Don't Give Up on Technology

I have worked in technology-driven companies for the whole of my career, so I guess I'm a bit of a technofreak.  As well as trying to keep abreast of technological developments, I must admit to sometimes having the need to buy a gizmo, even if I'm not sure I need it!  That said, with wall-to-wall technology around the planet, it's often refreshing to sit back and consider what hasn't been affected (or maybe infected!) by the human quest to apply science to every conceivable problem.  I'm currently staring through my office window at a tree, probably about 60 years old.  I know that because I counted the rings on a similar tree that was felled nearby.  In a previous blog post I have marvelled at what trees do for our planet, through photosynthesis.  I don't know of any technology that could replace it, particularly when you consider it will run for hundreds of years almost maintenance free.

Nevertheless, what has been achieved through technological development by the human species is phenomenal.  Although we also have to recognise that many of the achievements have not been without massive harm to the planet.  I recently completed an online course on climate change and I summarised each week of the eight-week experience in my blog.  It is difficult to be sceptical on the human contribution to global warming, through the emission of greenhouse gases, particularly when there is so much evidence to prove it.  But I suppose the encouragement I drew from the course was the fact that the technology to stem global warming and prevent destruction of the planet for future generations, is readily available.  Harnessing the global interest and the will to make it happen, is what is proving to be extremely difficult right now.

So is there any problem that we do not have the technology to solve?  The answer is an emphatic yes, and let me give you a live example.  Malaysia Airways flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March with 239 people on board and at the time of writing still has not been found.  Now I know numerous commentators around the world have stated that it is almost inconceivable that an aircraft of that size, packed with all manner of technology, and supported on the ground and by satellite with even more technology, could go missing.  I have to say it almost shattered my confidence in technology, particularly in the early days of the search when there was doubt as to whether the plane had flown north or south!  Now that the investigators believe they know roughly which part of the Indian Ocean the plane submerged, the search goes on.  Having spent a lot of my career with companies engaged in the application of underwater acoustics technology, I know just how difficult the ongoing task will be and there are unlikely to be quick conclusions.

So despite our plethora of technology, there are some problems we can't solve, probably because when systems are designed not all the 'what ifs' are taken into account.  Another factor, in my opinion, is the temptation to design for the sake of design, without necessarily understanding what the problem is to be solved.  So instead of producing a 'widget', the designer produces a 'widget with wings' even if it doesn't need to fly!  This is particularly true of consumer electronics.  When you buy a computer these days it will normally have so much bloatware (applications that you are never likely to use) that it renders the PC far more susceptible to bugs than it needs to be as well as possibly affecting its performance.

Technology can be frustrating but we shouldn't give up on it.  It needs a purpose, not just a whim.  Let me give you an example of what I think would be a fantastic goal.  I've been following the trial of Oscar Pistorius and it's got me thinking about the legal system and in particular, establishing the truth.  We all have fantastic brains, the processing power of which surpasses any computer.  This includes a vast memory, which records visual and other sensory information.  So we can remember what we saw, heard, smelt, felt and tasted - the five senses.  Where the human memory has difficulty competing with the computer memory, is in data retrieval.  We cannot 'time stamp' information and neither can we recall using keywords.  In other words we don't have the equivalent of a Google search engine.  We pull things out of our memory using context or clues.  Sometimes, having recalled the information, we get it wrong and I am not sure if it was stored incorrectly or, having recalled it, we misinterpret it.  Whatever, wouldn't it be great if technology could access any stored information in the brain?  So, for example, in a trial, the defendant's stored data of the events under examination, could be accessed like built-in CCTV!  Now it wouldn't be perfect because, assuming the information is only as good as the original perception, it might not be accurate.  However, it would overcome the corruption of evidence from intentionally falsifying the facts.  Now it could be argued that such a system is fantasy.  Well the same could probably have been said to someone who proposed television before it was invented!

So don't give up on technology, it just needs a purpose!