During the era where pagers are used as a form of communication, handphones are perceived as a device that is expensive and a additional weight to be carried around. Today, handphones are so widely used, it is like a part of an individual where he can be contacted at anytime, anywhere as long as he bring it with him!
In terms of the development and application of new emerging technologies. We are limited only by our imagination – and, all too often, the lack thereof. (Prof Shahi)
Interesting Observations and Ideas
One of the emerging technologies today is the creation of robotics. From just computerized figures used to amuse individuals in the past, have developed into a device that helped humans perform work at a much faster and effective pace. Robots eliminate human error and fatigue, which is therefore used in factories to perform repetitive work like packing and assembling of parts. In addition, robots are brought to a higher level of complexity. Attempts are made to duplicate human characteristics into robots. In Japan, scientists are creating human robots to respond and react exactly like real humans. It is really a breakthrough in the science field and we can see how far technology has brought us into.
The creations of human robots are not only for social and amusement purposes. According to Reading 1 :Beyond Robotics (RO). It describes the intention of creators to infuse a new element into robots; the ability to adapt and respond to changes. This is relatively challenging as human themselves find it difficult to adapt and respond to changes quickly even with such sophisticated brain power. What more for the robot? How can robots catch up with changes in the society? How would robots respond to society norms where it’s internal system is programmed in the first place? I find that it is not feasible and would be too complicated to design and build such a robot. If so, robots might be a potential threat to the culture of mankind.
Key Take Away Points
Emerging Technologies have helped human to achieve more goals. In addition, new and alternative ways are being created to solve the many issues in society. But, we have to understand where it leads us to. Taking the example from the robotics, if It is true that robots are created and have become more superior then human beings, then I think the emerging technology of it is a disaster.
Issues for Further Discussion
Should we cap the technological advancement in Robotics? Will the introduction of Robotics make humans lazy and over reliant on technology? Will Robots over take jobs, resulting in high unemployment rate?
Personal Ratings for Session
I rate this session 8 out of 10. It discusses the drivers of emerging technologies and how these technologies play a part in our lives
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