The limit to tech innovation is a question that has been on the minds of people within the technology industry for many years – and it is likely to be one sticking around. As technology progresses and we start to see the innovation of products we haven’t seen before, people will wonder whether there is more that can be done. This is mostly because it is hard to envisage something existing if it doesn’t already exist – but in the past technology is something that has continued to adapt and grow even beyond the imaginations of most normal people.
Advances in Technology
When the telephone was invented, people were enthralled by the thought that they could use a device to call someone that lived in a different household – and even a different country! Such instant communication had not existed before and it was something that was mind-blowingly exciting. However, tell the teenagers of today that in order to call their friends they would have needed to sit in the living room with all the family and make a call on a device that was fixed to one spot and they would think you were insane.
One thing about innovations in technology is that they seem beyond the realms of all possibility – until they’re here. Then, we quickly become comfortable with them existing and just like things such as laptops and smart devices, become a part of our lives that we wouldn’t want to be without. That is until the next innovation happens and whatever we once saw as an essential part of everyday life quickly becomes old fashioned and outdated.
When is Technology Innovation Likely To End?
When it comes to innovation, there are some people that believe we’ll eventually reach the end of what can be changed and adapted and enough will be enough. However, if you asked people 50 years ago how they felt about having instant access to a music library that had every song in existence in it, they would have told you it would be impossible to carry around that much music with you. The youth of today would be devastated if they felt that anything but this was possible.
What is Moore’s Law?
Gordon Moore co-founded the international computer company Intel and in 1965 he made an observation that so far the number of transistors on a microchip had doubled every two years, even though the cost of owning a computer had halved. This thought process was followed for a number of years, however very recently the innovation of technology within this remit stopped and the technology that we have in the modern-day no longer fits into that thought process – is that further evidence that the innovation of technology can only go so far?
What Industries Have Seen The Most Change?
Realistically, since the invention of the wheel, there isn’t a single industry that hasn’t been affected by technology innovation and change. However, over recent years there have been some stand out changes including within communication, gambling and property industries.
The way we communicate has seen massive changes over the last 10 years, with apps like Whatsapp now seen as an essential instant communication tool rather than something that is just fun to be involved with. The innovation of technology has meant that we’re now all much more used to instant communication – no longer do we send a letter or fax and wait a few days for a response. Now we can message someone and know that it has been delivered instantly. This is a great thing a majority of the time, but it does mean that there has been a slight “always on” culture, where people expect everyone else to be available when they are; which isn’t always the case.
Online entertainment, especially within the gambling industry has also changed massively over recent years. For starters, in many parts of the world, the concept of actually being able to gamble online is something that people are much more comfortable than they once were. As the gambling industry is one with fierce competition, casinos also have to consider what they can offer to keep customers interested.
One of the biggest things that has changed is the processing of money within these sites and how quickly people can receive their money if they win. Once it would have been normal to wait a few days for your winnings, but the instant communication culture we have created doesn’t just stop at messaging. People now want their winnings much quicker and where at all possible, instantly. As such, many more sites in the gambling industry are now advertising speed as a key USP if you’ve been on the look out for instant payouts.
In the past, people looking for houses would have needed to visit the area they were interested in moving to and look at local newspapers or traipse from estate agent to estate agent to browse through available properties.
With a majority of property searches now starting online, places like Rightmove have changed this because they allow people to search for properties from home. Not only that but the way we advertise properties online has changed – with 3D photos and video tours pretty much becoming the norm on most property adverts over the last 12 months.
The question of whether innovation will end is one that is impossible to answer, but currently, it doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Every few months Apple or Samsung release a new photo with a new feature or two. Virtual Reality is becoming much more prominent and even the way we fuel our cars is constantly changing. The truth is that technology shapes much of our day to day lives and as these innovations make life easier people are likely to embrace them even more. As smart technology grows in popularity it is likely that industries start to cling onto this and put even more funding into technology innovation and so the cycle of technology innovation continues.
