Monday, 28 October 2013

Technology and World Change (Session 10)


Technology and World Change

Session 10

Brief Overview

In this lesson we were focused on developing a framework for understanding what comes next. To me, it was all about being able to develop certain models to predict where we are headed towards in terms of how are development is going to be like and how we have to change the way we do things today in preparation for tomorrow. Furthermore, we have to understand the reasons for these changes to take place. We want to be able explore the possible effects of having these changes implemented into our lives and how they are going to change we work.

Interesting Observations and Ideas

The video that captured my attention in class today was titled “Mastering the Megatrends”. 2 megatrends that Siemens have recognized is urbanization and demographic change. With all of these changes, there will be an ever increasing need for power, healthcare, water, industry, mobility, safety and security as the population continues to increase. Therefore, solutions that are economical and environmentally friendly are required to address the issues. The video showed the solutions to all of the above-mentioned challenges that the world, especially the developing nations, face today. For example, mobility is a factor of success and most the key for successful mobility lies in transport, either by cars, trains, buses etc. But with the use of such vehicles, this has created the problem of congestion. Siemens has come up with intelligent systems and infrastructure such as public commuter trains to control the smooth flow of traffic. Anther example is with regard to the increasing demand for healthcare with quality being at the helm of it all. Siemens have introduced digital hospitals where patient records are completely digitally recorded. This saves valuable time and cuts cost because it increases the efficiency of these physicians. The greatest to challenge is to build sustainable infrastructure in the heart of a constantly changing world. The important fact to note is to tackle megatrends with innovative, forward-looking solutions.

Another point worth taking note of in this session was about the need to gain an understanding of what kinds of changes a new technology innovation can bring. For example, in class, the idea of a driverless car was brought into question. Although it might be an exciting piece of technology not having the need to drive your own car and the idea of not having to find your own parking lot seems to be a wonderful idea and invention, we have to think about the consequences of having such a piece of technology in the first place. There could be some social or economical problems that might arise because of this invention. What will happen to all the cab drivers, what will happen to them? Will their jobs, and thus livelihood be threatened because their jobs might be displaced by this technology? Unfortunately, with the advent of such technology being capable of replacing the human skills that we possess, this possibility is only ever going to increase.

Key Takeaways

One key takeaway from this session is that there will always be a positive or negative consequence to whatever technology we decide to embark on either now or in the future. It is important to recognize all the possible consequences with regard to any technology. We have to consider the social, economic, political, environmental issues that arise when studying the effects or it could lead to dire consequences. One of the presentations today talked about the terminator seed technology that was implemented in India by Monsanto. This has led to a steep increase in Indian farmers committing suicide because this has heavily decreased their profitability especially in the cotton plants because the farmers had to rely on purchasing seeds annually from them and they were very expensive. He also mentioned that there may not have been careful consideration when using such technology even though the Indian government may have experienced short term increase in avenue. Then this calls to attention to another question. Who should be responsible for the implementation of such technology? The producers, the government or the individual? How can we be sure of what is really in our best interest? I believe that it is a collective effort. Even though there are times where we have to take things with a bit of salt because they may have vested interest.

Issues for Further Discussion

Some issues that I feel should have been discussed in class pertains to how some of these models have actually succeeded or where they have been use. That way it would be easier to draw references to real life examples.

Personal Ratings

I would rate this lesson a 7 because I felt like it was informative and interesting concept to grasp. 

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