Today, we have all found ways to implement modern technology into our daily lives. It has even gone to the extent that we cannot imagine life without it. From keeping our cell-phones at our hip 24/7, to using a computer for everything we do, it is with no doubt that technology has become a necessity. However, we tend to forget the roots of the devices that we have today. In this piece, we would like to address a few advances from the past that has led, and is continuing to lead us into a technologically dependent future.
Timeline of Technology:
1926 – Films with synchronized voice and sound are invented
This invention lead to the creation of movies which are present in most applications on phones and the Google Glass.
1927 – Philo Farmsworth invents the television
As mentioned with the earliest invention on this list, the creation of the television innovated the way we see moving pictures. A few decades after this, the ability to watch anything we want on our fingertips revolutionizes the way we see television.
1947 – First Instant Camera – Polaroid
This invention was just the stepping step towards the modern day camera we use today for numerous pieces of digital technology.
1956 – Charles Ginsberg builds first practical video tape recorder
This invention revolutionizes the way we record people’s voices. Although it is bigger than we thought, this early invention modernizes to become a simple insert in a phone, watch, or glasses.
1931 – Ernst Ruska – Glass lens focuses light
This early invention revolutionized the way in which pictures are taken. Although big in nature, this invention eventually modernized and became smaller and ingrained in the modern pieces of technology we see and use today.
1964 – First general purpose mainframe computers is announced
This is the first of the many different types of computers that were invented. Although big in size and unavailable to the general public, this early form of the computer paves the way for the more modern day computers that are seen today.
1975 – Digital LED watches were released to common consumers
This is the first digital watch made available to the general public. Although it is not as modern as the watches worn today, it does change the way in which watches are seen and used. This invention lead the way to the digital watches seen today.
1981 – First personal computer
This invention changes everything in the digital world. This version of the computer paves the way for the more modern-day computers that we see and use now. This invention modernizes and becomes more smaller and portable.
1989 – Tim Barners-Lee invents World Wide Web (WWW)
This invention gives people the ability to look up whatever they want. This revolutionizes the way in which people look up information so the frequent trips to the library will not be needed. The invention of the WWW gets incorporated into every computer, phone, watch, and even glasses.
1992 – First text message from a phone
This innovation changes the way in which we communicate with other people. Calling someone does not have to be the norm as text messaging prevents us from making frequent calls for even the smallest of things. Like the World Wide Web, this invention gets incorporated into the modern day pieces of technology the we use today.
2007 – Apple Introduces a touchscreen cell-phone called iPhone
This revolutionizes the way in which we communicate with people. Which back in the day we had to call or text people from home, we can literally call, text, take pictures, and more with the touch of our hands.
2012 – Google Glass publicly announced
This invention was controversial due to the questionable piece of technology. This invention was on and off the market but this piece of digital technology got smaller. From the Apple Watch to the Google Glasses, the pieces of technology are getting smaller and smaller with each invention. With these pieces of technology, it gets more and more subtle for people to notice if you are wearing some technology, which can prove to be scary.
2015 – Apple watch pre-orders
Like the iPhone, the Apple Watch revolutionized the way that we communicate with people. Now, we do not have to carry around our phones around with us. This leads the way to even smaller pieces of technology around.
Prediction
From what we have seen, technology has come a long way. With that being said, we would like to make a few predictions of what our future may look like from now. In several films and shows, we have received first glances at our possible future, especially considering how rapidly our technology is advancing. The Netflix series, Black Mirror, has been one of few that has hinted at what we may see next. In season 3, episode 1 (Nosedive), we are presented with a society that is run off of what other people think of an individual. The people of this society rate one another based on their interactions with each other. This is very similar to current society’s dependence on social media and our tendency to display an entirely separate persona to the public in order to receive likes. However, in Nosedive, these ratings and likes dictate an individual’s entire livelihood. The higher the rating, the higher the credit score. Although the premise may seem surreal, we are not entirely far from seeing this become reality. Soon enough, we may have devices that allow us to rate an entire person based on an interaction. We may even reach the point where devices allow us an entire background of random people that we pass in the streets.
An additional episode of Black Mirror that may be providing us a possible depiction of our future is titled The Entire History of You, where individuals receive implants of a chip that allows them to record, recount, and erase their memories. Considering “Google Glass”, there is a chance that we may see this technology in the near future. However, just as any Black Mirror episode, there is an obvious downfall of this technology. Our main character, Liam Foxwell, is presented with an emotional dilemma following an interview that he believes went poorly. Despite the possibility that he is overthinking the situation, it is clear that the problem carries on in his mind for so long that it affects his home-life, especially considering his wife, who he assumes the worst of following witnessing an interaction between her and an ex-boyfriend. In the end, he uses the “Grain”, which is the title of the device implanted in the back of his ear, as a way to terrorize his wife, Jonas (the ex-boyfriend), and anyone else in his way. We are then left with the question of whether this device was reason for his eventual downfall.
In the end, we can conclude that technology will continue to advance at a rapid pace. However, we must ask, is there a possibility that the technology of our future will serve as a hinderance on our progression? Although, in a sense, it already has, will technology eventually take entire control of our lives?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHKruYirSBg
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