What’s come to our mind when we hear the word technology?
Innovation(updated and digitization).
Technology is not a neutral word. Different people will give them different meanings depending on their viewpoint and context.
It is the rational process of creating means to order and transform matter, energy, and information to realize certain valued ends. They provide or establish change, introducing new ideas and methods that make life easy.
Technology means we can stay inside our house all day without the feeling of getting bored.
History of technology
We like to think of ourselves as master tool builders and certainly, as we stand at the threshold of the wonders of the 21st century, we have much to be proud of. But we’re heritors of a long tradition of life. We can take “Rock” as the very first example of technology. It was picked up one day and thereafter used for almost everything. To gain food, to make clothing, to protect from enemies and other dangers of the world.without that rock, we would still be climbing trees to pick the fruits.
Here is the brief history of technology, from million years ago to the beginning of the modern age.
3.3 million years ago: Ancient hominins on the shore of Lake Turkana begin using Oldowan(widespread stone tool).
1.7 million years ago: Later species of hominins begin experimenting with the tool-making technique — typically large, bifacial handaxes.
1.5 million years ago: Possible date of earliest fire use by east African hominins(Homo ergaster) Cooking, in turn, spurs the further growth of cognitive evolution.
500,000 years ago: Oldest knew fabricated human structure- the “chichibu shelter” in Japan likely a temporary hut constructed by homo Erectus populations.
400,000 years ago: The schoningen Spears in Germany — first known wooden spears.
100,000 years ago: Use of some of the earliest abstract symbols and art, from material found in Blombos cave in South Africa.
30,000 years ago: The first domestication of dogs is thought to have begun about this time; essentially, it is the beginning of the human use of living tools that continues with the agricultural revolution and the domestication of plants and other animals-arguably humankind’s greatest invention.
26,000 years ago: construction of the early Homo sapiens settlement
20,000 years ago: The “Ishango Bone” an engraved baboon fibula, may indicate an early knowledge of mathematics or calendrics or represent numerical notation of some kind.
12,000 years ago: first use of metal implements.
2,100 B.C.: Appearance of the Sumerian abacus, a simple tabulating machine-essentially, a primitive computer.
400 B.C.: Invention of the first ‘drone’ — a mechanical, steam-driven “dove” capable of powered flight.
100–200 B.C.: The “Antikythera Mechanism” — the first analog computer.
1st century A.D.: The Alexandrian engineer invents the “aeolipile,” — an early steam-driven turbine.
A.D. 132: the invention of “seismoscope,” capable of detecting distant earthquakes and locating where they occurred.
1822: Charles Babbage designs his “difference engine,” which –while never quite completed- paves the way for future computing machines.
1903: First controlled and sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air flying vehicle.
1931: the age of supercomputing is heralded by the installation of huge tabulating and calculating machines, manufacture by IBM, at Columbia University.
1944: The German “Vengeance” weapon becomes the first long-range guided ballistic missile. It is the first man-made object to cross the boundary of space and set the pattern for all space vehicles.
1951: Electricity was first produced by the first nuclear fission power plant.
Source: National geographic news, BBC Earth, Scientific American, BBC Future…
Now we are living in the 21st century (which is also called the era of information technology). Technology in the 21st century has enabled us as humans to make strides our ancestors could only dream of. Love it or loathe it, technology affects almost everything we do today and it also influences most of our plans for the future. Many qualified observers feel that technology, especially automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence will drastically reduce the number of available jobs soon.
Impact of technology in Society
Technology has truly resulted in the digitization and modernization in many fields. Either in the field of medicine or farming or electronics, technology has resulted in a global revolution.
Let’s take an example, ultrasound, MRI CAT scans, and other forms of nuclear imaging that allow doctors to see inside the human body using a blending of medical, Nuclear and, computer technology.
Earlier(A couple of decades ago) we had to wait for days and even in some cases, for months to receive messages from other people. And we can drastically see the changes which have taken place. Now, all it takes is a few clicks of our finger on the smartphone to send out a mail, message.
Disabled is now abled: Modern technology has now made nearly everything possible. Artificial foot, smart sticks, etc are invented which can facilitate disabilities.
Technology allows for working remotely, which has shown to increase employee productivity. Less wastage of time because files are stored on the cloud and can be searched easily.
Machine Learning and Virtual Reality now dominate the entertainment space. On-demand television means that we no longer have to wait to watch our favorite TV show, or indeed make decisions on what we watch, ML makes a recommendation based on our viewing habits.
Here’s How Fast the Technology Is Growing ( Stats):
· By 2022, 70 billion smart devices will be collecting, analyzing, and sharing data.
· The web hosting services market is to reach $77.8 billion in 2025.
· 70% of all tech spending is expected to go for cloud solutions.
· There are 1.35 million tech startups.
· Global AI market is expected to reach $89.8 billion.
· There are 4,383 million internet users.
· Solar energy adoption has grown by around 50%.
