innovation of technology essay

Feb 13, 2023

200-500 Word Example Essays about Technology

Got an essay assignment about technology check out these examples to inspire you.

Technology is a rapidly evolving field that has completely changed the way we live, work, and interact with one another. Technology has profoundly impacted our daily lives, from how we communicate with friends and family to how we access information and complete tasks. As a result, it's no surprise that technology is a popular topic for students writing essays.

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This blog post aims to provide readers with various example essays on technology, all generated by Jenni.ai. These essays will be a valuable resource for students looking for inspiration or guidance as they work on their essays. By reading through these example essays, students can better understand how technology can be approached and discussed in an essay.

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The Impact of Technology on Society and Culture

Introduction:.

Technology has become an integral part of our daily lives and has dramatically impacted how we interact, communicate, and carry out various activities. Technological advancements have brought positive and negative changes to society and culture. In this article, we will explore the impact of technology on society and culture and how it has influenced different aspects of our lives.

Positive impact on communication:

Technology has dramatically improved communication and made it easier for people to connect from anywhere in the world. Social media platforms, instant messaging, and video conferencing have brought people closer, bridging geographical distances and cultural differences. This has made it easier for people to share information, exchange ideas, and collaborate on projects.

Positive impact on education:

Students and instructors now have access to a multitude of knowledge and resources because of the effect of technology on education . Students may now study at their speed and from any location thanks to online learning platforms, educational applications, and digital textbooks.

Negative impact on critical thinking and creativity:

Technological advancements have resulted in a reduction in critical thinking and creativity. With so much information at our fingertips, individuals have become more passive in their learning, relying on the internet for solutions rather than logic and inventiveness. As a result, independent thinking and problem-solving abilities have declined.

Positive impact on entertainment:

Technology has transformed how we access and consume entertainment. People may now access a wide range of entertainment alternatives from the comfort of their own homes thanks to streaming services, gaming platforms, and online content makers. The entertainment business has entered a new age of creativity and invention as a result of this.

Negative impact on attention span:

However, the continual bombardment of information and technological stimulation has also reduced attention span and the capacity to focus. People are easily distracted and need help focusing on a single activity for a long time. This has hampered productivity and the ability to accomplish duties.

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies has been one of the most significant technological developments of the past several decades. These cutting-edge technologies have the potential to alter several sectors of society, including commerce, industry, healthcare, and entertainment. 

As with any new and quickly advancing technology, AI and ML ethics must be carefully studied. The usage of these technologies presents significant concerns around privacy, accountability, and command. As the use of AI and ML grows more ubiquitous, we must assess their possible influence on society and investigate the ethical issues that must be taken into account as these technologies continue to develop.

What are Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning?

Artificial Intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence in machines designed to think and act like humans. Machine learning is a subfield of AI that enables computers to learn from data and improve their performance over time without being explicitly programmed.

The impact of AI and ML on Society

The use of AI and ML in various industries, such as healthcare, finance, and retail, has brought many benefits. For example, AI-powered medical diagnosis systems can identify diseases faster and more accurately than human doctors. However, there are also concerns about job displacement and the potential for AI to perpetuate societal biases.

The Ethical Considerations of AI and ML

A. Bias in AI algorithms

One of the critical ethical concerns about AI and ML is the potential for algorithms to perpetuate existing biases. This can occur if the data used to train these algorithms reflects the preferences of the people who created it. As a result, AI systems can perpetuate these biases and discriminate against certain groups of people.

B. Responsibility for AI-generated decisions

Another ethical concern is the responsibility for decisions made by AI systems. For example, who is responsible for the damage if a self-driving car causes an accident? The manufacturer of the vehicle, the software developer, or the AI algorithm itself?

C. The potential for misuse of AI and ML

AI and ML can also be used for malicious purposes, such as cyberattacks and misinformation. The need for more regulation and oversight in developing and using these technologies makes it difficult to prevent misuse.

The developments in AI and ML have given numerous benefits to humanity, but they also present significant ethical concerns that must be addressed. We must assess the repercussions of new technologies on society, implement methods to limit the associated dangers, and guarantee that they are utilized for the greater good. As AI and ML continue to play an ever-increasing role in our daily lives, we must engage in an open and frank discussion regarding their ethics.

The Future of Work And Automation

Rapid technological breakthroughs in recent years have brought about considerable changes in our way of life and work. Concerns regarding the influence of artificial intelligence and machine learning on the future of work and employment have increased alongside the development of these technologies. This article will examine the possible advantages and disadvantages of automation and its influence on the labor market, employees, and the economy.

The Advantages of Automation

Automation in the workplace offers various benefits, including higher efficiency and production, fewer mistakes, and enhanced precision. Automated processes may accomplish repetitive jobs quickly and precisely, allowing employees to concentrate on more complex and creative activities. Additionally, automation may save organizations money since it removes the need to pay for labor and minimizes the danger of workplace accidents.

The Potential Disadvantages of Automation

However, automation has significant disadvantages, including job loss and income stagnation. As robots and computers replace human labor in particular industries, there is a danger that many workers may lose their jobs, resulting in higher unemployment and more significant economic disparity. Moreover, if automation is not adequately regulated and managed, it might lead to stagnant wages and a deterioration in employees' standard of life.

The Future of Work and Automation

Despite these difficulties, automation will likely influence how labor is done. As a result, firms, employees, and governments must take early measures to solve possible issues and reap the rewards of automation. This might entail funding worker retraining programs, enhancing education and skill development, and implementing regulations that support equality and justice at work.

IV. The Need for Ethical Considerations

We must consider the ethical ramifications of automation and its effects on society as technology develops. The impact on employees and their rights, possible hazards to privacy and security, and the duty of corporations and governments to ensure that automation is utilized responsibly and ethically are all factors to be taken into account.

Conclusion:

To summarise, the future of employment and automation will most certainly be defined by a complex interaction of technological advances, economic trends, and cultural ideals. All stakeholders must work together to handle the problems and possibilities presented by automation and ensure that technology is employed to benefit society as a whole.

The Role of Technology in Education

Introduction.

Nearly every part of our lives has been transformed by technology, and education is no different. Today's students have greater access to knowledge, opportunities, and resources than ever before, and technology is becoming a more significant part of their educational experience. Technology is transforming how we think about education and creating new opportunities for learners of all ages, from online courses and virtual classrooms to instructional applications and augmented reality.

Technology's Benefits for Education

The capacity to tailor learning is one of technology's most significant benefits in education. Students may customize their education to meet their unique needs and interests since they can access online information and tools. 

For instance, people can enroll in online classes on topics they are interested in, get tailored feedback on their work, and engage in virtual discussions with peers and subject matter experts worldwide. As a result, pupils are better able to acquire and develop the abilities and information necessary for success.

Challenges and Concerns

Despite the numerous advantages of technology in education, there are also obstacles and considerations to consider. One issue is the growing reliance on technology and the possibility that pupils would become overly dependent on it. This might result in a lack of critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, as students may become passive learners who only follow instructions and rely on technology to complete their assignments.

Another obstacle is the digital divide between those who have access to technology and those who do not. This division can exacerbate the achievement gap between pupils and produce uneven educational and professional growth chances. To reduce these consequences, all students must have access to the technology and resources necessary for success.

In conclusion, technology is rapidly becoming an integral part of the classroom experience and has the potential to alter the way we learn radically. 

Technology can help students flourish and realize their full potential by giving them access to individualized instruction, tools, and opportunities. While the benefits of technology in the classroom are undeniable, it's crucial to be mindful of the risks and take precautions to guarantee that all kids have access to the tools they need to thrive.

The Influence of Technology On Personal Relationships And Communication 

Technological advancements have profoundly altered how individuals connect and exchange information. It has changed the world in many ways in only a few decades. Because of the rise of the internet and various social media sites, maintaining relationships with people from all walks of life is now simpler than ever. 

However, concerns about how these developments may affect interpersonal connections and dialogue are inevitable in an era of rapid technological growth. In this piece, we'll discuss how the prevalence of digital media has altered our interpersonal connections and the language we use to express ourselves.

Direct Effect on Direct Interaction:

The disruption of face-to-face communication is a particularly stark example of how technology has impacted human connections. The quality of interpersonal connections has suffered due to people's growing preference for digital over human communication. Technology has been demonstrated to reduce the usage of nonverbal signs such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and other indicators of emotional investment in the connection.

Positive Impact on Long-Distance Relationships:

Yet there are positives to be found as well. Long-distance relationships have also benefited from technological advancements. The development of technologies such as video conferencing, instant messaging, and social media has made it possible for individuals to keep in touch with distant loved ones. It has become simpler for individuals to stay in touch and feel connected despite geographical distance.

The Effects of Social Media on Personal Connections:

The widespread use of social media has had far-reaching consequences, especially on the quality of interpersonal interactions. Social media has positive and harmful effects on relationships since it allows people to keep in touch and share life's milestones.

Unfortunately, social media has made it all too easy to compare oneself to others, which may lead to emotions of jealousy and a general decline in confidence. Furthermore, social media might cause people to have inflated expectations of themselves and their relationships.

A Personal Perspective on the Intersection of Technology and Romance

Technological advancements have also altered physical touch and closeness. Virtual reality and other technologies have allowed people to feel physical contact and familiarity in a digital setting. This might be a promising breakthrough, but it has some potential downsides. 

Experts are concerned that people's growing dependence on technology for intimacy may lead to less time spent communicating face-to-face and less emphasis on physical contact, both of which are important for maintaining good relationships.

In conclusion, technological advancements have significantly affected the quality of interpersonal connections and the exchange of information. Even though technology has made it simpler to maintain personal relationships, it has chilled interpersonal interactions between people. 

Keeping tabs on how technology is changing our lives and making adjustments as necessary is essential as we move forward. Boundaries and prioritizing in-person conversation and physical touch in close relationships may help reduce the harm it causes.

The Security and Privacy Implications of Increased Technology Use and Data Collection

The fast development of technology over the past few decades has made its way into every aspect of our life. Technology has improved many facets of our life, from communication to commerce. However, significant privacy and security problems have emerged due to the broad adoption of technology. In this essay, we'll look at how the widespread use of technological solutions and the subsequent explosion in collected data affects our right to privacy and security.

Data Mining and Privacy Concerns

Risk of Cyber Attacks and Data Loss

The Widespread Use of Encryption and Other Safety Mechanisms

The Privacy and Security of the Future in a Globalized Information Age

Obtaining and Using Individual Information

The acquisition and use of private information is a significant cause for privacy alarm in the digital age. Data about their customers' online habits, interests, and personal information is a valuable commodity for many internet firms. Besides tailored advertising, this information may be used for other, less desirable things like identity theft or cyber assaults.

Moreover, many individuals need to be made aware of what data is being gathered from them or how it is being utilized because of the lack of transparency around gathering personal information. Privacy and data security have become increasingly contentious as a result.

Data breaches and other forms of cyber-attack pose a severe risk.

The risk of cyber assaults and data breaches is another big issue of worry. More people are using more devices, which means more opportunities for cybercriminals to steal private information like credit card numbers and other identifying data. This may cause monetary damages and harm one's reputation or identity.

Many high-profile data breaches have occurred in recent years, exposing the personal information of millions of individuals and raising serious concerns about the safety of this information. Companies and governments have responded to this problem by adopting new security methods like encryption and multi-factor authentication.

Many businesses now use encryption and other security measures to protect themselves from cybercriminals and data thieves. Encryption keeps sensitive information hidden by encoding it so that only those possessing the corresponding key can decipher it. This prevents private information like bank account numbers or social security numbers from falling into the wrong hands.

Firewalls, virus scanners, and two-factor authentication are all additional security precautions that may be used with encryption. While these safeguards do much to stave against cyber assaults, they are not entirely impregnable, and data breaches are still possible.

The Future of Privacy and Security in a Technologically Advanced World

There's little doubt that concerns about privacy and security will persist even as technology improves. There must be strict safeguards to secure people's private information as more and more of it is transferred and kept digitally. To achieve this goal, it may be necessary to implement novel technologies and heightened levels of protection and to revise the rules and regulations regulating the collection and storage of private information.

Individuals and businesses are understandably concerned about the security and privacy consequences of widespread technological use and data collecting. There are numerous obstacles to overcome in a society where technology plays an increasingly important role, from acquiring and using personal data to the risk of cyber-attacks and data breaches. Companies and governments must keep spending money on security measures and working to educate people about the significance of privacy and security if personal data is to remain safe.

In conclusion, technology has profoundly impacted virtually every aspect of our lives, including society and culture, ethics, work, education, personal relationships, and security and privacy. The rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning has presented new ethical considerations, while automation is transforming the future of work. 

In education, technology has revolutionized the way we learn and access information. At the same time, our dependence on technology has brought new challenges in terms of personal relationships, communication, security, and privacy.

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Disruptive Innovation in the Era of Big Tech

How does the landmark theory apply to tech start-ups, three decades after its introduction?

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In 1995, the late and legendary Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen introduced his theory of “disruptive innovation” right here in the pages of the Harvard Business Review. The idea inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and businesses, ranging from small start-ups to global corporations.

Three decades later, debates have emerged around how the theory should be applied — especially within technology start-ups that have driven so much economic growth since 2000.

In this episode, Harvard Business Review editor Amy Bernstein and a panel of expert scholars discuss the legacy of disruptive innovation, and how the common perception of disruption has drifted away from its original meaning.

Expert guests include:

• Harvard Business School senior lecturer and director of the Forum for Growth and Innovation Derek van Bever
• Columbia Business School professor Rita McGrath
• Harvard Business School professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Key episode topics include: strategy, competitive strategy, business history, disruptive innovation, Clay Christensen, innovator’s dilemma.

HBR On Strategy curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock new ways of doing business. New episodes every week.

• Listen to the full HBR IdeaCast episode: 4 Business Ideas That Changed the World: Disruptive Innovation (2022)
• Find more episodes of HBR IdeaCast
• Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org .

HANNAH BATES: Welcome to HBR On Strategy , case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts – hand-selected to help you unlock new ways of doing business.

In 1995, the late and legendary Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen introduced his theory of disruptive innovation right here in the pages of Harvard Business Review .   The idea inspired a generation of entrepreneurs and businesses, ranging from small start-ups to global corporations.

Almost three decades later, debates have emerged around how the theory should be applied in the real world especially within the tech start-ups that have driven so much economic growth .

In this episode, Harvard Business Review editor Amy Bernstein and a panel of expert scholars discuss the legacy of disruptive innovation, including what Christensen got wrong about it, and how the common perception of “disruption” has drifted away from Christensen’s initial idea in recent decades.

This episode will give you a new perspective on what makes a strategy succeed in the long term. It originally aired on HBR IdeaCast in October 2022 as part of a special series called 4 Business Ideas That Changed the World. Here it is.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Welcome to 4 Business Ideas That Changed the World , a special series of the HBR IdeaCast . In the 1980s, Clayton Christensen was in his 30s, the business guy at a startup. The company was making ceramics out of advanced materials, and it was able to take over the market niche from DuPont and Alcoa. That experience left Christensen puzzled. How could a small company with few resources beat rich incumbents? The question led to his theory of disruptive innovation, introduced in the pages of Harvard Business Review in 1995, and popularized two years later in The Innovator’s Dilemma .

The idea has inspired a generation of entrepreneurs. It’s reshaped R&D strategies at countless established firms, seeking to disrupt themselves before somebody else does. It’s changed how investors place billions of dollars and how governments spend billions more, aiming to kickstart new industries and spark economic growth. But the idea has taken on a meaning well beyond what Christensen actually described. Think about how easily we use the word disruption to explain any sort of innovation, business success, or industry shakeup.

It’s also drawn fire. Some critics argue the theory lacks evidence. Others say it glosses over the social costs of bankrupted companies, and debate continues over the best way to put the idea to work. On this special series, we’re exploring 4 business ideas that changed the world. Each week, we talk to scholars and experts on the most influential ideas of HBR’s first 100 years. This week: disruptive innovation. With me to discuss it are Derek van Bever, senior lecturer and director of the Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard Business School, Rita McGrath, professor at Columbia Business School, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee, professor at Harvard Business School. I’m Amy Bernstein, editor of Harvard Business Review and your host for this episode. Let’s set some context. Rita, what was our understanding of innovation before Clay gave us disruptive innovation?

