Tech Evolution

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The pace at which technology is advancing is incredible, and is increasing exponentially. From the stone tool to the Apple Watch, new conveniences compound with one another, integrate and as a whole work to bring about newer technology. Like the evolutionary process, this can involve punctuated equilibrium. For example the advent of the microprocessor rapidly accelerated the evolution of computing. But there have been other giant technological leaps, and to learn more about them I spoke with Joe Magno, Executive Director of the North Carolina Center of Innovation Network (NC COIN).

If you look at the electrification of the United States of America, and I'm not exactly sure how many years it took, but I think it was 50 years for electricity to penetrate everyone in the United States; rural electrification, etc. If you then spin forward to cell phones. I personally never imagined that I would be walking around with a telephone that would give me web access, the ability to text and take pictures at a very high resolution and then send them over to you, instantaneously on the other side of the world. This was beyond my comprehension and this occurred in the last few years, actually. Cell phones were introduced maybe 10, 15 years ago, smart phones maybe 5 or 6 years ago, Today there are over six and a half billion cell phones out. So, in less than 6 years the newer technology took over. If you look at the internet, the world wide web really came about in the ‘90s and now everyone touches the internet. So if take a look at the speed at which things are progressing, and the speed of penetration of these new technologies, it's becoming dizzying.

Every industry is touched by advancements in technology. Transportation has evolved dramatically, punctuated by innovations such as the wheel, Henry Ford's production line, and the integration of computer technology.

If you think about the latest and newest automobiles as they roll off the assembly line, they are very different from the automobiles of 5 or 10 or 15 years ago. They are just cram full of technology. You're driving by wire, you're not driving by a series of mechanical pieces. My father was a mechanic. We don't have mechanics anymore, we have computer technicians that plug your car into a computer and it says “Replace This.” So what happens to folks who are well trained mechanics? They have to become well trained computer technicians. And they're no longer taking engines apart, they're replacing modules. So again, this is another aspect of this rapid movement forward that's driven by the applications of new tools and techniques of science and technology.

And soon we will see the introduction of driverless cars as internet and GPS technology are integrated with the ancient concept of the wheel. Some of the most interesting new technology could be the next big punctuation in our technological evolution. Nanoscience, the science of the very small has the potential to revolutionize just about everything. To do this, we're often borrowing from what Mother Nature has already had billions of years to work out.

We believed for many years that a gecko had these little adhesive pads that would allow it to climb walls. Well, it's not adhesive pads. It's actually little nanostructures that are almost like Velcro, that allow it to stick to the wall as a result of the structure itself. If you take a look at a butterfly wing, or an insect wing, the way they're structured is providing those insects with antibacterial capabilities that do not involve chemicals, or do not involve solutions. It's the way it's structured that actually repels the bacteria. If you take a look at the advances in the nano-sciences what you'll see is our ability to see these things in a way that we have never seen them before and analyze them in ways we've never been able to analyze them before. They're leading to new types of materials, new types of medicines, new types of medical devices.

There can be some drawbacks to this increased development.

The speed at which the technologies themselves are improving is almost inconceivable. That is actually causing problems because policy makers are not necessarily keeping up with the advances in science. So there are debates that are occurring because our leaders, in many cases, don't have the time or take the time to understand how quickly things are moving forward. And it takes a while to change the way we rule society. We live by the rule of law.

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