Technological Developments and Their Impact on Society
With the growing reliance on technology, there are several technological developments taking place that will completely change how we live in the future. It is imminent that technology plays an essential role in shaping the society and will continue playing the same role in the society years ahead. Improvements in technology are being made every day leading to several life-changing experiences. The recent advances in technology suggest that the society will become more dependent on technology in the next twenty years than it is today. Technological developments such as artificial intelligence and robots, virtual reality, and driverless cars, just to mention but a few will have significant effects on how we travel, how we work, how we learn, and how we travel in 20 years to come. Two decades from now, technology will completely alter our lives in a positive way by enhancing the living standards of people in society.
The Future of Travel
Technology in the next 20 years will have a profound effect on how we travel. With day-to-day improvements in technology, the near future of travel and delivery services is set for a revolution. According to Stevens, from hyperloop trains, drones, interplanetary travel, drones, and most importantly autonomous cars will change how people travel from one place to the other (TechGenYZ.Com). The development of driverless cars is one of the most celebrated technological progressions in recent years. Today, electric cars have already found their way on our streets thus protecting our environment and with automated technology; driverless cars are making their way on our roads changing the face of travel over the next 20 years. With driverless cars, people will move from one place to the other easily even when they are not in a position to drive. In addition, it will lessen road congestion, road accidents, and environmental pollution.
The Future of Work
Two decades from now, technology will revolutionize how we work. A rise in artificial intelligence and robotic workers in the next twenty years will make work easier for everyone. With robots and artificial intelligence, people will not need to work all day since robots and artificial intelligence machines will execute most of the work being done by humans. In fact, robotics and artificial intelligence will lead to a save in the cost of labor and products. With robots and artificial intelligence machines, production will be faster, easier, and cheaper because these machines work constantly and reliably making (Makridakis 48). Employees will have to do less hard work since it will be done by robots and autonomous machines. In the next twenty years, technologies like robots and artificial intelligence machines will affect the employment, manufacturing, and production sector in positive and negative ways. Today, robots are being utilized in many industries and a tipping point of artificial intelligence and robotic deployment is imminent in the future, and the world should be prepared for this radical transition in the next 20 years.
The Debate on Technological Unemployment
Opponents argue that, in the next twenty years, technology will not affect human life positively but negatively. They argue that the invention of technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence will lead to technological unemployment. In the next twenty years, it is feared that there will be a rise in artificial intelligence and robot workers and this will crush the jobs of millions of workers across the globe. With robots and artificial intelligence, people believe that millions of workers will lose their jobs over the course of the next two decades and the situation will be worse for low-skilled workers. People believe that robots and artificial intelligence machines will soon perform about 80 percent of tasks done by humans and this will increase unemployment rates (The Guardian). Today, automated machines have already rendered several people jobless and with the development of more technology, it seems it will be worse in the next twenty years with a looming employment crisis and jobs at risk. A good example is the McDonalds in New York, 3rd Avenue, 58th street whereby there are no cashiers but automated touchscreens where customers create their burgers without having any contact with humans. Shewan notes that “It’s impossible to say exactly how many jobs have been lost by the deployment of the automated kiosks – McDonald’s has been predictably reluctant to release numbers – but such innovations will be an increasingly familiar” (The Guardian). This means that, with the growing technological innovations, the presence of robots and artificial intelligence machines will render more people jobless, and this is detrimental to the economy.
The Benefits of Technology in Economic Development
However, while it might be true that technology can lead to an increase in unemployment rates and job risks, we should note that technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence drive efficiency in production and manufacturing of goods and services. In addition, it minimizes errors that might be done by human labor thus increasing productivity and reducing labor costs (Brougham and Haar 240). Therefore, technology will play a major role in economic development with the introduction of robots and artificial intelligence as they perform massive tasks that cannot be performed by humans in a short time.
The Future of Education
Technology keeps evolving and it will play a fundamental role in transforming how people learn in the future. In twenty years to come, advances in technology will replace the common classroom learning with virtual classrooms. Today, students use computers, laptops, and iPads in classrooms to keep track of their lessons and assignments something that could never be witnessed in traditional classroom learning. Liou et al. note that with modern technology, students are able to learn even without attending classes physically (113). In twenty years to come, it is possible that virtual reality will replace textbooks thus making learning easy and accessible to students everywhere. With advancement in technology in the next two decades, there will be an education for all, as people will access quality education via the internet and virtual reality without having to attend physical classrooms.
The Transformational Power of Technology
With no doubt, technology has changed our lives to the better. If people were actually to compare their lives before technology and after technology, they will definitely notice that technology has transformed our lives and with more advances, technology will continue shaping how people live. Technological advancements have caught the world with a storm and these advancements are ongoing with each passing day improving the living standards of people all over the world. Technology has definitely changed how people live and unquestionably, it will greatly influence people’s lives in the next twenty years to come (Turkle 6). The future of technology advances in more interesting than what we are experiencing now. In twenty years to come, we will be talking about artificial intelligence, robots, driverless, cars, and virtual reality.
Preparing for a Future of Technological Changes
In conclusion, the advancement in technology has revolutionized human life. Technology is evolving at a rapid pace thus integrating itself in our everyday lives. We live in a time of serious technological changes that will completely alter our lives and how the society operates. In the next twenty years, technology will change our lives in both negative and positive ways. Therefore, we need to prepare for a future of big game changers that will reshape our lives. Over the course of the next two decades, we should expect several technological changes that will modify our lives. For instance, technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and driverless cars will significantly enhance the living standards of people all over the world.
Works Cited
Brougham, David, and Haar Jarrod. "Smart Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Algorithms (STARA): Employees’ Perceptions of our Future Workplace." Journal of Management " Organization 24.2 (2018): 239-257.
Goldin, Claudia, and Katz Lawrence F.. "The Race between Education and Technology." Inequality in the 21st Century. Routledge, 2018. 49-54.
Liou, Hsin-Hun, et al. "The Influences of the 2d Image-based Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality on Student Learning." Journal of Educational Technology " Society 20.3 (2017): 110-121.
Makridakis, Spyros. "The Forthcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolution: Its Impact on Society and Firms." Futures 90 (2017): 46-60.
Turkle, Sherry. "How Computers Change the Way we Think." Law and Society Approaches to Cyberspace. Routledge, 2017. 3-7.
Shewan Dan. Robots will Destroy our Jobs and We are Not Ready for It. Theguardian.com. 11 Jan. 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/11/robots-jobs-employees artificial-intelligence
Accessed 3 December 2018.
Stevens Salah. How Technology will Change Our Lives in Big Ways in the Next 20 Years. TechGenYZ.Com.
15 Jan. 2018. https://www.techgenyz.com/2018/01/15/technology-will change-lives-big-ways-next-20-years-2/
Accessed 3 December 2018.