RITA MCGRATH: Yeah. I think our common understanding of it was something that came out of R&D groups. It was like big product, big materials, big physical things, innovation. The classic would be like DuPont nylon. They invented this thing, that meant women didn’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars collectively on silk stockings, and they had nylon riots. Literally, people were charging at these trucks with this revolutionary substance.

I think that’s how a lot of people still thought about innovation, is something that was very tech-heavy in the sense of not digital, but just technology that was coming out of R&D labs and so forth. That was one pervasive thought. I think the next pervasive thought was that innovations that were successful added something. They were new and improved, and so you built a better mouse trap. You built a better nylon stocking, you made Kevlar and things became impermeable, and that it was always at the top of the market.

I think that was one of the things that Clay’s work revealed, which was that innovation did not have to be new and improved or better on the existing dimension of merit, but that it could actually be worse on whatever it was we used to judge products by. But it did something else that was different.

AMY BERNSTEIN: You mentioned technology. Was technology always a necessary component of innovation as understood then?

RITA MCGRATH: I think in our theory of innovation it was. I think the idea of really business model innovation to me, did not become a common topic of conversation really until the ’90s. Prior to that, it was really product-centric, I would say, innovation. Peter Drucker and people like that, talked a little bit about things like the advent of the knowledge worker and what the network society was going to mean, and that kind of thing but that was really early days.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Felix, so help us understand Clay and what shaped his thinking. He was a co-founder of a technology company when he started to consider disruptive innovation. What shaped his thinking?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: We know Clay as a faculty member at Harvard Business School, of course, first and foremost. But actually, by the time he arrived and became a faculty member, he had done many different things already. He was a missionary in Korea, he studied in the US and in the UK. He had earned an MBA from HBS. Then in the 1980s, together with faculty members at MIT, he had started a company called Ceramics Process Systems. The one experience that he had as CEO of the company, was quite dramatic and in part informed his thinking about disruptive innovation.

The basic technology that they had came out of an MIT lab, and it was exactly what Rita had alluded to. It was this idea, is there a way to make what we have today, is there a way to make it better? To improve on the quality? In their case, they made ceramic substrate that could be used in microelectronics. This is a very, very thin layer of ceramic that has excellent properties when it comes to conducting heat and power. They had better ideas how to make that. The challenge was that the technology was not so easy to scale up.

They were about 14 months late or so later than they had anticipated. By that time, a competitor had essentially duplicated or had a product that was very similar, and the price premium that they expected to earn had vanished. In retrospect, I think looking back at this particular type of innovation, Clay later found in his dissertation that if you go directly against established incumbents, your chances of being successful are not all that great. He would say, “Well, maybe 5%, 6% of these attempts are successful, but mostly you shouldn’t really get your hopes high up.”

AMY BERNSTEIN: Derek, let me ask you about this idea that Felix just described. Had anyone ever noticed this before? Was it all that novel?

DEREK VAN BEVER: It was really remarkably creative, what he did. The question that consumed him was why is it that sometimes a tiny, little upstart can unseat a powerful, industry-leading incumbent? It was the sometimes that really intrigued him. He was looking for the causal driver, not merely correlation, but what was it that caused this phenomenon? There were lots of descriptive explanations that had been advanced in the past. One was that industry leaders would become self-satisfied and complacent, and not see the attacker coming.

Another was that if you got attacked on too many fronts at once, Xerox versus Canon, you couldn’t respond adequately. What bothered Clay was that while these explanations were often true enough, there were also a lot of anomalies, instances where they didn’t hold. Clay used these anomalies as learning opportunities, rather than exceptions. What he realized was if you can approach an incumbent in a way that causes them to ignore you or to flee upmarket, you have the thing you need the most, which is time to build a foundation underneath your business.

Then finally, he gave names to phenomena that were familiar, particularly to businesspeople. He called the trajectory of innovation that is far and away the most common, he called that sustaining innovation. Any company that wants to be in business for any length of time, had better be really good at that. He called that trajectory underneath the existing incumbents; he called that disruptive innovation. That’s what’s hard for incumbents to see, because it typically presents as products that aren’t as good, that aren’t interesting to their best customers. And therefore, are not something that they can allocate resource toward

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: Or maybe if I can add a little twist to it. One of the things that I find most fascinating about the theory of disruption, is that it describes the reasons why the incumbent is unlikely to respond. For instance, because you have amazing margins with your best customers, and the incentive to serve a segment that doesn’t look very profitable to begin with, those incentives are just really muted.

Or you might have firm internal processes that make it really difficult to serve a new segment with much different demands in a way that seems both effective and eventually profitable. Even once you know about disruption, in part, it’s such a powerful idea because it speaks to the tendency not to respond. Even though from the outside it looks like you have all the resources, you have all the talent, you have everything that it would take to be responsive.

DEREK VAN BEVER: Felix, you’re reminding me, our colleague, Chet Huber, came into my office one day after I had been teaching in the course for a couple of years. He sat down in front of my desk and he said, “You do realize that this is a psychology course, right?” And boy, was that true.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Rita, Clay brought this idea to a much broader audience through HBR and through his book, The Innovator’s Dilemma. Tell us how that was received.

RITA MCGRATH: Well, I think before we get to Innovator’s Dilemma, let’s talk about “Disruptive Technologies: Catching the Wave,” because that was the HBR article that preceded it. Everybody’s forgotten this now, but he co-wrote that with Joe Bower, Harvard’s own Joe Bower, who had written a whole series of books and articles, and research drafts on how fundamental the resource allocation process is to corporate decision-making of all kinds.

The original idea was to build on what Derek was saying, companies allocate resources according to a logic, and that logic is sometimes not necessarily in their own best interest. When the book came out, The Innovator’s Dilemma, that was in 1997. This is another thing we’ve all forgotten, which is it did not become a runaway best-seller right away. It took a couple of years.

And if memory serves me, it was a picture of Clay with Andy Grove of Intel on the front cover of a business magazine. I think it was Forbes. The two of them are on the front cover, and Grove basically saying, “I am changing the entire direction of my company because of Christensen’s theory.” That’s when it hit the masses.

AMY BERNSTEIN: That’s exactly when I remember becoming familiar with it for the first time. I’d forgotten that. Thank you for that. Felix, why do you think the idea struck a chord? Why did the book finally take off, the idea finally take off? What was happening at that time?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: When we think about the late 1990s today, of course, what we think of most commonly is that the dot-com bust when the bubble burst. But of course, before the bubble burst, there was a dot-com boom. There was a deep sense that technology would change things in really radical fashion. It’s not a coincidence that Andy Grove and companies like Intel were under the impression that the future could look radically different from the way the past had looked. That past success didn’t really guarantee much when it came to predicting future success.

Part of that, I think, is interlinked with the way the new technologies created network effects. The idea, that as my technology scales, as I get lots of customers, as I get broad adoption, the value of technology increases correspondingly. The personal computer, the early beginnings of the internet, everything spoke to technology and network effects, in particular, would become dominant features of the business landscape. Now, one thing that is true, if you operate in environments with very strong network effects, on the one hand, they’re a real formidable barrier to entry.

But just like they fuel growth and they can make you very successful in a short period of time if successfully challenged, you can then also lose everything in a very short period of time. Andy Grove’s famous management mantra that instructed everyone to be really paranoid, had in part to do with how technology changed and how technology gave rise to business network effects that created stability and instability at one and the same time. That was obviously fertile ground for a thinker who came along and said, “Well, it looks like you’re doing really well today, but actually your success today may hide in some sense, the undoing of your business in the future.”

AMY BERNSTEIN: Derek, was that paranoia that Andy Grove was pushing? Is that what made the idea so relevant to businesspeople or what was it that made it resonate?

DEREK VAN BEVER: Well, first, unlike many academics, Clay was himself a businessperson earlier in his career. He instinctively understood the relevance of his work to business leaders. He understood the angle at which a businessperson would approach a question. In fact, he was answering the question he had had when he left business to come to academia. He was also careful never to pretend that he knew more than his audience about their business.

In that famous encounter he had with Andy Grove, in which Andy Grove kept asking him to say, “What does disruption mean for Intel?” Clay said, “I’ll explain the theory of disruption to you, but you know your business better than I do. You’re the one who’s got to figure out what the implication is for Intel.” He famously said, “I would’ve been killed if I had tried to out Andy Grove, Andy Grove on what the implication of disruption was for Intel’s strategy.”

AMY BERNSTEIN: Rita, who was the first to embrace it? We know about Andy Grove, of course, but what industries, where did the uptake happen?

RITA MCGRATH: I think the uptake happened in industries that were being challenged so automotive, for example. The advent of really inexpensive but super, high-quality, smaller cars in the ’70s and ’80s, had completely freaked that industry out. They glommed onto this theory as, “Oh, they were low-featured, they weren’t as good on the dimensions of merit that we’d previously competed on.” But the disruption theory gave the incumbent Big Three car makers an out.

I think those kinds of industries, steel, automotive, where they felt that there were these things happening at the low ends of the market. I think the other thing that made it popular at the time was, and we’ve forgotten this now, but there was a time in American business where entrepreneurship meant you couldn’t get a real job. It was not the glam, cool thing. The guy you wanted to be was the guy in the gray flannel suit.

I would say beginning in the Reagan Administration mid-‘80s, and then leading up to the dot-com boom, that was really when entrepreneurship, the whole idea of startups, started to be something people took seriously. Before that, if you weren’t Ford or 3M or something, people didn’t really think about you as a force for change in the economy. I think that moved towards entrepreneurship.

I would put it to the rise of companies like Microsoft, where briefly, Bill Gates was the most valuable man in the world. It legitimated that whole field. Then following closely on the heels of that was this idea of corporate entrepreneurship, which is we need to be able to create new businesses from within, and then we need to be doing this continuously. We can’t just have one great idea and live on it for decades, no more.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Did everyone embrace this theory when it finally took off? Or were there some who said, “No, that’s not making sense”? Were there critics?

RITA MCGRATH: Oh, there always are. Oh, there always are. There’s always people that say, “Are you kidding? I’m, insert name of company. Gillette in razor blades, or Pepsi or Coke or these big franchises.” There’s always people that say, “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no way some little fly-on-the-wall company is going to be able to attack us in any meaningful way.” There was a whole chunk of people who just didn’t buy it. What I would say, and I want to build on what Derek was saying, and to some extent Felix, it gave managers an explanation. It gave them an out.

It said, “You’re not a bad manager, because you’re attending to your best customers and you’re trying to go upmarket, and you’re trying to increase your margins. You’re trying to do all these things that all the business textbooks at the time said was the right thing to do.” It doesn’t mean you’re a bad manager, but you can still find yourself in trouble. I think it was that combination of providing an explanation for a phenomenon that had not gotten a lot of attention up to that point. But also giving people an out saying, “Oh, I was hit by the innovator’s dilemma. Nobody could have seen that coming.” Right?

DEREK VAN BEVER: Right.

AMY BERNSTEIN: But did it explain anything else, Felix? Were there any puzzling business behaviors or phenomena that this theory helped explain, other than the one that Rita just described?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: I think what Rita described is really the core of what was appealing, and it often came across as a puzzle ex post. Once you see that Netflix has successfully disrupted Blockbuster, then the big question, of course, is, “Oh my God, if Netflix saw this opportunity, why didn’t Blockbuster, in the beginning, have a DVD shipping service? Why didn’t they see the promise of the internet?” In some sense, the most popular version of the theory that often we couldn’t see it because no one knew that it would be so big.

There’s 15 ideas around the corner that go nowhere. How am I to pick the one that I should really pay attention to? That explanation is much more disquieting, I think, and hard to live with because it doesn’t really tell you what you can and what you cannot do. It replaced that with an explanation that said, “Yes. Of course, it’s bad luck someone else had a really promising idea, but your incentives were actually not to respond in the first place.” That’s exactly why disruption is something really powerful.

Because your systems are set up in a way, your incentives are set up in a way, that in the moment the company that seems to have all the resources, that seems to have all the capabilities to do something, that the disruptor often does—typically, not a great quality—why the incumbent wouldn’t really do that successfully.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Derek, let’s get into the criticism that the theory has drawn. There have been a few critics. Jill Lepore, the Harvard historian, most notably, who said that there really wasn’t enough evidence to justify the theory. Well, first of all, what’s your view of that? You worked very closely with Clay. How did he respond to that criticism?

DEREK VAN BEVER: Anyone who knew Clay, knows that he had a handmade sign in his office that said, “Anomalies Wanted.” And it’s true. One of the things that made him such a powerful thinker, was that he was so humble and so open to criticism. It wasn’t as if you spot something that the theory doesn’t cover and say the theory, therefore, is discredited. For Clay, that was for him a building block. Now, we get to dig in and make it better.

That disruption theory was still under construction, absolutely fit Clay’s worldview. It wasn’t so much that businesspeople criticized the theory. I think the academy had a really hard time with it, in part for the reason that Felix is mentioning. That people would say, “Sure, ex post, you can spot disruption, but can you spot it ex ante? Can you spot the areas where disruption prospectively is going to be operative?”

Work has been done on that, but that was very much out there. Then also, disruption is not built on a quantitative model, which is the coin of the realm today, of course, so it’s really hard to determine the boundary conditions. Anybody who’s done research on growth, you have to define what success and failure are, and there is no objective standard. You’ve got to figure out, “Okay, what’s the structure of the experiment?” And then run it.

I will always remember, I went to Clay once with what I thought was a really smart question. I said, “Clay, how can you tell when a disruptor becomes an incumbent?” He looked at me indulgently, and he said, “Derek, you do realize these are just constructs, right?” It was he had this revolutionary idea, but he also realized he’d given names to forces, and there was still so much to be discovered.

RITA MCGRATH: Yeah, and I’ll jump in on this. Very famously, he was wrong, by the way, about some of the top-of-the-line innovations. He very famously predicted that the iPhone would fail. One of the most profound critics of the theory of disruption is Safi Bahcall, who wrote a book called Loonshots. He’s biotech CEO, he’s a trained physicist, da, da, da, da, da. In his work, what he’s looking at are these unloved, crazy ideas that some passionate person is pushing.

So something like mRNA virus chains and discovery, all kinds of discoveries. He called them loonshots because it wasn’t obvious that they were economically viable. But his argument would be very often what turns into a disruptive technology, is actually a bunch of people pursuing what they think is a sustaining technology. It ends up through the twists and turns that discovery takes, it ends up actually being completely disruptive.

An example of that would be the invention of the microprocessor. The people that came up with that stuff, were actually looking for better vacuum tubes. They thought they were doing sustaining innovation, and it turned out to take them in a completely different direction. I think there is a nuance to this, which is separating out the intent of the people making these discoveries from the actual market consequences.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Felix, any thoughts?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: I always liked Clay’s distinction in the article that he wrote for Harvard Business Review in 2015, where he explains why Uber is not a disruptor in his view. First, the theory is not really built to explain which of the disruptors is going to be successful. Even if you expose, see the patterns, say, “Oh my God, that’s amazing what they did, because they went in at the low end and they had a really great idea. Ultimately, built an amazing business.”

There’s nothing in the theory that out of the hundreds of people that try to do this, who’s going to be successful and who’s not going to be successful. Then the second point that he makes in that article that I’ve always found very important, and often among the critics, I think poorly understood, is that there is a sense of when is it going to happen fast and when is it going to take a long time? But ultimately, there’s very little in the theory that would describe end states.

That is if you see a company, a big, large incumbent that gets disrupted, can you say anything about the eventual size of that organization? Can you say anything about the return on investor capital of that company? The answer is, by and large, no. It might be that the segment that they hold onto, perhaps it’s a sliver at the very high end of quality, where you have customers with very high willingness to pay.

You can maintain perhaps a smaller but a financially super, super successful business. The idea of being disrupted, is not so much the disruptor has to, I don’t know, go bankrupt. Or it’s like it’s only really disruption if it looks like Kodak.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Rita, what was it about the way that Clay communicated that helped spread his ideas?

RITA MCGRATH: That is such a good question because I have had so many conversations with my fellow innovation professors over the years, who would say things like, “I came up with the concept of, fill it in, ambidextrous innovation, the attacker’s advantage.” There’s a whole list of things, and they’re very miffed that, “Well, I came up with that and nobody paid any attention. Clay talks about it, and everybody thinks it’s the best thing since the miracle of bandwidth.” I think I’d point to three things, master storyteller, absolutely masterful storyteller.

