Technology's Growing Effects

The field of technology is incredibly vast and continues to grow with every passing day. Since Gordon Moore made his famous prophecy in 1965, Moore's Law has remained fairly consistent throughout the passage of time, with reference to the abilities of computers. Given society's current level of technological development, it can be foreseen that the ability of computers, and therefore technology as a whole, will ultimately far surpass any imaginable state in its functional capabilities. Society today has become incredibly dependent on technology to keep it stable. From massive super-computers used in rendering enormous amounts of data useful, to biotechnology used in saving people's lives, our society depends upon technology for its future.

The main focus in technology is its efficiency and ability to perform a wide range of tasks. In the next half century, technology will have advanced to a point where the manufacturing costs of items as simple as water filters will be pennies to the dollar of what they cost today. Mechanical simplicity and efficiency, achieved through research and development, will make these simple technologies affordable to the less fortunate peoples of the world. Something Americans or Europeans find to be elementary in sanitary upkeep will end up saving hundreds of thousands of lives in China’s countryside or the heart of India’s cities, because it effectively prevents the outbreak of a highly communicable disease. True, there will always be more developed nations in the world than others, but with the aid of the more developed, the less fortunate will see improvements in their way of life that are infinitely times the number ever previously imagined.
Advances in technology have always solved problems, but in turn have always created new ones.

Technological advancement over the next 50 years will prove to be no different, however the number of problems solved will benefit countless more people than the number of new problems will harm. I say this because, as can be seen with water purification tablets in Ethiopia, the number of lives saved is far greater than the number of people whose wallets have been hurt. There is a pattern here that has become more and more evident with the passage of time, most notably in recent years. This cycle, however, will undoubtedly continue on into the next 50 years of technology’s development, and these developments are what will make the lives of millions of people much more bearable. Money will forever be invested in society’s technological banks, and because the possibilities are limitless, the lives of people all around the world will continue to see unforeseen improvements, beginning with the next 50 years.