Balancing Technology’s Risks and Opportunities
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New technologies offer opportunities to improve the lives of millions of people around the world. But, some of theses changes will also bring risks to other millions of people around the world. We are beginning to see improving effects on employment, economic growth, job security and inequality especially among wealthier nations.
There is an urgent need for creating a healthy understanding of the overall system for technological change, without falling into technological determinism, or creating and adopting new technologies for the sake of change. Change should be a predetermined goal toward improvement, not an effect causing a desperate response. New tools and technologies should enhance our labor and improve opportunities for business growth for electrical contractors.
Check out the McKinsey Global Institute's feature on today's 'Tech Driven' world:
As the video clip above shows, when times are changing, the time to act is now.
Y. Noah Harari has said that once technology enables us to engineer bodies, brains and minds, we will no longer be certain about anything, especially predicting the future with any accuracy. When modern schools came into being, it was necessary to teach every child to read, write and recite basic facts of geography, history and biology. But information is at the fingertips of most humans thanks to technological changes. As we equip ourselves and our workforce, the last thing we need is more information. We need the ability to make sense of information and to be able to tell the difference between what is important and what is unimportant. Technology makes us use our minds, and that’s a good thing for staying ahead and increasing productivity. In layman’s terms as electrical contractors, technology can allow us to increase market share while becoming safer and smarter on the jobsite.
Additional reading on mitigating risks and capitalizing on opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution:
NECA Technology – the Project for Applied and Disruptive Technology, explores the world of technology and keeps members informed of what’s happening today, and of what will be launched in the not-too-distant future. Dr. Joey Shorter has an extensive background in education and experience in translating the work of academics into understandable, practical ideas.
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