When Clay illustrated a phenomenon, he used relatable examples. He used an interesting story, he used a twist, and people could see themselves in that story. Second thing he did, was he took ordinary things and made them really interesting. I’ll go back to one of his most famous parables ever, the parable of the milkshake. What’s the job a milkshake has to do for you? People would be listening to it going, “You know, you’re right. At lunchtime, I have a different job I need to be doing, than when I’m picking my kids up from school. Yes, I see that now.”

He had that way of making the ordinary seem really extraordinary. Then I think the third thing was he was genuinely interested in your response to what he had to say. Many professors, I won’t name names, but many professors are much more interested in you hearing what they have to say, than being interested in what you have to say. I think with Clay, it was always the other way around.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Coming up after the break, we’re going to explore how the common perception of disruption is drifted from its original meaning. What lessons are there for us today? Stay with us.

Welcome back to 4 Business Ideas That Changed the World: Disruptive Innovation . I’m Amy Bernstein. Felix, let’s pull the camera back a little bit. How has Clay Christensen’s theory of disruption changed the way we think about strategy and competition?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: Well, in a way, the idea is almost a victim of its own success, so disruption is anywhere. In fact, the way most people use the word disruption these days has very little to do with Clayton’s idea. We come up with a new flavor for yogurt and people say, “Oh my God, the market for yogurt has been disrupted.” Despite that, I think it has done two things. The first is what Rita mentioned earlier, it’s given entrepreneurship a prominence.

It’s gone to a point now, when I tell my MBA students that most of the time, most innovation comes from large, established organizations, they look at me in complete disbelief. They actually don’t really think that large, incumbent organizations do anything that is all that innovative. It’s almost like the flip of what Rita described earlier, where we thought that, “Oh, if you’re an entrepreneur, you must be a loser.”

Now we’re giving, I think generally speaking, not enough credit to large companies and all the pretty amazing things that they do. One of the consequences of using disruption completely indiscriminately is that it’s now become synonymous with success. We look at Uber and they seem successful. Then we say, “Oh, the market for taxi services has been disrupted.” Success described in these very, very general terms I think is actually not very useful for setting strategy.

AMY BERNSTEIN: That’s interesting. If we now equate disruption with success, what about the other side of that, Rita? Can the theory of disruption be blamed for business failure? Can we say it’s brought down some companies, some firms?

RITA MCGRATH: I don’t know that the theory’s done that. It is possible to have badly managed firms in just about any circumstance. I think this builds on what Felix was saying. When the stories get told after the fact, we miss so much of what actually happened. What actually happened at Blockbuster was not the common mythology. The common mythology is Netflix emerged out of scorched earth and took the world by storm with CDs that you could mail in a red envelope. That is not true. Netflix in desperation, went to Blockbuster to try to be acquired.

They wanted to be Blockbuster’s online arm, and Blockbuster laughed at them. Literally laughed at them and said, “Get out of my office. What are you people? You’re a four-person dingbat operation, and we’re supposed to take you seriously?” That’s one of those stories that gets misunderstood. Kodak’s another one. The guy that sank Kodak had been running the printing business at HP. Lost out on the CEO race to run things at HP. And steered that company right over the cliff that was printing at home just at the moment that screens became possible, to be good enough to show pictures.

A lot of this stuff doesn’t really get remembered when we recall the stories. I don’t think the theory brings companies down. What I think brings companies down is the following: A failure to adequately balance today’s investments versus tomorrow’s. An unwillingness to make the financial and personnel commitments to little, new things. I see this all the time. You got your core business and it’s trundling along like an eight-lane highway. You got something with four people and a passionate advocate in charge of it, and it looks completely insignificant in the early stages.

When you think about why established companies get undone, it’s not because they didn’t make big, courageous moves, it’s because they didn’t allow the flourishing of lots of small, low-cost moves.

DEREK VAN BEVER: I completely agree with Rita. You can’t blame a theory for being explanatory. In fact, there has been research to try to validate the proposition that what disruption actually does through targeting non-consumption is to expand markets.

It may be that the providers of products and services change, revolve over time, but consumers benefit because there are more and more people who are available to consume products that are less expensive, more convenient, et cetera.

AMY BERNSTEIN: How has the theory evolved since it debuted, Felix?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: One of the really big additions was to distinguish between different types of disruption. We just talked earlier about the low-end entry, the low-end foothold that I think was very much on Clay’s mind when he first wrote about disruption. Toyota’s entry into the car market being one of the prominent examples. There wasn’t all that much in his ideas regarding competing against non-consumption. The idea you want to be that lower quality, lower priced version of something that we’re familiar with, or are you really competing for a segment that is not in the market at all?

Those differences turn out to be super, super important. In that sense, the theory has become richer. I think there’s also a little more of a sense that it’s not really a recipe. It’s not as though, “Oh, I follow this particular recipe and then I know I’m going to be successful.” We just know that the chances of entrepreneurs being successful are pretty low to begin with. Just like the probability of being disrupted if you’re a large and successful business are probably not all that large.

DEREK VAN BEVER: Could I add one thing to that? I completely agree that with Felix, that if you go back to [The Innovator’s] Dilemma, Clay was really describing one flavor of disruption at that time. Not new market disruption. But also, I think over time, you could see a shift in his language from talking about a disruptive technology to a disruptive positioning.

That it was really the creation of a new business model in all of its attributes. What’s the value proposition? What’s the profit formula, the capabilities, and priorities in that model? In fact, a technology can be shaped to be sustaining or disruptive. What is the model that’s being brought to market to compete with incumbents?

AMY BERNSTEIN: For the businesses that are trying to avoid being disrupted, Rita, what’s the best advice out there for them?

RITA MCGRATH: Well, you lift the lid off of any corporate portfolio, and it’s horrifying. What you see in there is somebody’s pet bunny from three CEOs ago and nobody said, “Why are we still doing that?” Or you’ve got these mission-critical, absolutely important projects that like half an intern is working on so you have this real disconnect.

DEREK VAN BEVER: These are the scars of a veteran, for sure!

RITA MCGRATH: I have been around the block on this. Anyway, then the last thing is your reward system. What do people believe they’re going to get rewarded for around here? One of the things that companies needed to do, if they’re going to avoid getting disrupted, you have to be in the game and you have to be willing to support small initiatives. There’s got to be some slack resource, there’s got to be the willingness to fund it. The number of times I have seen companies say, “Oh, we don’t want, we’re not going to be disrupted. We have this thing going on over here.”

No assumptions tested, no low-cost commitment tests. Big project teams with all the money in the world, on the assumption that they know what they’re doing and they don’t. There’s a real need for organizations that want to behave this way, to be willing to put some money behind what I call options. The idea of making a small investment today that could, not that will, but that could give you the right to create future choices. Companies that are going to be successful are going to get a lot smarter about that.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Well, let’s look at it from the other side, Derek. What’s the best advice for entrepreneurs or upstarts, who want to take advantage of disruptive innovation?

DEREK VAN BEVER: Yeah, pretty simple advice. Keep your cost structure low so that you’re able to exploit opportunities that are uninteresting to incumbents, too small, too remote, and target non-consumption. Don’t go after customers that they value, but rather go after segments that they’ve dismissed. The brass ring is if you can go after a segment that they’ve dismissed and they look at you and they go, “They just don’t understand this business.”

They let you grow a little bit and you get some success, and they look back at you a little bit later. And they go, “Oh, those poor dears. They just are not going to learn, are they?” Then they completely ignore you. That gives you the opportunity then to build from the bottom unmolested.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Felix, where does applying this theory most often go off the rails? Where are the difficulties in applying it?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: One difficulty for entrepreneurs is that it’s pretty difficult to distinguish non-consumption that actually has the promise from situations where there’s just no interest. You’re probably familiar with SimpliSafe, the home security company, I think is a beautiful example. Eleanor Laurans, one of the co-founders, she sits in Clay’s class. She literally goes out and tries to apply the theory thinking, “Why is there no home security for renters?”

How is it that leading company back then, that now ADT is serving homeowners, but renters are afraid maybe, or have a willingness to invest in home security as well. They built the company, literally built on the principles that she learned in the classroom. That yes, it’s a little less convenient, you don’t have someone who comes by your house and installs the equipment. You have to do that yourself, and so on, and so on. Then it turns out renters were just not really all that interested.

The fact that SimpliSafe is a very successful company today is just because a large fraction of homeowners actually found the value proposition of the company quite attractive. Distinguishing instances when you look at non-customers and what I tend to call near-customers, customers whose willingness to pay is in a useful vicinity, that turns out to be really difficult. Then for incumbent firms, I think one of the main difficulties is even if you’re successful at recognizing potential for disruption. Even if, as Rita suggested, you follow Clay’s advice and you set up a small group.

Typically, you take it out of the regular bureaucratic procedures, and you set it up as a separate entity, and they don’t have to worry about funding for a little while. We have lots and lots of examples where companies have done this successfully, where they build a shadow operation. Think Walmart, its online operations that get established, a million miles away, at least mentally, from Bentonville, in Silicon Valley, of course. Then there’s just no real way to bring that small, agile organization back and attach it to the supertanker.

You build something sort of interesting, sort of successful, but given the scale of the incumbent, it’s pretty meaningless. I think incubating new ideas, that’s what many incumbents are quite good at. But marrying these ideas back to the supertanker that has been on a set course for a long period of time, I think that remains extraordinarily challenging, with not that many examples of companies that have done this successfully.

DEREK VAN BEVER: Felix, you’re reminding me, Clay, when he was in the classroom, he would take that big index finger of his and he would go, “Where do you stick it?”

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: Yeah.

DEREK VAN BEVER: His frustration was that companies would always try to stick it underneath the division that it is effectively disrupting. You know how that story ends, right?

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: Yes.

DEREK VAN BEVER: Where it’s, “Oh, we’ll take care of this. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure that this grows just as fast as it should.” That’s often the last that you hear from it.

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: Yeah. But then his view that simple organizational separation will lead to long-term success, that I think has not really been true for many companies either. I think that’s a really important question. Then the second, if you see disruption, if you think it’s going to happen, how good are you going to be? What are the chances that that’s a game that you can play successfully? Think of the large energy companies right now.

Most of them are making some investments in renewables, and we already see quite interesting dividing lines. Some of them being good at it, and some of them basically wasting money that doesn’t seem to have much of a payoff. Disruption itself implies that it’s almost costless to respond. But in the end, there’s capital, there’s talent, there’s attention that is required, if in fact, you want to be building something successful.

In an environment where entrepreneurship and the opportunity cost of trying new things are typically downplayed or are seen as very low, I tend to remind my students that the opportunity costs of trying to play yet another game, they can be quite sizable.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Let me throw out a question to the whole group here. Where do you all think our understanding of disruptive innovation is headed? What future are we looking at? I’ll go around the horn here. I’ll start with you, Rita.

RITA MCGRATH: Sure. What I’m encouraged by is when Clay and I were working together in the ’90s, we’d never actually wrote a paper together, we co-presented a lot of stuff, but not co-authored. But anyway, we were talking about this in the ’90s, and we would be like the only people in the room talking about these phenomena, and people would look at us as though we had two heads—or four heads I guess, between the two of us. Because I was talking about, “Well, you need to plan differently when you don’t have data.”

Clay was talking about, “Well, this little upstart could cause you problems, if the right circumstances prevailed.” I think what’s happened in the intervening decades, is people are now aware. People are now willing to say older models of strategy don’t apply, that newer models really make a difference. That is a far cry from being able to put that awareness into systemic action. I think what we’ve made a lot of progress on is the conversations are different.

There’s a lot more knowledge that there’s more to life than just sustaining innovations. That there are these phenomena we need to pay attention to. I think awareness is where we are. I think the next big chasm to be crossed is how do we now put that in practice in the management structures that we use to run large, complex corporations? There is so much knowledge about how you build innovation capability, how you build disruptive potential, how you actually make these things happen.

And yet, most managers aren’t taught it. If you think about the lifecycle of a competitive advantage, it has to come from somewhere. It has to come from an innovation or an invention, or an idea or something. Then you have to scale it, which is getting it into the business. Then you have this delightful period of exploitation, where you get to enjoy the fruits of your labor. That’s what we teach people. We don’t also teach them about what happens when the shoe has turned, the thing’s gone obsolete. Your 386 microprocessor is no longer the state-of-the-art. How do you now reconfigure your company to take advantage of the next new thing? Those are skills were not yet mainstream.

DEREK VAN BEVER: Yeah.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Derek?

DEREK VAN BEVER: Yeah. Going back to an aside I made a while ago, that when Chet said, “You know this is a psychology course, right?” It is interesting that 27 years after the publication of that book, we’re still bound to get caught up in this phenomenon. To pick up on what Rita said, I think we are going to understand more about how to respond to the phenomenon of disruption as incumbent companies. We’ll understand the different rate at which it works its way through industries.

Fifty years in steel, seemingly overnight in education, and we’ll understand more the importance of the performance metrics that we honor. What would’ve happened if US Steel had measured not gross margin, but net profit dollars per ton? Would they have abandoned such a huge swath of the steel market and imagined that they were doing the right thing? I think we’ll get better at continuing to tease out this puzzle of how do we confront our own cognitive weaknesses and blind spots and respond with more alacrity, more quickly and more effectively?

AMY BERNSTEIN: Last word to you, Felix.

FELIX OBERHOLZER-GEE: I think to me, one of the really big changes in technology in the economy today, is the ease with which companies can produce high-quality services and products at incredibly low cost. Remember, part of the dilemma for the incumbent, comes from the fact that you’re serving customers who have very high demands. And the implication was you, as a result, have very high cost. That makes it basically impossible for you to respond. Now today, we see so many companies that have amazing quality and a cost advantage at one and the same time.

This old notion in strategy of being stuck in the middle when you try to be both high quality and low cost, and then you end up being not really high quality because you’re thinking about cost. You end up not being really low-cost because you’re thinking about quality as well. This notion of “stuck in the middle,” to the extent that it doesn’t really apply, frees up incumbents to respond in a much more flexible manner to serious threats of disruptors.

Then it struck me as interesting, even in today’s conversation—I know I’m guilty of it myself—how many of our examples are product related? Well, what about services? In services, it’s almost true by definition that you get fabulous service from engaged employees. And the moment you have highly productive, highly engaged employees, you have this interesting combination of having a potential cost advantage that comes from high productivity. The very same ingredient that produces your cost advantage now produces your ability to satisfy even the most demanding customers.

That, to me, is a change that doesn’t say, “Oh, if I’m an entrepreneur, I shouldn’t use disruptive innovation as my guideposts, where to enter, how to develop my business.” But it says that the balance of who’s going to be successful and how easy it will be to disrupt large organizations, that balance is going to change over time in favor of large incumbents. The very formidable difficulties of disrupting their businesses.

HANNAH BATES: You just heard Derek van Bever, Rita McGrath, and Felix Oberholzer-Geein conversation with Harvard Business Review editor Amy Bernstein on HBR IdeaCast.

Derek van Bever is senior lecturer and director of the Forum for Growth and Innovation at Harvard Business School, Rita McGrath is a professor at Columbia Business School, and Felix Oberholzer-Gee is a professor at Harvard Business School.

We’ll be back next Wednesday with another hand-picked conversation about business strategy from Harvard Business Review. If you found this episode helpful, share it with your friends and colleagues, and follow our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, be sure to leave us a review.

And when you’re ready for more podcasts, articles, case studies, books, and videos with the world’s top business and management experts, find it all at HBR dot org.

This episode was produced by Curt Nickisch, Anne Saini, and me, Hannah Bates. Ian Fox is our editor. And special thanks to Maureen Hoch, Nicole Smith, Erica Truxler, Ramsey Khabbaz, Anne Bartholomew, and you – our listener.

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How Innovation and Technology Makes Life Easier Essay

Introduction, works cited.

For the people living in the age of highly developed technological progress, it is rather hard to imagine life without all of the existing innovations. Contemporary society can hardly function on the proper level without machines. It is difficult to overestimate the input of modern technologies in making the life of common people easier and happier.

Some people believe that modern inventions contribute to our laziness and inability to communicate. In my opinion, the negative effects of technology overuse really exist, but they are mostly caused by our lack of education and irresponsibility. They can be easily avoided if people behave properly. The machines were created for making our life easy, and it is not their fault if we use them unduly.

Without innovations, our world would look different. It goes without saying that the invention of such widely used devices as the washing machine or a vacuum cleaner gave more free time to common people. However, the influence of technologies is not limited to this side of everyday life. On the contrary, all of the essential parts of the life of our society are based on the use of technology.

