2023 has been truly eventful in all senses. Several sectors have witnessed major changes, that would spearhead them through the next era of growth. In 2023, IE presented a wide range of subjects while pressing importance on including more women in workforce and focusing on sustainable development. From the year ahead and the till the midcentury, these two themes will be one of the crucial differentiators.
Adding to them, would be the impact of technology. Grappling its capabilities is quite difficult, but the tide is rising fast, even before governments, companies and other organisations can assess the impact it would have on humanity on large. The realms of technology are evident from very simple day-today actions up until complex electronic warfares. Countries are racing to harbinger on Artificial Intelligence’s potential while putting a public face to regulate it. Adding to all this, war, aggression and the remnants of the pandemic are awaiting, as we step forward into a transitional year.
In such a dynamic scenario, planning ahead for the future seems irrelevant as the ecosystem keeps changing by the minute. This rapid change and instantaneousness in every action has trickled down as a behaviour amongst the society. “I want my grocery in 5 minutes. I want to open my bank account right away. I want to transfer, may be, even a crore of money within two clicks.” These demands seem never ending. But the truth is, today, technology can satisfy all these whims and fancies. People don’t even have the patience to watch a ten-minute video, to pass away time, so ‘shorts’ that last for less than a minute have been introduced! The world that we live in today would be totally unrecognisable by anyone, just few generations older to us!
Yuval Noah Harari, the author of the famed Sapiens, writes on what 2050 has in store for mankind, “As the pace of change increases, the very meaning of being human is likely to mutate and physical and cognitive structures will melt.” He defines technology as a double-edged sword. If one knows what they want in life, then technology can aid them reach the destination, else it has the power to shapes one’s aims.
Through this century, technology will be the major trend and challenge. The need for everything, right away and the narrowing span of attention capacity will be both an opportunity and pitfall. Companies will build products to satisfy this demand but on the other hand, a new setup would be required to handle employees with shorter attention span.
Yes, technology is the genie that has the power to grant all our wishes, but time will tell, who will remain the master.
