What is in the future of our lives shared with the computer? They are indeed everywhere you look. There are very few workplaces that are not in someway affected by the computer. If you work in a warehouse, you can be sure that computers are keeping track of every last piece of inventory, if you work in a restaurant, they are keeping track of the customers bill, drive a car, they are at work monitoring the engine, changing the fuel mix, telling you when it is time to change the oil!
My personal view is that the computer is without doubt the most significant development since the industrial revolution; in fact it may be even more significant. It touches us in so many ways. We may hate them, but we cannot make them go away. In every facet of our lives they are there.
The question is; where will they take us? The answer is; I have no idea. This is an exciting time to live in. Yet, it is also a disquieting time. George Orwell wrote an interesting book “1984”, the plot was about how the government would be spying on the people. In some ways Orwell’s predictions are becoming more realistic, certainly the government knows more about each individual today than they ever knew before.
Not all is bad though, you can check you bank balance, you can chat with people across the globe, you can listen to your favorite music, you can do this all from the comfort of your computer screen.
The last 30 years has changed our lives, what will the next 30 years bring? Well I find it hard to even contemplate. Computers are making it possible to predict hurricanes and other serious weather before they strike and this makes us safer. They are used to decipher DNA, the basic building blocks of life within us all. The work being done will create new medicines, people will live longer, and diseases will be eradicated. Our cars will be safer and more fuel-efficient. The computer is our friend and not our enemy.
I spend time almost every day marveling at the wonders of our brave new world. Who could have thought that a 30-ton monster built in 1943 could have had such an effect on us all 60 years later!