The technologies made the studying process easy and accessible for people with any income and location. Owing to modern gadgets and Internet, contemporary students have the possibility to find any scholarly source needed at any time. Without innovations, the work of firefighters, police officers, and rescuers would be much less productive. Thanks to the machines, our healthcare system is constantly making progress in finding solutions for different health problems. Without technologies, the level of medical services would be much lower. Besides, the adoption of technologies maximizes the independence of older adults and makes their life easier and safer (Adams et al. 1718). The use of technologies results in millions of lives and loads of time saved.

The efficacious use of technologies in all spheres of life is directly associated with the level of development of a country. It is a well-known fact that a permanent introduction of innovative technologies into the functioning of different systems results in providing better services and increasing the perception of quality of life. It leads to a higher standard of life for citizens and the elaboration of the country’s reputation all over the world. Therefore, the implantation of innovations is one of the main characteristics of the developed countries, recognized as leaders in the world community.

The United Arab Emirates is a country that has gained the reputation of the leader in implementing up-to-date innovations into life. His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE, has announced 2015 to be the year of innovations in the country. Within the framework of the project, plans for a major museum of the future in Dubai have been launched. The museum “will produce futuristic inventions” and support the UAE in reaching the object of being the most path-breaking country in the world (Sophia par. 2). Different sections will present the newest inventions and demonstrate simulations, enabling the visitors to see the future with the use of 3D printing techniques (Sophia par. 4). Besides, the museum will unite the most prominent specialists under one roof. It will create an opportunity for realizing the whole potential of the best inventors in constructing futuristic prototypes. It seems that this incredible institution will attract much attention from researchers and common people from the whole world.

Technologies and innovations are the main engines driving our society towards a happier future. The most developed countries support inventions and embody them into life. The UAE remains the leader in implementing innovations and strikes the world with its new projects.

Adams, Anne, Julie Boron, Neil Charness, Sara Czaja, Katinka Dijkstra, Cara Bailey Fausset, Arthur Fisk, Tracy Mitzner, Wendy Rogers, and Joseph Sharit. “Older Adults Talk Technology: Technology Usage and Attitudes.” Computers in Human Behavior 26.6 (2010): 1710-1721. Print.

Sophia, Mary. Sheikh Mohammed Launches Museum of the Future in Dubai . 2015. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2023, October 31). How Innovation and Technology Makes Life Easier. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-innovation-and-technology-makes-life-easier/

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IvyPanda . (2023) 'How Innovation and Technology Makes Life Easier'. 31 October.

IvyPanda . 2023. "How Innovation and Technology Makes Life Easier." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-innovation-and-technology-makes-life-easier/.

1. IvyPanda . "How Innovation and Technology Makes Life Easier." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-innovation-and-technology-makes-life-easier/.

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IvyPanda . "How Innovation and Technology Makes Life Easier." October 31, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/how-innovation-and-technology-makes-life-easier/.

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Technology and the Innovation Economy

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Darrell m. west darrell m. west senior fellow - center for technology innovation , douglas dillon chair in governmental studies.

October 19, 2011

• 19 min read

Executive Summary

Innovation and entrepreneurship are crucial for long-term economic development. Over the years, America’s well-being has been furthered by science and technology. Fears set off by the Soviet Union’s 1957 launch of its Sputnik satellite initiated a wave of U.S. investment in science, engineering, aerospace, and technology. Both public and private sector investment created jobs, built industries, fueled innovation, and propelled the U.S. to leadership in a number of different fields.

In this paper, I focus on ways technology enables innovation and creates economic prosperity. I review the range of new advances in education, health care, and communications, and make policy recommendations designed to encourage an innovation economy. By adopting policies such as a permanent research and development tax credit, more effective university knowledge commercialization, improving STEM worker training, reasonable immigration reform, and regional economic clusters, we can build an innovation economy and sustain our long-term prosperity.

The Link to Economic Prosperity

Researchers have found a link between technology innovation and national economic prosperity. For example, a study of 120 nations between 1980 and 2006 undertaken by Christine Qiang estimated that each 10 percentage point increase in broadband penetration adds 1.3 percent to a high income country’s gross domestic product and 1.21 percent for low to middle-income nations. [i]

In addition, Taylor Reynolds has analyzed the role of communication infrastructure investment in economic recoveries among OECD countries and found that nearly all view technology development as crucial to their economic stimulus packages. [ii] He demonstrates that there is a strong connection between telecommunication investment and economic growth, especially following recessions. These kinds of investments help countries create jobs and lay the groundwork for long-term economic development.

As a result, many nations around the world are investing in digital infrastructure as a way to jump-start economies weakened by the recent financial collapse. The decline in stock market valuations, rise in unemployment, and reduction in overall economic growth has highlighted the need to target financial resources and develop national priorities. In conditions of economic scarcity, countries no longer have the luxury of being passive and reactive. Instead, they must be proactive and forward-looking, and think clearly about how to create the basis for sustainable economic recoveries.

Not surprisingly, given its long-term potential, a number of countries have identified information technology as a crucial infrastructure need for national development. Broadband is viewed in many places as a way to stimulate economic development, social connections, and civic engagement. National leaders understand that cross-cutting technology speeds innovation in areas such as health care, education, communications, and social networking. When combined with organizational changes, digital technology can generate powerful new efficiencies and economies of scale. [iii]

People Understand Importance of Innovation, But Doubt U.S. Future

Despite the importance of the connection between technology innovation and economic prosperity, public opinion surveys reveal interesting results in people’s views about innovation. A 2009 Newsweek -Intel Global Innovation Survey interviewed 4,800 adults in the United States, China, United Kingdom, and Germany.  Researchers found that “two-thirds of respondents believe innovation will be more important than ever to the U.S. economy over the next 30 years.” [iv]   People understand the basic point that innovation has been key to past prosperity and is vital moving forward.

The survey also found interesting differences between Americans and the Chinese in what they think is important to future advances. According to the survey, “Americans are focused on improving math and science education, while Chinese are more concerned about developing creative problem-solving and business skills.” [v] Apparently, people from the respective nations have different fears about their current innovation training and what is necessary for future innovation.

However, there is a remarkable divergence between Americans and Chinese in assessments of the contemporary situation. Americans are remarkably pessimistic about their own future.  When asked how the U.S. was doing in 2009, only 41 percent of Americans thought our country was ahead of China on innovation compared to 81 percent of Chinese who felt the U.S. was ahead. [vi] Americans worried that their country was falling behind on innovation while other countries were moving forward.

There are objective reasons behind this American pessimism. There are too few Americans studying the traditional STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. Due to our immigration policy, it is difficult for foreign students who are educated in the United States to stay here, get jobs, and contribute to American innovation the way many immigrants have done in the U.S. previously. [vii]   With our current debt and budget deficit levels, Americans worry about our long-term ability to invest in education and research in the way we did in the past and produce positive results.

An analysis of patents granted shows that our country’s long-term dominance has come to an end.  In 1999, American scientists were granted 90,000 patents, compared to 70,000 for those from all other countries. [viii]   By 2009, though, non-U.S. innovators earned more patents (around 96,000) compared to Americans (93,000). This represented the first time in recent years where non-Americans had garnered more patents. [ix]

The United States spends only 2.8 percent of its federal budget on national research and development as a percentage of GDP. This is less than the 4.3 percent spent by the government in Sweden, 3.1 percent by Japan, and 3.0 percent by South Korea, but higher than that of Germany (2.5 percent), France (2.2 percent), Canada (1.9 percent), or England (1.9 percent). Europe as a whole devotes 1.9 percent to research and development, while industrialized nations spend around 2.3 percent. [x]

If one adds together all the science and technology workers in the United States as a percentage of the workplace, 33 percent of American employees have science or technology positions. This is slightly less than the 34 percent figure for the Netherlands and Germany, but higher than the 28 percent in France and Canada,. [xi]

The productivity in this area has fueled considerable demand for those with science and engineering expertise, and it has been difficult for the United States to produce sufficient knowledge workers. [xii]   Thirty-eight percent of Korean students now earn degrees in science and engineering, compared to 33 percent for Germany, 28 percent for France, 27 percent for England, and 26 percent for Japan. The United States has fallen behind in this area.  Despite great demand for this kind of training, only 16 percent of American graduates have backgrounds in science and engineering. [xiii]

In America, the private sector surpassed the federal government in 1980 in terms of the amount of money spent on research and development. By 2003, commercial companies provided 68 percent of the $283 billion spent on research and development, compared to 27 percent from the federal government. Of this total, $113 billion came from the federal government, while $170 came from the private sector. According to information from the National Science Board, the percentage of research and development spending coming from the federal government has dropped from around 63 percent in the early 1960s to 27 percent today, while that of the private sector increased from 30 to 68 percent. [xiv]

The Need for a Clear Focus on Innovation

In moving forward, it is clear that information technology enables innovation in a variety of policy areas.  According to Philip Bond, the president of TechAmerica, “each tech job supports three jobs in other sectors of the economy.” And in information technology, he says, there are five jobs for each IT position. [xv]

Faster broadband and wireless speeds also enable people to take advantage of new digital tools such as GIS mapping, telemedicine, virtual reality, online games, supercomputing, video on demand, and video conferencing.  New developments in health information technology and mobile health, such as emailing X-rays and other medical tests, require high-speed broadband. And distance learning, civic engagement, and smart energy grids require sufficient bandwidth. [xvi]

High-speed broadband allows physicians to share digital images with colleagues in other geographic areas.  Schools are able to extend distance learning to under-served populations. Smart electric grids produce greater efficiency in monitoring energy consumption and contribute to more environment-friendly policies.  Video conferencing facilities save government and businesses large amounts of money on their travel budgets. New digital platforms across a variety of policy domains spur utilization and innovation, and bring additional people, businesses, and services into the digital revolution.

In the education area, better technology infrastructure enables personalized learning and real-time assessment. Imagine schools where students master vital skills and critical thinking in a personalized and collaborative manner, teachers assess pupils in real-time, and social media and digital libraries connect learners to a wide range of informational resources. Teachers take on the role of coaches, students learn at their own pace, technology tracks student progress, and schools are judged based on the outcomes they produce. Rather than be limited to six hours a day for half the year, this kind of education moves toward 24/7 engagement and learning fulltime. [xvii]  

These represent just a few of the examples where innovation is taking place. Technology fosters innovation, creates jobs, and boost long-term economic prosperity. By improving communication and creating opportunities for data-sharing and collaboration, information technology represents an infrastructure issue as important as bridges, highways, dams, and buildings.

Getting Serious about Innovation Policy

To stimulate innovation, we need a number of policy actions. Right now, the United States does not have a coherent or comprehensive innovation strategy. Unlike other nations, who think systematically about these matters, we make policy in a piecemeal fashion and focus on short versus long-term objectives. This limits the efficiency and effectiveness of our national efforts. There are a number of areas that we need to address.

Research and Development Tax Credits : An example of our national short-sightedness is the research and development tax credit.  Members of Congress have extended this many times in recent years, but they generally do this on an annual basis.  Rather than extend this credit over a long period of time, they renew it episodically and never on a predictable schedule.

This makes it difficult for companies to plan investments and pursue consistent strategies over time. Due to political uncertainties and institutional politics, we end up creating inefficiencies linked to the vagaries of federal policymaking. [xviii] While companies in other countries invest and deduct on a more predictable schedule, we shoot ourselves in the foot through a short-sighted perspective.  Bond notes that “23 countries now offer a more generous and stable credit” than the United States. [xix]

Commercializing University Knowledge : Universities represent a crucial linchpin in efforts to build an innovation economy.  They are extraordinary knowledge generators, but must do a better job of transferring technology and commercializing knowledge. University licensing offices must speed up their review process in order to encourage the formation of businesses. Universities should think more seriously about innovation metrics so they allocate resources efficiently and create the proper incentives.

Right now, many places count the number of patents and licensing agreements without much attention to the businesses created, products that are marketed, or revenue that is generated. They should make sure their resources and incentives are aligned with metrics that encourage technology transfer and commercialization. [xx]

STEM Workforce Training and Development : The United States is facing a crisis in STEM training and workforce development. There are many dimensions of this challenge, but one of the most important concerns is the low number of college students graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math. Few American students are developing proficiency in these subjects, which is hindering the country’s economic future. Past American prosperity has been propelled by advances in the STEM fields.   Skills in these areas helped the country win the space race and the Cold War and we need them now as we transition to a technology driven economy.

To deal with this problem, President Barack Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has produced an official report that calls for the creation of a Master Teachers Corps. Among other recommendations, the report emphasizes two actions: 1) hiring 100,000 new STEM teachers and 2) paying higher salaries to the top 5 percent of STEM teachers. [xxi]   However, in an era of budget cutbacks and attacks on teacher unions, it has been difficult to build support for raising teacher salaries in general and adopting differential pay in particular.

In his 2011 State of the Union, the President restated his commitment to putting education at the forefront of the national agenda, emphasizing the need for quality teachers, investment in STEM education programs, and a “bold restructuring” of federal education funding. He called for identifying effective teachers and creating reward systems to retain top-performing individuals.

It is vital to address these issues because basic facts about STEM teaching and competency are not well known.  Failing schools not only harm students, they weaken the overall economy. With the U.S. facing a crisis of massive proportions in terms of its ability to innovate and create jobs, it is imperative that we transform STEM teaching to prepare students for the future economy. Real emphasis should be placed on teacher investment because research has shown that teachers are the primary factor in ensuring student growth and achievement.

An Einstein Strategy for Immigration Reform : We need reasonable immigration reform. One of our most important challenges is a new narrative defining immigration as a brain gain that improves economic competitiveness and national innovation. A focus on brains and competitiveness would help America overcome past deficiencies in immigration policy and enable our country to move forward into the 21 st century. It is a way to become more strategic about promoting our long-term economy and achieving important national objectives. [xxii]

We need to think about immigration policy along the lines of an “Einstein Principle.” In this perspective, national leaders would elevate brains, talent, and special skills to a higher plane in order to attract more individuals with the potential to enhance American innovation and competitiveness. The goal is to boost the national economy, and bring individuals to America with the potential to make significant contributions.  This would increase the odds for prosperity down the road. It has been estimated that “over 50,000 workers with advanced degrees leave the country for better opportunities elsewhere.” [xxiii]

O-1 Genius Visas : In order to boost American innovation, current policy contains a provision for a visa “brains” program. The so-called “genius” visa known as O-1 allows the government to authorize visas for those having “extraordinary abilities in the arts, science, education, business, and sports.” In 2008, around 9,000 genius visas were granted, up from 6,500 in 2004.  The idea behind this program is to focus on talented people and encourage them to come to the United States. It is consistent with what national leaders have done in past eras, where we encouraged those with special talents to migrate to our nation.

However, this program has been small and entry passes have gone to individuals such as professional basketball player Dirk Nowitzki of Germany and various members of the Merce Cunningham and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane dance companies. [xxiv] While these people clearly have special talents, it is important to extend this program in new ways and target people who create jobs and further American innovation.  This would help the United States compete more effectively.

EB-5 Job Creation Visas : There is a little-known EB-5 visa program that offers temporary visas to foreigners who invest at least half a million dollars in American locales officially designated as “distressed areas.” If their financial investment leads to the creation of 10 or more jobs, the temporary visa automatically becomes a permanent green card.  Without much media attention, there were 945 immigrants in 2008 who provided over $400 million through this program. [xxv] On a per capita basis, these benefits make the program one of the most successful economic development initiatives in the federal government.

This is a great way to tie U.S. immigration policy to job creation. If a goal of national policy is to encourage investment and job creation, targeted visas of this sort are very effective.  Such programs explicitly link new immigration with concrete economic investment. They also generate needed foreign capital ($500,000) for poor geographic areas. There is public accountability for this policy program because entry visas are granted on a temporary basis and become permanent only AFTER at least 10 jobs have been created.  This kind of visa program is the ultimate in targeting and quality control. Unless the money is invested and leads to new jobs, the newcomer is not allowed to stay in the United States.

H-1B Worker Visas : Right now, only 15 percent of annual visas are set aside for employment purposes.  Of these, some go to seasonal agricultural workers, while a small number of H-1B visas (65,000) are reserved for “specialty occupations” such as scientists, engineers, and technological experts. Individuals who are admitted with this work permit can stay for up to six years, and are able to apply for a green card if their employer is willing to sponsor their application.

The number reserved for scientists and engineers is drastically below the figure allowed between 1999 and 2004. In that interval, the federal government set aside up to 195,000 visas each year for H-1B entry.  The idea was that scientific innovators were so important for long-term economic development that we needed to boost the number set aside for those specialty professions.

