February 15 Editorial – The Impact of Future Technologies on Our World

Every child has at one point thought to him or herself, “What will the world be like in the future?” As a child, I vividly remember watching episodes of the Jetsons and imagining my own flying car or robotic maid in the future.

Today in 2018, it is impossible to predict the ramifications of new technology on our lives, through we can begin to see distinct trends emerge, such as in machine learning and virtual reality. Google’s Sundar Pichai, in a recent speech, claimed that AI is “as something more profound than electricity or fire.” It is becoming extremely clear that today’s technologies mark our continuous evolution in science and culture. What were once novel ideas sprouted by our neighbors in Silicon Valley have fostered entire industries and sparked a global conversation about the role of emerging technology in our lives.

In our increasingly digital world, the implications of new technology ushers in emotions of both fear and excitement. The same facial recognition used by your smartphone’s photo gallery to automatically generate nostalgic videos may also be modified by governments to track citizens, as seen recent surveillance tactics in China. Another common fear of technology is its effect on unemployment for unskilled workers. Not uncommon in the real world however, is the slow integration of technology into work environments, such as through advanced automation in warehouses and stock trading algorithms. Technology has also created complex challenges in legality, such as in the use of cryptocurrency in lieu of traditional money and the immense personal data collection by companies such as Facebook.

Technology promises us endless convenience – after all, we are often told that the “next big thing” is the be all and end all of solution for all of our life’s inconveniences. However, it is our responsibility as students to examine these under a closer lens and see the both positive and negative effects of these new innovations.

In this edition of the Armijo Signal, I hope that you are inspired to research more about the bits and pieces that come together to create our digital landscape, to act on your own inventive ideas, and to be a part of the movement in creating (or coding!) our world to come.