The Tentacles Of Technology: Little Is Straight Forward

Technology is a very interesting animal. The tentacles that it wields can extend into areas that few expect. This is why it can be such a disruptive force.

For decades, most industries operates like islands unto themselves. Each one had a "moat" which protected it from competition. This could be in the form of a high barrier to entry or some type of technological advantage. Whatever the reason, businesses operated in a fairly straight forward manner. Those what were in the industry were in it; those not, were not.

Today, that is no longer the case. Look at how mobile phones are affecting computing. More activity is not taking place on phones than on computers. This will only grow over time as third world nations get online and most of them are doing so with mobile devices.

I read an article that surveyed people about autonomous cars. This technology certainly is disruptive to the car industry with each company vying to get a piece of the action. We also know that the traditional "people movers" such as cab companies are a target.

However, the potential to siphon customers from another industry is what makes technology so fascinating.

Consider a trip from Atlanta to Washington DC. This is a 10 hour drive by car. That is a long distance so many opt to fly. The flight is roughly two hours without delays. That does not include the time it takes to get to the airport, baggage check in, security, etc. This can easily add another 3 hours to the total on both ends. Thus we are looking at a 5 hour difference.

Still, it is most likely preferable to driving 10 hours. However, what if one could opt for an autonomous ride. Under this scenario, one could leave at any time, travel all night if desired, sleep on the way, and arrive in the morning.

How preferable is this to what is presently done?

According to a survey, 2/3 of those interviewed would opt for the autonomous car. This number jumped to 3/4 if one had to rent a car on the other end.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/06/self-driving-cars-autonomous-vehicles-airline-industry/591352/

Here we see how a revolutionary technology is affecting more than one industry. We can add in the motel/hotel industry too. When driving on the United States interstate highways, it is not uncommon to see these ate almost every exit. The main customer are people who stop overnight. With an autonomous car, naturally, people will be able to keep right on motoring.

We are operating on another revolutionary, in my opinion, technology. How much is going to be affected by the idea of blockchain? When adding in cryptocurrency and the ability to provide incentive to people, what will the future hold?

It is easy to align industry for industry. Steem is professed to be a social networking blockchain so the common idea is to say the target is the traditional social media applications. Certainly, this could hold true yet that is only the tip of the iceberg. What else could a blockchain like Steem touch upon and revolutionize?

I spent a lot of years in the office equipment industry. This was one that was completely disrupted by mobile technology. As the ability to get information anywhere became commonplace, the need to print and copy stuff diminished.

We saw the same technology completely upend the camera business. Companies such as Canon, Ricoh, and Konica were major players in the camera world. They sold millions of point-and-click devices, at the expense of Kodak which remained a film company. Unfortunately for them, the fact that almost every phone as a camera in it meant their industry was ripe for being obliterated.

Blockchain is going to have similar effect. We are not even aware how long the tentacles of this technology will be. Personally, since this is such a powerful foundation to build the digital world upon, there is little that is not at risk from it. The centralization of everything is going to see a move back the other way. While we will not see 100% decentralization, a great deal more will be that in the future.

Ultimately, with technology, there is little that is straightforward. Development can take many turns and there is no way to tell which direction creative people are going to take. For this reason, it is best to not underestimate the impact of a technology such as blockchain.

We are only at the beginning of this adventure. The next couple decades are really going to see a change in how society operates.

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