Today, most of the current allocation of 65,000 visas run out within a few months of the start of the government’s fiscal year in October.  Even in the recession-plagued period of 2009, visa applications exceeded the supply within the first three months of the fiscal year. American companies were responsible for 49 percent of the H-1B visa requests in 2009, up from 43 percent in 2008. The companies which were awarded the largest number of these visas included firms such as Wipro (1,964), Microsoft (1,318), Intel (723), IBM India (695), Patri Americas (609), Larsen & Toubro Infotech (602), Ernst & Young (481), Infosys technologies (440), UST Global (344), and Deloitte Consulting (328). [xxvi]

High-skill visas need to be expanded back to 195,000 because at its current level, that program represents only six and a half percent of the million work permits granted each year by the United States. That percentage is woefully inadequate in terms of the supply needed. Entry programs such as the H-1B, O-1, and L-1 visa programs grant temporary visas for a period of a few years to workers with special talents needed by American employers. They enable U.S. companies to attract top people to domestic industries, and represent a great way to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Regional Economic Clusters : We need regional economic clusters that take advantage of innovation-rich geographic niches. There are several examples of successful and geographically-based clusters such as Silicon Valley, Boston’s Route 128, and the Research Triangle in North Carolina. In each of these areas, there is a combination of creative talent associated with terrific universities, access to venture capital, and state laws that promote innovation through tax policy and/or infrastructure development.

Research has demonstrated that these innovation clusters generate positive economic results. According to a Brookings report by Mark Muro and Bruce Katz, “it is now broadly affirmed that strong clusters foster innovation through dense knowledge flows and spillovers; strengthen entrepreneurship by boosting new enterprise formation and start-up survival, enhance productivity, income-levels, and employment growth in industries, and positively influence regional economic performance.” [xxvii]

The question is how to promote such clusters in other geographic areas. There clearly are other places with the underlying conditions that foster technology innovation. But Muro and Katz caution that political leaders can’t force clusters that don’t already exist and that they should let the private sector lead in encouraging cluster formation. It is important to leverage existing resources and take advantage of workforce development programs, banking rules, educational institutions, and tax policies. [xxviii]

[i] Christine Zhen-Wei Qiang, “Telecommunications and Economic Growth,” Washington, D.C.:  World Bank, unpublished paper.

[ii] Taylor Reynolds, “The Role of Communication Infrastructure Investment in Economic Recovery,” Working Party on Communication Infrastructures and Services Policy, OECD, March, 2009.

[iii] Erik Brynjolfsson and Adam Saunders, Wired for Innovation, Cambridge, Massachusetts:  MIT Press, 2009.

[iv] Daniel McGinn, “The Decline of Western Innovation:  Why America is Falling Behind and How to Fix It,” The Daily Beast, November 15, 2009.

[v] Daniel McGinn, “The Decline of Western Innovation:  Why America is Falling Behind and How to Fix It,” The Daily Beast, November 15, 2009.

[vi] Daniel McGinn, “The Decline of Western Innovation:  Why America is Falling Behind and How to Fix It,” The Daily Beast, November 15, 2009.

[vii] Darrell West, Brain Gain:  Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy, Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution Press, 2010.

[viii] Darrell M. West, Biotechnology Policy Across National Boundaries, New York:  Palgrave/Macmillan, 2007.

[ix] Michael Arndt, “Ben Franklin, Where Are You?” Business Week, January 4, 2010, p. 29.

[x] Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Science and Technology Statistical Compendium, 2004.

[xi] Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Science and Technology Statistical Compendium, 2004.

[xii] Darrell West, Brain Gain:  Rethinking U.S. Immigration Policy, Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution Press, 2010.

[xiii] Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, Science and Technology Statistical Compendium, 2004.

[xiv] National Science Board, “Science and Engineering Indictors 2004,” Washington, D.C.:  National Science Foundation, 2004, p. 0-4.

[xv] Philip Bond, “Tech Provides Map for Nation’s Future,” Politico, September 18, 2011.

[xvi] Darrell West, “An International Look at High-Speed Broadband,” Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution, February, 2010.

[xvii] Darrell West, “Using Technology to Personalize Learning and Assess Students in Real-Time,” Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution, October 6, 2011.

[xviii] Martin Baily, Bruce Katz, and Darrell West, “Building a Long-Term Strategy for Growth through Innovation,” Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution, May, 2011.

[xix] Philip Bond, “Tech Provides Map for Nation’s Future,” Politico, September 18, 2011.

[xx] Martin Baily, Bruce Katz, and Darrell West, “Building a Long-Term Strategy for Growth through Innovation,” Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution, May, 2011.

[xxi] President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, “Prepare and Inspire:  K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math for America’s Future,” September, 2010.

[xxii] Richard Herman and Robert Smith, Immigrant, Inc.:  Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Driving the New Economy and How They Will Save the American Worker, Hoboken, New Jersey:  John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

[xxiii] Center for Public Policy Innovation, “Restoring U.S. Competitiveness:  Navigating a Path Forward Through Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” Washington, D.C., September 7, 2011.

[xxiv] Moira Herbst, “Geniuses at the Gate,” Business Week, June 8, 2009, p. 14.

[xxv] Lisa Lerer, “Invest $500,000, Score a U.S. Visa,” CNNMoney.com.

[xxvi] Moira Herbst, “Still Wanted:  Foreign Talent—And Visas,” Business Week, December 21, 2009, p. 76.

[xxvii] Mark Muro and Bruce Katz, “The New ‘Cluster Moment’:  How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy,” Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution, September 21, 2010.

[xxviii] Mark Muro and Bruce Katz, “The New ‘Cluster Moment’:  How Regional Innovation Clusters Can Foster the Next Economy,” Washington, D.C.:  Brookings Institution, September 21, 2010.

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17 ways technology could change the world by 2027

Each year, the Forum recognizes a new cohort of Technology Pioneers and incorporates them into its initiatives, activities, and events. Image:  Pexels/Pixabay

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• Innovation is critical to the future well-being of society and to driving economic growth.
• The World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer community is composed of early to growth-stage companies from around the world involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations.
• Each year, the Forum recognizes a new cohort of Technology Pioneers and incorporates them into its initiatives, activities, and events.

Innovation is critical to the future well-being of society and to driving economic growth, both of which are key priority areas for the World Economic Forum. To support these two pillars, the Forum launched its Technology Pioneer community in the year 2000.

The community is composed of early- to growth-stage companies from around the world that are involved in the design, development and deployment of new technologies and innovations, and poised to have a significant impact on business and society.

The programme aims to give next-generation innovators a voice in solving global issues and the opportunity to contribute to the exploration of future trends. Each year, the Forum recognizes a new cohort of Technology Pioneers and incorporates them into its initiatives, activities, and events.

We asked our 2022 cohort for their views on how technology will change the world in the next five years. From maturing of advanced technologies such as Web3 and quantum, to managing flexible grids and on-demand manufacturing, here are their predictions for our near-term future.

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How technology pioneers are shaping the future of production, 8 technology trends for innovative leaders in a post-pandemic world, meet the world economic forum's technology pioneers of 2022, ‘credit will become accessible to those ignored by traditional financial institutions’.

Madhav Krishna, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vahan

With an explosion in internet penetration across the world accompanied by the proliferation of digital labour marketplaces or platforms, 'gig-work' is going to become the predominant mode of work. This shift has larger ramifications for low-skilled/blue-collar workers who usually comprise more than 80% of the workforce in developing countries. Internet platforms in e-commerce, food delivery, ride-sharing, logistics and so on have low barriers to entry and are creating a wealth of earning opportunities in countries where there aren't enough jobs for low-skilled populations. Workers can engage with many platforms in parallel and maximize their earnings. Soon, digital labour marketplaces will embed financial services into their products which will make credit accessible for many people who are ignored by traditional financial institutions. Over time, technology will enable financial stability and discipline without the need for people to gain relevant knowledge. AI and machine learning advisors will become ubiquitous, constantly recommending the next gig, next investment or next online class to us, truly democratizing growth and financial wellbeing.

‘Web3 technologies will revolutionize the world of commerce’

Justin Banon, Co-Founder, Boson Protocol

By 2025, Web3 technologies will have revolutionized the world of commerce, in much the same way that Web2 transformed access to information. Physical and digital (phygital?) ‘things’ will be listed and traded on an open, liquid, digital market. In the early days of the internet, information was mostly siloed within proprietary online networks. However, the zero marginal cost of distribution, combined with consumer demand, led to the single, searchable, open internet of information we enjoy today. Understandably, commerce has taken longer to make the leap. With the exchange of physical assets, the need to manage counterparties’ risk, mediate disputes and ensure settlement, requires trust. This trust is vested in either trusted intermediaries or trusted sellers. Consequently, e-commerce transactions are mostly siloed within one of many, closed, proprietary systems. The advent of Web3 technology enables the automation of settlement by smart contracts and the tokenisation of physical asset commerce transactions into a universal standard such as NFTs. Just as decentralized finance’s ‘money lego’ applications have begun to unbundle traditional finance, an ecosystem of decentralized ‘commerce lego’ protocols and applications will evolve to create an open marketplace for things, where everyone can share in the value they create.

‘The data industry will become more inclusive and affordable’

Christine Qi, Chief Executive Officer, Databento

The amount of information - or data - about our universe and about ourselves, has grown exponentially over the past decade. But with enormous growth comes an array of issues: data privacy, management, access, and affordability are some of the biggest areas of debate amongst citizens and leaders alike. Who owns my data? Is my phone spying on me? How much money are companies making from it? These questions are becoming increasingly pertinent as companies continue to collect our data, whether we pay them or not, and with or without our permission. Issues also persist in industries like finance. Why am I paying a fortune for market data? In the next few years, so long as governments allow it, we'll see technology in the data industry become more inclusive and affordable as startups enter the space.

‘In the future, our focus will be on the human experience’

Isaac Castro, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Emerge

By 2027, we'll look back at our current digital interactions the same way we see our carbon emissions today. Social media has exposed the perils of technology designed without humans at the centre, and its harmful effects on our mental health and emotional wellness. We're missing what we removed from our interactions a decade ago: humanity, intimacy, depth, and empathy. Real conversations instead of mass influence. Interactions that make us feel closer to each other. In the future, our focus will be on the human experience . The transition to the metaverse will be not a technological but a sociological paradigm shift. The metaverse will be shaped by the communication of our emotions, enabled by technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, and brain-computer interfaces. New hardware, platforms, disciplines, and senses will come into play. We'll redefine social contracts in the virtual world, where emotion, trust, and safety become our most important currencies. We'll decentralize the platform experience in favour of the human being. We'll give our daughter a soothing caress from across the ocean. We'll hold the hand of our grandmother who has passed away. We'll treasure those meaningful moments. Our interactions with others will be centred on our human experience.

' Battery powered construction will underpin sustainability efforts ’

Brandon Ng, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ampd Energy

The construction industry accounts for almost 40% of global CO2 emissions and much of this is driven by the urbanisation of humanity. Fossil fuels continue to power construction projects, resulting in around half a billion tonnes of CO2 emitted each year. Noise and exhaust fumes from fossil fuel use also negatively affect worker health and local air quality. This is rapidly changing. The industry is adopting battery energy storage systems (ESSs) tailored for construction sites that reduce carbon emissions by 80%–the remaining 20% is the carbon of electricity used to recharge the ESSs. The electrification of mobile construction machinery is also making giant strides towards commercialisation. All of this is driven by advances in lithium-ion battery technology. Looking into the future, long-duration ESSs–which only need recharging weekly, monthly or longer–make off-site recharging from solar or wind farms a real possibility. The world is still figuring out the right technology base for long-duration ESSs, but there are multiple options: flow batteries, non-lithium-ion non-flow batteries, gravity-based ESSs, heat-based ESSs and hydrogen–and a winner, or winners are sure to emerge. In short, the future for how we build cities is charged with potential.

‘Building will dynamically respond and adjust to support human wellness and comfort’

Francois Amman, Co-President and Co-Founder, Akila

90% of life is spent indoors and 50% of carbon emissions are created by buildings. Their impact is simply massive; so is the volume of building data that could be harnessed for better outcomes on people and planet. Today, we see buildings becoming smart and automated through increasingly cost-effective sensors and control points. Properly connected smart buildings can react to dynamics like equipment status, space occupancy, weather and more, using AI to optimize for best impact. Most building systems are still manually controlled, but in coming years, we'll see this status quo totally upended. Building will dynamically respond and adjust to support human wellness and comfort; minimize carbon emissions; and include building-to-building interoperability enabling true metaverse applications for the built environment. Driving this change will be a fundamental transformation in the construction industry; the emergence of digital twin and 5G/6G technology as key tools enabling new ways of assessing and optimizing value over the building lifecycle from design to construction into operations; and growing understanding of energy as a not just a direct cost to portfolio holders, but also a liability for those who cannot keep up with new regulatory and ESG frameworks.

‘Grid flexibility will phase out fossil fuels and jumpstart the clean energy transition’

Thomas Folker, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Leap

One pressing challenge that lies on the road to a clean-energy future is grid flexibility, and the need for more dynamic interaction between energy supply and demand. As we incorporate more intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar into the power mix, flexible load will be crucial to ensure that the grid can always meet demand. Unlocking a significantly more digitized, decarbonized and resource efficient future by 2025 will be made possible by market-driven software solutions that allow smart energy technologies, such as EV chargers and heat pumps, to respond to real-time grid requirements in targeted areas, optimizing the asset owner's earnings as well as supporting the electric grid when it needs it most. When aggregated together, these distributed energy resources can collectively offer the flexibility needed to phase out polluting fossil fuel-powered peaker plants and jumpstart the transition to the clean energy future.

‘People will eat more nourishing food’

Edwin O. Rogers, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Bonumose

Though nourishing, tasty food should be available to wealthy and poor alike, too often there is a great gulf between the “is” and the “should.” But there is nothing inherent in capitalism or the profit motive that demands the divergence. Good news is in the wind: thanks in part to new processing methods for healthy sugar or salt alternatives, good food will become an accessible, ubiquitous option for all consumers. People will eat more nourishing food even if in some cases they do not realize it – because cost and taste will be at par with less healthy, legacy foods. In the best of cases, production assets for questionable food ingredients (e.g., high-fructose corn syrup) will be redeployed for healthy counterparts. Finally, in a virtuous circle, global reductions in diet-related healthcare costs will have a deflationary effect on food prices, and global alleviation of health-related suffering will free individuals for inspired innovations that benefit humankind and the earth.

‘Central bank digital currency will revolutionize the financial system’

Inga Mullins, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Fluency

A new digital form of a country’s fiat currency issued directly by a nation’s monetary authority or central bank is predicted to have one of the biggest disruptive impacts over the next 3-5 years. This form is referred to as a central bank digital currency (CBDC). When underpinned with blockchain technology, a CBDC has the potential to revolutionize the financial system and pave the way to increasing financial inclusion and improving the lives of billions of people globally by providing access to cheap and affordable financial services. Due primarily to its architecture, a well-constructed CBDC can support offline payments, shielded transfers, automation throughout the programmability layer, and possess cash-like properties. All these features when taken together will foster financial inclusion of the user by providing them with a digital alternative to physical cash, enhancing access to their money even in remote areas, and providing options for those that are currently unbanked. Innovative payment platforms will provide an on-ramp for building CBDC and bridging them together to existing payment networks, including both traditional banking and alternative finance. For banks and issuers, they’ll be able to integrate their existing infrastructure and be able to provide a broad spectrum of CBDC-linked payment-related services and exercise cross-chain interoperability protocols for universal payment access to digital national currencies, stablecoins, NFTs, the Metaverse and much more.

‘Supply chain intelligence will solve the food crisis’

Julie Gerdeman, Chief Executive Officer, Everstream

Several decades of accelerating climate change, a global pandemic, conflict, and fragmented supply chains impacted food production and distribution, driving the global food crisis to catastrophic levels. By 2027, major food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods manufacturers will use AI-driven supply chain technology to see future disruption and act before weather, labour issues, and other incidents can harm the global food supply. Contingency plans will be needed far less often because companies will have advanced insights exposing how future weather events will impact their suppliers, giving them ample time to find alternatives. They will predict spikes in commodity availability, change their purchasing habits and reformulate their products so shelves remain stocked. Food spoilage and waste during transit will no longer be a problem because manufacturers and shippers can spot unusual weather, labour issues, and other stoppages well in advance. Food distribution to remote locations that need it the most will no longer be delayed due to port and road closures. Predictive supply chain technology will enable companies to shift from reactive response to proactive action, keeping store shelves stocked and food flowing worldwide.

