Technology growth feels as if it is accelerating because it actually is accelerating… at the exponential rate as shown here:
Looking at the last 100 years only we can clearly see the technological progress that has been made during that time. During the last 100 years we invented the world as we know it… antibiotics, television, internet etc. Look at just the last 20 – 30 years when personal mobile phones became a thing followed by smartphones that have more processing power and memory than early massive supercomputers the size of warehouse.
I think it is safe to assume that the technology enabled us to be more efficient and creative so the exponential growth is not a surprise. The question is, where are we going with it?
I would like to also mention that the growth is directly related to the number of people on earth. In the 20th century alone the numbers went from 1.65 billion to 6 billion. In 1970 there were only half of the people there is now.
The number of people is important but what really drives industrial age is constant advancement in science which enables us to tackle bigger problems over a shorter time. With the ongoing projects like real time AI based translator, personal assistants, self-driving car, robotic surgeon, home automations, space travel, genome map etc. we can safely assume that world is about to change for good and the job market along with it.
So what do you think the job market will look like in the near future? Let me know in the comments section below.
Well I think that almost all manual work will eventually be done by robots and computers (no it’s not sci-fi ) in fact many industries nowadays invest in robotics as they slowly start to realize the benefits.
You see… robots and software will never get tired, can work 24/7, they are more accurate, they don’t have personal issues affecting its work, they will never ask you for a pay rise etc. 😉
Just to be clear… I’m not trying to scare anyone! It’s a natural process and has been going on for centuries. As the new technologies are discovered, the old ones are forgotten and replaced by those more efficient. I’m not saying that in 20 years the unemployment will hit its record high… what I’m saying is that the jobs previously considered worth studying for or doing will be replaced by those created by new technologies. Everybody remembers their parents guiding them to study medicine, aviation or business management. Will you recommend the same paths to your kids? Or perhaps software development, bioengineering, aerospace engineering…
Can you see the pattern there? New job markets revolve around engineering for the most part. We just love automating things and making it easier for ourselves. Well making things easier is not the only goal here… we also need more precision and efficiency in many industries.
How long do you think it will be before you can get your take out delivered by a drone? It might be sooner than you think. In fact, there are companies already trying to adapt this technology. Couriers are also looking into more efficient ways of delivering parcels.
The changes are likely to take place in the developed countries first with the rest of the world following closely. It will be a gradual change which will take many years but as a mother I think now is the time to give my daughters a nudge in the right direction.
Personally I believe that our education system needs big changes and adjustments. e.g. we need programming, problem solving, logical thinking taught from the early years.
Consider some of the examples below and let me know which one of these you think will be biggest in 20 years:
- Sustainable Future and Renewable Energy
- Bio engineering
- Genetics
- Aerospace engineering
- IT and Artificial Intelligence
- Geoengineering
- Food studies