How can tech be used to overcome problems !
Regardless, we face problems daily and find different innovative ways to deal with them. However, technological advancements and our propensity to use technology for everything we do mean that the problems we face have changed drastically.
Green machines
Pollution. One of the most difficult problems an individual has to face daily. Not because it’s hard to tackle, but because an individual’s efforts seem trivial instead of how large-scale industries seem to be milking the Earth of resources while dumping harmful toxins and chemicals back into the environment.
Technology can be a powerful resource to combat the pollution epidemic that seems to be so out of our hands. Every day, over 1700 children under the age of five die due to air pollution. However, the automotive industry is taking steps in all the right directions. Fuel cell vehicles promote ecological conservation with their “zero-emission” promise.
A promise that can change the face of all-things-transport. These zero-emission vehicles can run on electricity or hydrocarbons, such as biofuel, to be more specific. Biofuel can be made from anything ranging to cow dung, or the old cooking oil Hot n Spicy might need to dispose of. Shayad nihari ki tel se bhi ban jaye.
These advancements in fuel processing and utilization can offer a range of convenience - personal and environmental - that mass-market vehicles do not offer.
Addictive additive manufacturing
From the things you wear to the things you need to breathe, everything can be made in a lab. From the strap on your smartwatch to your lungs, 3D printing has ensured that nothing is left to chance.
No longer do you have to think about animal cruelty before ordering a nice leather strap for your watch or enroll in a waitlist for an organ transplant. Everything from smart clothes to organs can be printed efficiently and effectively. Additive manufacturing works based on a template, specific to the customer.
Whether you need a prosthetic leg or a new artery, it is built layer by layer, tailored to your body, specific to your needs. Kamaal ki baat hai. Machines print human cells and aid in tissue repair. This is a huge step forward in the world of medicine and consumer healthcare. Computer chips and nano-circuit boards are the frontlines of next-gen products, responsive to environmental changes such as temperature, humidity, and altitude. 3D printing helps solve problems from nano-scales to macro-scales, pushing the limits of every manufacturing process around the world.
Artificial intelligence
AI involves computers performing tasks that had to be performed by humans. But what makes the human brain so special that sets it in a different league to even IBM’s supercomputers? The human brain learns.
Every second the human brain works to be better than it was a second ago. Cognitive plasticity allows for human brains to learn, adapt, and grow, regardless of the environment, it is placed in. That is where AI surpasses even the most expensive, cutting edge piece of computing hardware. AI can function synonymously to the human brain, improving itself as it performs tasks.
This means that now, when the cunning-edge technology of AI is paired with ultra-fast computing powerhouses, AI can outperform humans. Smartphones recognize speech using AI, Tesla’s can take you from your home to a concert while you take a nap using GPS and AI.
Everything these days uses AI to an undeniable extent. Deep Blue, an AI system can out master any chess legend, which goes to show that even a sport as demanding and dynamic as chess can be obliterated by the power of AI.
It is AI that allows for machines to transition as their environment transitions. Eventually, as the use of AI becomes more and more common in everything ranging from smartphone security to crunching numbers for NASA, we may face a zombie apocalypse. Where the zombies are AI-driven entities ready to take over the world. A solution to every problem may become a problem for everyone.
Manu-factory at your doorstep
Well, considering you can buy your 3D printer, manufacturing has become a process every single human being can master. Aside from the fact that more and more companies are implementing large-scale 3D printers, we are gradually giving up the need for physical interaction with the things we need to buy before we buy them.
Online shopping ka zamaana hai, yaar! How many times have you heard your friends and family taunt you because you drove to Gul Ahmed to buy a lawn ka jora for your wife? In this day and age, with e-commerce booming in every city across every nation, personalized products are the order of the day.
Methods of fabrication have taken a drastic hit as now distribution of manufacturing, combined with the power of e-commerce means specific economies can focus on specific things, making economies less (and more) diverse while being more specialized.
Regardless, you can sit in Pakistan and order a French perfume from a Turkish website with servers somewhere in Australia. The product still somehow reaches your door, eliminating the need to deal with the hassle of making the trip to your nearest superstore for milk. Forget about going to France to buy that perfume you wanted.
Checklist: Phone, keys, wallet...think again!
Paypal took the world by storm and immobilized every single banking platform around the world to shift to online banking. Apple Pay has made us forget the importance of a bulky back pocket. Jeans are now seamless and slim, while our wallets are empty.
Gone are the days of counting sticky ten-rupee notes. Now, your phone holds the key to all your keys. This isn’t limited to online payments. More and more stores are using contactless payments to ensure quick and secure methods for them to get their cash out of your pockets. No longer do we fret about forgetting our wallets at home, or even our keys.
Smart home systems allow for your phone to act as the key to your home, using your smartphone's pre-existing security features such as fingerprint readers or facial recognition to unlock your doors and your bank accounts. Pretty convenient and cutting-edge, if you ask me.
Communication redefined
Maybe some of you reading this article reminisce about the beauty of letter writing. The anxiety of delivery, the patience to get a response, and the sentimental attachment to a piece of paper filled with the words of your loved one etched into it for an eternity.
Now, all you need to do is take out your phone or laptop, type in their email address and press send. It may ruin the essence and beauty of communication, but the ease with which you can reach your loved ones trumps the time and effort once required to be in touch with them.
Emails and instant messaging have revolutionized personal lives, businesses, and the world as we know it. Instant connection and instant gratification fuel the lust we humans now possess to get things done then and there.
Maybe technology solves all our problems, from a microchip behind an LCD screen to robots that farm the atta for our roti or controlling walls of dams that allow for running water in our taps.
Something to think about is how technology, while extremely helpful, maybe making us less human. Think about it. When was the last time you knocked on your neighbors’ door to have a cup of chai on their patio?