‘AI will reinvent how we think about education’

Asude Altintas, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Twin Science

The traditional education system was invented nearly 200 years ago to meet the needs of the industrial revolution – it is not functional today. Today, the needs of our world have been gathered under the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. On the other hand, 21st-century skills that will serve these needs are listed by the World Economic Forum. The younger generation already has the desire to co-create solutions to the world's biggest problems and create a more compassionate world. Technological progress is a great chance to help every child develop skills and competencies to solve these problems and build a better future. AI will be used to understand children’s own interests to suggest the next step in their learning journey. AI will also generate insights for their parents and teachers and will turn them into mentors. The internet is already connecting children with the best experts, improving the quality of education and reducing inequalities. Every child will be able to ideate, prototype, test and iterate in a cost-effective way. In this way, they will innovate and improve the well-being of the world.

‘Technology will bring the best opportunities to the best talent ’

Projjal Ghatak, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Onloop

The one sector that has gone through breakneck change in the last two years is the workplace. Office work has been the default for knowledge workers for decades and did not warrant a full re-think until the pandemic. The pandemic tested it to its fullest but although we saw flat to increased productivity, the loss in cultural connectivity and an increase in anxiety, fatigue, apathy and burnout are all also some of the effects being felt. In a pace of rapid change, it is hard to parse out each piece independently. The pandemic also lasted long enough to truly change the talent landscape for many companies to a permanent global and hybrid one. This means that companies can seize the day in thinking about a global talent market to tap into in a realistic fashion. So, if I had to be provocative, I would say that technology is going to be a true leveller. It will bring the best opportunities to the best talent irrespective of where they live thereby truly unlocking the full potential of a billion knowledge workers.

‘Advanced manufacturing and fashion technology could digitally transform the apparel industry’

Matthew Wallace, Chief Executive Officer, DXM

Transforming the apparel industry with localized, on-demand manufacturing. The apparel industry is riddled with excessive waste and supply chain challenges. Today, most brands and retailers are forced to mass-produce goods with limited consumer input, resulting in high merchandise return rates, waste from overproduction, and lower profit margins due to deep discounts of unwanted merchandise. And while on-demand apparel and footwear are believed to be a solution, traditional manufacturing models still require months of lead time and hundreds of miles of travel between order and delivery - a problem which has only been exacerbated by global supply chain instability. Advanced manufacturing and fashion technology can digitally transform the apparel industry by bridging the gap between creators, consumers, and local manufacturers. It can play an important role in producing custom goods locally, resulting in dramatically reduced turnaround times – days, not months. This innovative model has the potential to not only reduce the environmental footprint of the fashion industry but also improve supply chain security on a global scale. It’s a promising solution that can be achieved with an open platform that unites best-in-class partners for the greater good of the apparel industry, and the world.

‘The quantum internet is coming’

Jim Ricotta, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Aliro Quantum

The quantum internet is coming, and it will revolutionize the world just as the classical internet has. And just as classical networks enabled today's internet, quantum networks are required to build the quantum internet of tomorrow. The quantum internet is expected to have a profound impact on how we live our lives by enabling breakthroughs in energy, medicine, material sciences and more. In the next five years, we will see quantum networks emerge from local area networks and clusters into continent-scale area networks using quantum repeaters, which are the foundations of the quantum internet. As a result, we'll see more and more use cases emerge for quantum networks. For example, quantum secure communications leverage the power of physics to enable unhackable security. Distributed quantum sensing will enable ultra-high-resolution telescopes, as well as ultra-precise clocks and GPS. And to make the power of quantum computing useful, clustered quantum computing and ultimately distributed quantum computing will enable the quantum internet.

‘AI will power clinical decision making in fertility clinics around the globe’

Paxton Maeder-York, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Alife Health

Between now and 2030, over one billion people will suffer from infertility. As global population growth slows and drops below the replacement rate, utilizing AI-enhanced fertility treatments will help support the creation of new families and future generations. The most common infertility treatment today, in-vitro fertilization (IVF), is expensive, often requires multiple attempts, and is both physically and emotionally onerous. Successful pregnancies from IVF rely on a complex set of clinical decisions made by physicians to deliver the optimal care for each patient. The use of technology and advanced analytics to support this decision making will lead to improvements in care efficiency, clinical success rates, and personalization of treatment methods. By 2027, AI will power clinical decision making in fertility clinics around the globe, enabling physicians to deliver a new level of precision medicine to improve outcomes and expand access for patients.

'Human potential will be re-directed towards more meaningful objectives'

Gabriel Safar, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, LeasePilot

Documents as technology have served businesses well for centuries. In modern times, email may have replaced the need for a courier and documents may be stored electronically, but the underlying technology itself hasn’t changed. That’s a problem since documents are fundamentally an analogue technology and today’s world is digital. Computers aren’t very good at manipulating natural language (analogue), but they are great at manipulating information in a database (digital). So, taking a data-first approach to constructing agreements opens the door to hyper-efficient transactions facilitated by computers. By converting agreements into structured digital information, software can assemble, manipulate, store, share, and understand these agreements in ways that weren’t previously impossible. When done successfully, the end-user sees a document written in natural language and is able to edit the text of the agreement in the same way that they would in a traditional word processor. But behind the scenes, the agreement is still a collection of database values which are updated to reflect the user’s interactions with that document. Ultimately, the impact will be a future with radically more efficient markets that free up massive amounts of wasted human potential to be re-directed toward more meaningful objectives.

‘Remote sensing data streams will accurately monitor natural ecosystems’

Kevin Lang, Chief Executive Officer and President, Agerpoint

To achieve the United Nations goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and keep global warming below +1.5 °C, nature-based solutions to restore, conserve or enhance forests or agricultural lands are a valuable contributor to removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and capturing it into the soil. However, to determine the impact of these solutions, measurements such as tree height, trunk diameter and biomass are required to accurately quantify the carbon stock potential in plants. These measurements are traditionally assessed through labour intensive and subjective manual methods. With the increased demand for credible carbon credits along with a heightened need for transparency, remote sensing data streams from high-resolution cameras and lasers (i.e., LiDAR) are enabling new scalable and efficient digital measurement techniques. Satellite imagery is increasing in resolution and frequency as more constellations enter into orbit. Rapid advances in smartphone optical sensors and positional systems provide extensive access for growers and conservationists to affordably capture rich datasets. These data sources, combined with cloud data processing, artificial intelligence and data fusion will empower accurate measurement and monitoring of plant health and carbon sequestration potential for natural ecosystems.

Related topics:

27 Technological Innovation Examples (Chronological Order)

Technology is anything that is newly created based upon the cutting-edge knowledge of the era.

In today’s information society , when we think of technology, we generally think of machines like computers, smartphones, and cars.

But 500 years ago, things considered technology had no electrical components – they were things like better quality bows, arrows, and shovels.

The definition of technology also encompasses the application of scientific principles to achieve specific objectives, such as increasing crop yields or improving communication networks.

Technological Innovation Examples

Invented: 1.5 Million BCE

According to most historians, fire was first invented by early humans between 1.8 and 1.5 million years ago.

prior to the invention of fire, human beings were restricted to eating raw foods. The discovery of fire changed all of that, allowing our ancestors to cook their food and unlocking a whole new world of flavor and nutrition.

In addition, fire provided warmth and light, making it possible for humans to live in colder climates.

As a result, the invention of fire had a profound impact on human history. It helped humans to gain greater control over their lives, shaped their development as a species, and allowed them to become more civilized.

Related: The 25 Most Famous Innovators of All Time

2. The Wheel

Invented: 4000 BCE

It is unclear exactly when the wheel was invented, but bt 4000-3500 BCE there is evidence of wheeled vehicles and wheels used for the production of pottery.

The invention of the wheel revolutionized transportation and had a profound impact on the development of civilization. Wheels were foundational for future developments, including the steam engine, which operates on an axle, and of course, the car.

Even the wheel has developed significantly over time. For example, the invention of the spoked wheel in the Middle Ages made travel much easier because it was far lighter than simple wooden disks. In the late 19th century, the invention of the pneumatic tire transformed transportation yet again, allowing vehicles to drive more smoothly on uneven terrain.

Invented: 600 BCE

The first known use of money comes from ancient Mesopotamian cities. From as early as 3000 BCE, Mesopotamian cities had central banks that would store assets and provide clay tokens as a proxy for the assets. These tokens could then be traded on an open market.

The first known coin, however, is a cultural artifact that dates to 600 BCE, from the Kingdom of Lidya (modern-day Turkey). These coins were made of electrum, an alloy of gold and silver.

Since then, money has evolved to become the primary means of exchange in most societies. Today, there are a wide variety of currencies in use around the world, including paper notes, metal coins, and digital currencies.

The invention of money was monumental because it allowed for the development of trade and commerce. Money made it possible to buy and sell goods and services without the need to barter.

4. Gunpowder

Invented: 808 CE

While the first confirmed recording of gunpowder was in 808 CE, it’s likely that gunpowder existed for several centuries beforehand.

Gunpowder is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate. It is used in firearms and explosives.

While gunpowder has a number of negative applications, it also has some positive ones. As a defensive mechanism, it helped militaries to keep countries safe from invaders. It is also used in fireworks, for example, and has also been used in Chinese medicine.

5. The Compass

Invented: 11th Century CE

The first compass was invented in China in the 11th century.

Prior to the invention of the compass, people navigated by using the stars and other landmarks. The compass made it possible to travel in any direction, regardless of weather or terrain.

As a result, the compass had a profound impact on exploration and trade. It allowed humans to venture into new and unknown territory and to expand their horizons.

6. The Printing Press

Invented: 1450

The printing press is a technological invention that prints text and images onto paper. The first printing press was invented in 1450 by Johannes Gutenberg.

The printing press is one of the most important inventions in human history. It helped to spread information and to print books en masse . As a result, literacy increased dramatically and human knowledge was accelerated.

Scholar Benedict Anderson also believes that the printing press and subsequent print media were the impetus for the concept of a nation-state, or ‘ imagined community ‘ where people who have never met each other could feel a sense of commonality and shared identity.

7. The Microscope

Invented: 1590

The microscope is an instrument used to magnify objects. The first compound microscope was invented in 1590 by Zacharias Janssen.

The microscope has a wide range of applications, including in medicine, biology, and engineering. It is used to examine cells, tissues, and organs; to study the structure of materials; and to inspect objects for defects.

The microscope revolutionized our understanding of biology. It helped us, for example, to learn about the structure of cells and to discover the existence of bacteria and viruses.

8. The Steam Engine

Invented: 1698 CE

The first steam engine was invented by Thomas Savery in 1698. It was an important invention because it helped to usher in the industrial revolution.

The engine worked by using steam to power a piston, which could then be used to drive a shaft. This made it possible to use steam to power a wide variety of machines, which led to an increase in productivity and efficiency.

In addition, the invention of the steam engine also helped to create new industries and jobs, as well as helping to fuel the growth of cities and towns. As a result, the steam engine was a key factor in the transformation of society from agrarian to industrial.

For more innovations from the 17th Century, see: Seven Innovations from the Second Agricultural Revolution

9. Electricity

Invented: Late 1700s

While electricity had been studied since the 16th century and some primitive forms of electrification were developed in the 18th century, it was not until the late 1700s that electricity became a well-understood phenomenon.

The English scientist Michael Faraday is credited with the discovery of induction in 1831, which laid the groundwork for modern electrical technology.

Today, electricity is an essential part of our lives, powering everything from our homes and businesses to our cars and electronic devices.

10. The Camera

Invented: 1827

The first camera was invented in 1827 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.

Cameras are now used extensively in our everyday lives. They are used not only on our phones to take photos and videos, but also used in security systems.

Cameras have had a profound impact on our society. They have allowed us to document and preserve our memories. They have also given us the ability to preserve and share our experiences.

11. The Internal Combustion Engine

Invented: 1862

The first internal combustion engine was invented in 1862 by Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir.

Internal combustion engines are used extensively in our modern world. They power our cars, trucks, and buses. They are also used in construction equipment, generators, and lawnmowers.

Internal combustion engines have had a profound impact on our society. They have allowed us to travel long distances quickly and easily and have made it possible for us to move heavy loads and equipment.

12. The Telephone

Invented: 1876

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876 and it revolutionized communication. Prior to the telephone, the only way to communicate with someone at a distance was through written messages, which could be slow and unreliable.

The telephone allowed people to instantly connect with each other no matter where they were in the world. Today, there are over 1 billion telephone landlines in use and billions of mobile phones as well.

13. Computers

The first computers were created in the early 1800s. However, these early machines were nothing like the computers of today. They were bulky and required a team of operators to function.

In 1876, Charles Babbage designed a machine called the Analytical Engine, which could be programmed to perform simple calculations. However, the machine was never completed.

In 1937, John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry developed the first electronic computer, called the Atanasoff-Berry Computer. However, this machine was not actually built until 1973.

By the 1990s, computers had well and truly changed the world. People were using them at work and, increasingly, they were used at home for word processing and accounting.

14. The Airplane

Invented: 1903

The airplane was invented by the Wright brothers in 1903. It was the first heavier-than-air craft to successfully achieve powered flight.

The airplane has had a profound impact on the world, making it possible to travel great distances in relatively short periods of time. It has also made it possible to transport goods and people around the world in a way that was previously unimaginable.

It also changed how wars were fought, as airplanes were used in World War I to drop bombs and conduct reconnaissance missions. Today, there are over 100,000 airplanes in use worldwide.

15. Television

Invented: 1927

The printing press was the first form of mass media, followed by radio. But the postwar decades hailed the era of television. During this era, television was a disruptive technology that caused radio to lose its prominence.

By 1960, there was sufficient infrastructure, and televisions were affordable enough, that the television had entered the mainstream zeitgeist . It became one of the most popular forms of entertainment, broadcasting into over 1 million homes in the United States.

It also had a profound impact on society, helping to connect people from all over the world and making information more accessible than ever before. The Vitenam war was the first war to be televised into people’s homes, which was a catalyst for the anti-war movement in the United States.

16. Semiconductors

Invented: 1947

The first semiconductor was invented in 1947 by William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain.

Semiconductors are used extensively in our modern world. They are the building blocks of computer chips and are used in a wide range of electronic devices.

Semiconductors have had a profound impact on our society. They have allowed us to miniaturize electronic devices and to create fast and powerful computer chips.

17. The Polio Vaccine

Invented: 1955

The polio vaccine is one of the most important technological breakthroughs in history.

Prior to the development of the vaccine, polio was a leading cause of disability and death, particularly in young children. The introduction of the vaccine in the 1950s led to a dramatic reduction in the incidence of polio, and today the disease is considered to be Eliminated in most parts of the world.

While there are still a few cases each year, they are almost exclusively in countries where the vaccine is not widely available.

The success of the polio vaccine has led to the development of other vaccines for other diseases, such as measles and rubella, which have also had a profound impact on public health .

18. Artificial Intelligence

Invented: 1956

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the ability of a computer to perform tasks that would normally require human intelligence, such as understanding natural language and recognizing objects.

The first AI program was developed in 1956 by a team of researchers at Dartmouth College. The program, called “Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence”, was designed to create a machine that could beat a human player at checkers.

While the program was successful, it was not able to beat the best human players. However, it did lay the foundations for further AI research.

Today, AI is becoming more and more common in businesses. For example, many customer service tasks are now handled by AI chatbots. AI is also being used for more complex tasks such as financial analysis and medical diagnosis.

19. Satellites

Invented: 1957

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. This event ushered in the Space Age and the start of the space race between the two superpowers.

Satellites have had a profound impact on the world, providing us with a way to communicate with people in other parts of the world and to observe the planet from space.

They have also been used for navigation, weather forecasting, and mapping. Today, there are over 2,000 satellites in orbit around the Earth, and their numbers are growing every year.

20. The laser

Invented: 1960

The laser is a device that emits a beam of coherent light. The first laser was built in 1960 by Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes.

Lasers have a wide range of applications, including cutting and welding, communications, printing, and medicine. They are also used in production processes, such as in the manufacture of semiconductors.

Recently, lasers have also been used in the military. They can help to guide missiles, for example, to help them to be more accurate.

21. Virtual reality

Invented: 1960 CE

The first virtual reality headset was invented in 1960 by Morton Heilig.

Virtual reality is a computer-generated environment that allows users to interact with it in a realistic way. It is a quintessential example of a wearable technology .

It has been used extensively in gaming and entertainment. But futurists believe that it will become extremely useful for training and education purposes (especially in the media), in medicine, and in manufacturing.pri

22. The Internet

Invented: 1969

The first Internet connection was made in 1969 between two computers at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Internet is now a global network of computers that allows people to communicate and share information. It has transformed our lives. It has allowed us to stay connected with friends and family around the world, to access a wealth of information at our fingertips, and to work from anywhere.

It has also had a profound impact on our economy. It has stimulated technological globalization . created new industries, and allowed existing ones to thrive. It has facilitated the rapid transfer of information and money around the world and been the platform for the growth of countless businesses.

Read Also: Internet Pros and Cons

23. Mobile phones

Invented: 1973

The first mobile phone was invented in 1973 by Motorola. However, it was not until the late 1990s that mobile phones became commonplace in society, and it became one of the central types of communication technology of the 21st Century.

In the early days of mobile phones, there were a number of challenges that needed to be overcome. One of the biggest was developing a way to miniaturize the components so that they could fit into a small handheld device.

This was essential for making the phone portable and convenient to use.

Another challenge was finding a power source that would be able to keep the phone charged for long periods of time. NiCad batteries were initially used, but they had a tendency to lose their charge quickly and were also prone to the “memory effect”, which reduced their capacity over time.

Eventually, Lithium-ion batteries were developed which addressed these issues.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system that was invented in 1973 by the United States Department of Defense.

GPS allows users to determine their precise location anywhere on the planet. It has a number of civilian and military applications, including navigation, surveying, mapping, and timing.

GPS is now an essential part of our everyday lives. It is used by millions of people around the world when using maps apps on their phones, for example. It helps us to find our way to a specific location, track our progress while running or cycling, and plan driving routes.

25. DNA sequencing

Invented: 1977

DNA sequencing is the process of determining the order of nucleotides in a DNA molecule. The first DNA sequence was determined in 1977 by Frederick Sanger.

Since then, DNA sequencing has become an essential tool in biology and medicine. It is used to study the genetic basis of diseases, to develop new treatments and diagnostic tests, and to trace the evolutionary history of organisms.

26. 3D printing

Invented: 1984

3D printing is the process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a 3D digital file. The first 3D printer was invented in 1984 by Chuck Hull.

Since then, 3D printing has become more and more popular, with a wide range of applications in industry, medicine, and even art.

3D printing has a number of advantages over traditional manufacturing methods. It is quick and easy to set up, and it can be used to create complex shapes that would be difficult or impossible to produce using traditional methods.

It is also relatively low cost, making it an attractive option for small businesses and hobbyists.

27. Bitcoin

Invented: 2009

Bitcoin is a digital currency that was invented in 2009 by an anonymous person or group of people known as Satoshi Nakamoto.

Bitcoin is different from traditional currencies because it is not regulated by any government or financial institution. Instead, it is decentralized and can be bought, sold, or traded on a number of online exchanges.

Bitcoin has become popular because it offers a number of advantages over traditional currencies. For example, it is not subject to inflationary pressures, and it can be used to make anonymous transactions.

See Also: Amazing Assistive Technologies for the Disabled

Technology has played a pivotal role in human history, and its impact can be seen in all aspects of our lives. From the development of early tools and agriculture to the rise of modern civilizations, technology has shaped the course of human history. Today, we continue to rely on technology to improve our lives and solve problems. With each new breakthrough, we push the boundaries of human capabilities.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

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• Technology Essay

Essay on Technology

The word "technology" and its uses have immensely changed since the 20th century, and with time, it has continued to evolve ever since. We are living in a world driven by technology. The advancement of technology has played an important role in the development of human civilization, along with cultural changes. Technology provides innovative ways of doing work through various smart and innovative means. 

Electronic appliances, gadgets, faster modes of communication, and transport have added to the comfort factor in our lives. It has helped in improving the productivity of individuals and different business enterprises. Technology has brought a revolution in many operational fields. It has undoubtedly made a very important contribution to the progress that mankind has made over the years.

The Advancement of Technology:

Technology has reduced the effort and time and increased the efficiency of the production requirements in every field. It has made our lives easy, comfortable, healthy, and enjoyable. It has brought a revolution in transport and communication. The advancement of technology, along with science, has helped us to become self-reliant in all spheres of life. With the innovation of a particular technology, it becomes part of society and integral to human lives after a point in time.

Technology is Our Part of Life:

Technology has changed our day-to-day lives. Technology has brought the world closer and better connected. Those days have passed when only the rich could afford such luxuries. Because of the rise of globalisation and liberalisation, all luxuries are now within the reach of the average person. Today, an average middle-class family can afford a mobile phone, a television, a washing machine, a refrigerator, a computer, the Internet, etc. At the touch of a switch, a man can witness any event that is happening in far-off places.  

Benefits of Technology in All Fields: 

We cannot escape technology; it has improved the quality of life and brought about revolutions in various fields of modern-day society, be it communication, transportation, education, healthcare, and many more. Let us learn about it.

Technology in Communication:

With the advent of technology in communication, which includes telephones, fax machines, cellular phones, the Internet, multimedia, and email, communication has become much faster and easier. It has transformed and influenced relationships in many ways. We no longer need to rely on sending physical letters and waiting for several days for a response. Technology has made communication so simple that you can connect with anyone from anywhere by calling them via mobile phone or messaging them using different messaging apps that are easy to download.

Innovation in communication technology has had an immense influence on social life. Human socialising has become easier by using social networking sites, dating, and even matrimonial services available on mobile applications and websites.

Today, the Internet is used for shopping, paying utility bills, credit card bills, admission fees, e-commerce, and online banking. In the world of marketing, many companies are marketing and selling their products and creating brands over the internet. 

In the field of travel, cities, towns, states, and countries are using the web to post detailed tourist and event information. Travellers across the globe can easily find information on tourism, sightseeing, places to stay, weather, maps, timings for events, transportation schedules, and buy tickets to various tourist spots and destinations.

Technology in the Office or Workplace:

Technology has increased efficiency and flexibility in the workspace. Technology has made it easy to work remotely, which has increased the productivity of the employees. External and internal communication has become faster through emails and apps. Automation has saved time, and there is also a reduction in redundancy in tasks. Robots are now being used to manufacture products that consistently deliver the same product without defect until the robot itself fails. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology are innovations that are being deployed across industries to reap benefits.

Technology has wiped out the manual way of storing files. Now files are stored in the cloud, which can be accessed at any time and from anywhere. With technology, companies can make quick decisions, act faster towards solutions, and remain adaptable. Technology has optimised the usage of resources and connected businesses worldwide. For example, if the customer is based in America, he can have the services delivered from India. They can communicate with each other in an instant. Every company uses business technology like virtual meeting tools, corporate social networks, tablets, and smart customer relationship management applications that accelerate the fast movement of data and information.

Technology in Education:

Technology is making the education industry improve over time. With technology, students and parents have a variety of learning tools at their fingertips. Teachers can coordinate with classrooms across the world and share their ideas and resources online. Students can get immediate access to an abundance of good information on the Internet. Teachers and students can access plenty of resources available on the web and utilise them for their project work, research, etc. Online learning has changed our perception of education. 

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a paradigm shift using technology where school-going kids continued their studies from home and schools facilitated imparting education by their teachers online from home. Students have learned and used 21st-century skills and tools, like virtual classrooms, AR (Augmented Reality), robots, etc. All these have increased communication and collaboration significantly. 

Technology in Banking:

Technology and banking are now inseparable. Technology has boosted digital transformation in how the banking industry works and has vastly improved banking services for their customers across the globe.

Technology has made banking operations very sophisticated and has reduced errors to almost nil, which were somewhat prevalent with manual human activities. Banks are adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) to increase their efficiency and profits. With the emergence of Internet banking, self-service tools have replaced the traditional methods of banking. 

You can now access your money, handle transactions like paying bills, money transfers, and online purchases from merchants, and monitor your bank statements anytime and from anywhere in the world. Technology has made banking more secure and safe. You do not need to carry cash in your pocket or wallet; the payments can be made digitally using e-wallets. Mobile banking, banking apps, and cybersecurity are changing the face of the banking industry.

Manufacturing and Production Industry Automation:

At present, manufacturing industries are using all the latest technologies, ranging from big data analytics to artificial intelligence. Big data, ARVR (Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality), and IoT (Internet of Things) are the biggest manufacturing industry players. Automation has increased the level of productivity in various fields. It has reduced labour costs, increased efficiency, and reduced the cost of production.

For example, 3D printing is used to design and develop prototypes in the automobile industry. Repetitive work is being done easily with the help of robots without any waste of time. This has also reduced the cost of the products. 

Technology in the Healthcare Industry:

Technological advancements in the healthcare industry have not only improved our personal quality of life and longevity; they have also improved the lives of many medical professionals and students who are training to become medical experts. It has allowed much faster access to the medical records of each patient. 

The Internet has drastically transformed patients' and doctors’ relationships. Everyone can stay up to date on the latest medical discoveries, share treatment information, and offer one another support when dealing with medical issues. Modern technology has allowed us to contact doctors from the comfort of our homes. There are many sites and apps through which we can contact doctors and get medical help. 

Breakthrough innovations in surgery, artificial organs, brain implants, and networked sensors are examples of transformative developments in the healthcare industry. Hospitals use different tools and applications to perform their administrative tasks, using digital marketing to promote their services.

Technology in Agriculture:

Today, farmers work very differently than they would have decades ago. Data analytics and robotics have built a productive food system. Digital innovations are being used for plant breeding and harvesting equipment. Software and mobile devices are helping farmers harvest better. With various data and information available to farmers, they can make better-informed decisions, for example, tracking the amount of carbon stored in soil and helping with climate change.

Disadvantages of Technology:

People have become dependent on various gadgets and machines, resulting in a lack of physical activity and tempting people to lead an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Even though technology has increased the productivity of individuals, organisations, and the nation, it has not increased the efficiency of machines. Machines cannot plan and think beyond the instructions that are fed into their system. Technology alone is not enough for progress and prosperity. Management is required, and management is a human act. Technology is largely dependent on human intervention. 

Computers and smartphones have led to an increase in social isolation. Young children are spending more time surfing the internet, playing games, and ignoring their real lives. Usage of technology is also resulting in job losses and distracting students from learning. Technology has been a reason for the production of weapons of destruction.

Dependency on technology is also increasing privacy concerns and cyber crimes, giving way to hackers.

FAQs on Technology Essay

1. What is technology?

Technology refers to innovative ways of doing work through various smart means. The advancement of technology has played an important role in the development of human civilization. It has helped in improving the productivity of individuals and businesses.

2. How has technology changed the face of banking?

Technology has made banking operations very sophisticated. With the emergence of Internet banking, self-service tools have replaced the traditional methods of banking. You can now access your money, handle transactions, and monitor your bank statements anytime and from anywhere in the world. Technology has made banking more secure and safe.

3. How has technology brought a revolution in the medical field?

Patients and doctors keep each other up to date on the most recent medical discoveries, share treatment information, and offer each other support when dealing with medical issues. It has allowed much faster access to the medical records of each patient. Modern technology has allowed us to contact doctors from the comfort of our homes. There are many websites and mobile apps through which we can contact doctors and get medical help.

4. Are we dependent on technology?

Yes, today, we are becoming increasingly dependent on technology. Computers, smartphones, and modern technology have helped humanity achieve success and progress. However, in hindsight, people need to continuously build a healthy lifestyle, sorting out personal problems that arise due to technological advancements in different aspects of human life.

Science, technology and innovation in a 21st century context

• Published: 27 August 2011
• Volume 44 , pages 209–213, ( 2011 )

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• John H. Marburger III 1  

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Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

This editorial essay was prepared by John H. “Jack” Marburger for a workshop on the “science of science and innovation policy” held in 2009 that was the basis for this special issue. It is published posthumously .

Linking the words “science,” “technology,” and “innovation,” may suggest that we know more about how these activities are related than we really do. This very common linkage implicitly conveys a linear progression from scientific research to technology creation to innovative products. More nuanced pictures of these complex activities break them down into components that interact with each other in a multi-dimensional socio-technological-economic network. A few examples will help to make this clear.

Science has always functioned on two levels that we may describe as curiosity-driven and need-driven, and they interact in sometimes surprising ways. Galileo’s telescope, the paradigmatic instrument of discovery in pure science, emerged from an entirely pragmatic tradition of lens-making for eye-glasses. And we should keep in mind that the industrial revolution gave more to science than it received, at least until the last half of the nineteenth century when the sciences of chemistry and electricity began to produce serious economic payoffs. The flowering of science during the era, we call the enlightenment owed much to its links with crafts and industry, but as it gained momentum science created its own need for practical improvements. After all, the frontiers of science are defined by the capabilities of instrumentation, that is, of technology. The needs of pure science are a huge but poorly understood stimulus for technologies that have the capacity to be disruptive precisely because these needs do not arise from the marketplace. The innovators who built the World Wide Web on the foundation of the Internet were particle physicists at CERN, struggling to satisfy their unique need to share complex information. Others soon discovered “needs” of which they had been unaware that could be satisfied by this innovation, and from that point the Web transformed the Internet from a tool for the technological elite into a broad platform for a new kind of economy.

Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, but in all human societies, “necessity” is a mix of culturally conditioned perceptions and the actual physical necessities of life. The concept of need, of what is wanted, is the ultimate driver of markets and an essential dimension of innovation. And as the example of the World Wide Web shows, need is very difficult to identify before it reveals itself in a mass movement. Why did I not know I needed a cell phone before nearly everyone else had one? Because until many others had one I did not, in fact, need one. Innovation has this chicken-and-egg quality that makes it extremely hard to analyze. We all know of visionaries who conceive of a society totally transformed by their invention and who are bitter that the world has not embraced their idea. Sometimes we think of them as crackpots, or simply unrealistic about what it takes to change the world. We practical people necessarily view the world through the filter of what exists, and fail to anticipate disruptive change. Nearly always we are surprised by the rapid acceptance of a transformative idea. If we truly want to encourage innovation through government policies, we are going to have to come to grips with this deep unpredictability of the mass acceptance of a new concept. Works analyzing this phenomenon are widely popular under titles like “ The Tipping Point ” by Gladwell ( 2000 ) or more recently the book by Taleb ( 2007 ) called The Black Swan , among others.

What causes innovations to be adopted and integrated into economies depends on their ability to satisfy some perceived need by consumers, and that perception may be an artifact of marketing, or fashion, or cultural inertia, or ignorance. Some of the largest and most profitable industries in the developed world—entertainment, automobiles, clothing and fashion accessories, health products, children’s toys, grownups’ toys!—depend on perceptions of need that go far beyond the utilitarian and are notoriously difficult to predict. And yet these industries clearly depend on sophisticated and rapidly advancing technologies to compete in the marketplace. Of course, they do not depend only upon technology. Technologies are part of the environment for innovation, or in a popular and very appropriate metaphor—part of the innovation ecology .

This complexity of innovation and its ecology is conveyed in Chapter One of a currently popular best-seller in the United States called Innovation Nation by the American innovation guru, Kao ( 2007 ), formerly on the faculty of the Harvard Business School:

“I define it [innovation],” writes Kao, “as the ability of individuals, companies, and entire nations to continuously create their desired future. Innovation depends on harvesting knowledge from a range of disciplines besides science and technology, among them design, social science, and the arts. And it is exemplified by more than just products; services, experiences, and processes can be innovative as well. The work of entrepreneurs, scientists, and software geeks alike contributes to innovation. It is also about the middlemen who know how to realize value from ideas. Innovation flows from shifts in mind-set that can generate new business models, recognize new opportunities, and weave innovations throughout the fabric of society. It is about new ways of doing and seeing things as much as it is about the breakthrough idea.” (Kao 2007 , p. 19).

This is not your standard government-type definition. Gurus, of course, do not have to worry about leading indicators and predictive measures of policy success. Nevertheless, some policy guidance can be drawn from this high level “definition,” and I will do so later.

The first point, then, is that the structural aspects of “science, technology, and innovation” are imperfectly defined, complex, and poorly understood. There is still much work to do to identify measures, develop models, and test them against actual experience before we can say we really know what it takes to foster innovation. The second point I want to make is about the temporal aspects: all three of these complex activities are changing with time. Science, of course, always changes through the accumulation of knowledge, but it also changes through revolutions in its theoretical structure, through its ever-improving technology, and through its evolving sociology. The technology and sociology of science are currently impacted by a rapidly changing information technology. Technology today flows increasingly from research laboratories but the influence of technology on both science and innovation depends strongly on its commercial adoption, that is, on market forces. Commercial scale manufacturing drives down the costs of technology so it can be exploited in an ever-broadening range of applications. The mass market for precision electro-mechanical devices like cameras, printers, and disk drives is the basis for new scientific instrumentation and also for further generations of products that integrate hundreds of existing components in new devices and business models like the Apple iPod and video games, not to mention improvements in old products like cars and telephones. Innovation is changing too as it expands its scope beyond individual products to include all or parts of systems such as supply chains and inventory control, as in the Wal-Mart phenomenon. Apple’s iPod does not stand alone; it is integrated with iTunes software and novel arrangements with media providers.

With one exception, however, technology changes more slowly than it appears because we encounter basic technology platforms in a wide variety of relatively short-lived products. Technology is like a language that innovators use to express concepts in the form of products, and business models that serve (and sometimes create) a variety of needs, some of which fluctuate with fashion. The exception to the illusion of rapid technology change is the pace of information technology, which is no illusion. It has fulfilled Moore’s Law for more than half a century, and it is a remarkable historical anomaly arising from the systematic exploitation of the understanding of the behavior of microscopic matter following the discovery of quantum mechanics. The pace would be much less without a continually evolving market for the succession of smaller, higher capacity products. It is not at all clear that the market demand will continue to support the increasingly expensive investment in fabrication equipment for each new step up the exponential curve of Moore’s Law. The science is probably available to allow many more capacity doublings if markets can sustain them. Let me digress briefly on this point.

Many science commentators have described the twentieth century as the century of physics and the twenty-first as the century of biology. We now know that is misleading. It is true that our struggle to understand the ultimate constituents of matter has now encompassed (apparently) everything of human scale and relevance, and that the universe of biological phenomena now lies open for systematic investigation and dramatic applications in health, agriculture, and energy production. But there are two additional frontiers of physical science, one already highly productive, the other very intriguing. The first is the frontier of complexity , where physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, and mathematics all come together. This is where nanotechnology and biotechnology reside. These are huge fields that form the core of basic science policy in most developed nations. The basic science of the twenty-first century is neither biology nor physics, but an interdisciplinary mix of these and other traditional fields. Continued development of this domain contributes to information technology and much else. I mentioned two frontiers. The other physical science frontier borders the nearly unexploited domain of quantum coherence phenomena . It is a very large domain and potentially a source of entirely new platform technologies not unlike microelectronics. To say more about this would take me too far from our topic. The point is that nature has many undeveloped physical phenomena to enrich the ecology of innovation and keep us marching along the curve of Moore’s Law if we can afford to do so.

I worry about the psychological impact of the rapid advance of information technology. I believe it has created unrealistic expectations about all technologies and has encouraged a casual attitude among policy makers toward the capability of science and technology to deliver solutions to difficult social problems. This is certainly true of what may be the greatest technical challenge of all time—the delivery of energy to large developed and developing populations without adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The challenge of sustainable energy technology is much more difficult than many people currently seem to appreciate. I am afraid that time will make this clear.

Structural complexities and the intrinsic dynamism of science and technology pose challenges to policy makers, but they seem almost manageable compared with the challenges posed by extrinsic forces. Among these are globalization and the impact of global economic development on the environment. The latter, expressed quite generally through the concept of “sustainability” is likely to be a component of much twenty-first century innovation policy. Measures of development, competitiveness, and innovation need to include sustainability dimensions to be realistic over the long run. Development policies that destroy economically important environmental systems, contribute to harmful global change, and undermine the natural resource basis of the economy are bad policies. Sustainability is now an international issue because the scale of development and the globalization of economies have environmental and natural resource implications that transcend national borders.

From the policy point of view, globalization is a not a new phenomenon. Science has been globalized for centuries, and we ought to be studying it more closely as a model for effective responses to the globalization of our economies. What is striking about science is the strong imperative to share ideas through every conceivable channel to the widest possible audience. If you had to name one chief characteristic of science, it would be empiricism. If you had to name two, the other would be open communication of data and ideas. The power of open communication in science cannot be overestimated. It has established, uniquely among human endeavors, an absolute global standard. And it effectively recruits talent from every part of the globe to labor at the science frontiers. The result has been an extraordinary legacy of understanding of the phenomena that shape our existence. Science is the ultimate example of an open innovation system.

Science practice has received much attention from philosophers, social scientists, and historians during the past half-century, and some of what has been learned holds valuable lessons for policy makers. It is fascinating to me how quickly countries that provide avenues to advanced education are able to participate in world science. The barriers to a small but productive scientific activity appear to be quite low and whether or not a country participates in science appears to be discretionary. A small scientific establishment, however, will not have significant direct economic impact. Its value at early stages of development is indirect, bringing higher performance standards, international recognition, and peer role models for a wider population. A science program of any size is also a link to the rich intellectual resources of the world scientific community. The indirect benefit of scientific research to a developing country far exceeds its direct benefit, and policy needs to recognize this. It is counterproductive to base support for science in such countries on a hoped-for direct economic stimulus.

Keeping in mind that the innovation ecology includes far more than science and technology, it should be obvious that within a small national economy innovation can thrive on a very small indigenous science and technology base. But innovators, like scientists, do require access to technical information and ideas. Consequently, policies favorable to innovation will create access to education and encourage free communication with the world technical community. Anything that encourages awareness of the marketplace and all its actors on every scale will encourage innovation.

This brings me back to John Kao’s definition of innovation. His vision of “the ability of individuals, companies, and entire nations to continuously create their desired future” implies conditions that create that ability, including most importantly educational opportunity (Kao 2007 , p. 19). The notion that “innovation depends on harvesting knowledge from a range of disciplines besides science and technology” implies that innovators must know enough to recognize useful knowledge when they see it, and that they have access to knowledge sources across a spectrum that ranges from news media and the Internet to technical and trade conferences (2007, p. 19). If innovation truly “flows from shifts in mind-set that can generate new business models, recognize new opportunities, and weave innovations throughout the fabric of society,” then the fabric of society must be somewhat loose-knit to accommodate the new ideas (2007, p. 19). Innovation is about risk and change, and deep forces in every society resist both of these. A striking feature of the US innovation ecology is the positive attitude toward failure, an attitude that encourages risk-taking and entrepreneurship.

All this gives us some insight into what policies we need to encourage innovation. Innovation policy is broader than science and technology policy, but the latter must be consistent with the former to produce a healthy innovation ecology. Innovation requires a predictable social structure, an open marketplace, and a business culture amenable to risk and change. It certainly requires an educational infrastructure that produces people with a global awareness and sufficient technical literacy to harvest the fruits of current technology. What innovation does not require is the creation by governments of a system that defines, regulates, or even rewards innovation except through the marketplace or in response to evident success. Some regulation of new products and new ideas is required to protect public health and environmental quality, but innovation needs lots of freedom. Innovative ideas that do not work out should be allowed to die so the innovation community can learn from the experience and replace the failed attempt with something better.

Do we understand innovation well enough to develop policy for it? If the policy addresses very general infrastructure issues such as education, economic, and political stability and the like, the answer is perhaps. If we want to measure the impact of specific programs on innovation, the answer is no. Studies of innovation are at an early stage where anecdotal information and case studies, similar to John Kao’s book—or the books on Business Week’s top ten list of innovation titles—are probably the most useful tools for policy makers.

I have been urging increased attention to what I call the science of science policy —the systematic quantitative study of the subset of our economy called science and technology—including the construction and validation of micro- and macro-economic models for S&T activity. Innovators themselves, and those who finance them, need to identify their needs and the impediments they face. Eventually, we may learn enough to create reliable indicators by which we can judge the health of our innovation ecosystems. The goal is well worth the sustained effort that will be required to achieve it.

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Kao, J. (2007). Innovation nation: How America is losing its innovation edge, why it matters, and what we can do to get it back . New York: Free Press.

Taleb, N. N. (2007). The black swan: The impact of the highly improbable . New York: Random House.

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Marburger, J.H. Science, technology and innovation in a 21st century context. Policy Sci 44 , 209–213 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-011-9137-3

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Essay on Science and Technology for Students and Children

500+ words essay on science and technology.

Essay on Science and Technology: Science and technology are important parts of our day to day life. We get up in the morning from the ringing of our alarm clocks and go to bed at night after switching our lights off. All these luxuries that we are able to afford are a resultant of science and technology . Most importantly, how we can do all this in a short time are because of the advancement of science and technology only. It is hard to imagine our life now without science and technology. Indeed our existence itself depends on it now. Every day new technologies are coming up which are making human life easier and more comfortable. Thus, we live in an era of science and technology.

Essentially, Science and Technology have introduced us to the establishment of modern civilization . This development contributes greatly to almost every aspect of our daily life. Hence, people get the chance to enjoy these results, which make our lives more relaxed and pleasurable.

Benefits of Science and Technology

If we think about it, there are numerous benefits of science and technology. They range from the little things to the big ones. For instance, the morning paper which we read that delivers us reliable information is a result of scientific progress. In addition, the electrical devices without which life is hard to imagine like a refrigerator, AC, microwave and more are a result of technological advancement.

Furthermore, if we look at the transport scenario, we notice how science and technology play a major role here as well. We can quickly reach the other part of the earth within hours, all thanks to advancing technology.

In addition, science and technology have enabled man to look further than our planet. The discovery of new planets and the establishment of satellites in space is because of the very same science and technology. Similarly, science and technology have also made an impact on the medical and agricultural fields. The various cures being discovered for diseases have saved millions of lives through science. Moreover, technology has enhanced the production of different crops benefitting the farmers largely.

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India and Science and Technology

Ever since British rule, India has been in talks all over the world. After gaining independence, it is science and technology which helped India advance through times. Now, it has become an essential source of creative and foundational scientific developments all over the world. In other words, all the incredible scientific and technological advancements of our country have enhanced the Indian economy.

Looking at the most recent achievement, India successfully launched Chandrayaan 2. This lunar exploration of India has earned critical acclaim from all over the world. Once again, this achievement was made possible due to science and technology.

In conclusion, we must admit that science and technology have led human civilization to achieve perfection in living. However, we must utilize everything in wise perspectives and to limited extents. Misuse of science and technology can produce harmful consequences. Therefore, we must monitor the use and be wise in our actions.

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Essay About Technology and Innovation

Writing an essay on technology and innovation can be a little bit challenging. In fact, there are many different ways in which an essay might need to be re-written in order to make it more interesting, but in the end, the results will all be worth it. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of different types of essay that can be written, but for this particular article, we will be talking about an essay about technology and innovation.

Technology is something that can be studied for many different reasons, but generally, the idea behind it is that technology has brought about a number of different improvements to the world and that has made life a little bit easier. The best way to take full advantage of this type of improvement is to take a look at the different ways in which it has been able to do so.

For example, one way that people are taking advantage of technological advancements is by taking advantage of the Internet. The Internet has allowed a number of different people to interact with one another, and this interaction has led to many different changes in the world as a whole. This is why an essay about technology and innovation about the Internet can help you to take a look at the different areas that the Internet has affected in the past.

Another part of writing a good essay about technology and innovation is taking a look at the different places that the Internet has made its way into. For example, this might include an essay on technology and innovation about how the Internet has been able to improve communication between people.

However, there are also many different aspects of the Internet that could use some improvement in order to make them a little bit more efficient. There are a number of different software applications that can help with improving these areas, and these types of programs can make a huge difference to the way that a lot of people communicate with each other and to the way that they use the Internet.

Also, there are many different ways in which the Internet can be used in order to make a difference to the productivity of those who are using it. This can include an essay about technology and innovation about how the Internet can be used to allow people to take advantage of their time more effectively and increase the amount of time that they are using it.

One of the most important things that you can do when trying to write an essay about technology and innovation about the Internet is to take a look at the different types of tools that are available to use on the Internet. These tools can range from the type of software that you can download, to the type of software that you can install on your computer. in order to help make the Internet a little bit more efficient.

These are just a few examples of what is available, but you can find a number of different options for writing about technology and innovation by looking through the different types of essay examples that are available online. In addition, when you are doing this type of research online, it can be helpful to make sure that you have access to some of the essay examples that are available through the Internet as well, so that you can see how other people have written about the Internet and about the various types of changes that have been made to it in the past.

Essay Writing About Technology and Society – Make Sure That You Write Your Essay on Time

Essay on the Importance of Technology in Education

Moral and Ethical Issues in Technology

This essay about the ethical complexities entwined with technological progress in today’s society. It explores pressing issues such as digital privacy infringement, job displacement due to AI, the ethical implications of digital warfare, and the widening digital divide. The discourse emphasizes the importance of addressing these ethical dilemmas through transparency, accountability, and proactive measures to ensure that technological advancements align with our moral values and societal well-being. By navigating these challenges with foresight and ethical reflection, we can strive towards a more equitable and sustainable future in the digital age.

How it works

In today’s technologically driven world, we find ourselves at the crossroads of innovation and ethics, grappling with profound moral questions that accompany our technological advancements. As we marvel at the wonders of modern technology, we must also confront the ethical implications that arise from its pervasive influence in our lives. This discourse delves into the intricate web of moral dilemmas woven into the fabric of our digital landscape, urging us to navigate these complexities with wisdom and foresight.

At the heart of our ethical deliberations lies the issue of privacy in an age of ubiquitous connectivity.

With the proliferation of social media platforms and smart devices, our personal data has become a prized commodity, subject to exploitation by corporations and governments alike. The recent revelations of data breaches and surveillance scandals serve as stark reminders of the precarious nature of our digital privacy, prompting calls for greater transparency and accountability in the handling of sensitive information.

Moreover, the advent of artificial intelligence has thrust us into uncharted ethical territory, where machines are endowed with increasingly sophisticated capabilities that rival human intelligence. While AI holds immense promise in revolutionizing various industries, from healthcare to transportation, it also raises profound concerns about job displacement and algorithmic bias. As we entrust machines with greater autonomy and decision-making power, we must grapple with the ethical implications of relinquishing control to non-human entities, ensuring that our technological innovations align with our moral values and societal aspirations.

In addition to the ethical quandaries posed by AI, we are also confronted with the specter of digital warfare and cyber threats that transcend traditional notions of conflict. The weaponization of technology, from autonomous drones to state-sponsored cyber attacks, has blurred the boundaries between virtual and physical battlegrounds, posing unprecedented challenges to global security and stability. As we confront these emerging threats, we must not only develop robust defensive measures but also adhere to ethical principles that uphold the sanctity of human life and dignity in the face of technological warfare.

Furthermore, the digital divide continues to widen the gap between the digital haves and have-nots, exacerbating existing disparities in access to information, education, and economic opportunities. While affluent societies reap the benefits of high-speed internet and cutting-edge technologies, marginalized communities are left behind, further entrenching cycles of poverty and inequality. Bridging this digital divide requires concerted efforts to expand access to affordable broadband infrastructure and promote digital literacy initiatives, ensuring that all individuals have the opportunity to participate fully in the digital economy.

In conclusion, the ethical conundrums that accompany our technological advancements demand careful consideration and collective action to safeguard the values and principles that define our humanity. By embracing a holistic approach to technology ethics, we can harness the transformative power of innovation while mitigating its unintended consequences. Only through mindful engagement and ethical reflection can we navigate the complex terrain of the digital age and chart a course towards a more equitable and sustainable future.

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Best Innovation Essay Examples

Innovation and technology.

356 words | 2 page(s)

Afuah emphasises on the role of motivation as a way of building and maintaining a competitive advantage. The author introduces innovation as the use of multifunctional research in different fields in an organisation. From economics to marketing and general management,. Afuah identifies the relationship that exists between innovation and management with respect to function and profitability (Afuah, 2003). With innovation come ideas such as globalisation and penetration into emerging economies making organisations extremely profitable.

Chapman identifies various processes that are associated with strategic management. The author argues that strategic management is no longer a random procedure but innovation has revolutionised it to get organizations to the level of success they are. Chapman identifies various types of innovation (Chapman, 2005), those that modify the existing strategy but at the same time maintain the organizations trajectory strategy to innovations that redefine the future strategy of an organization radically.

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Sundbo argues on the analogy of technology and strategic management. With high speed computers and connections, the idea of technology links strategic and policy makers. The assessment of technologies with regards to their potentials and impact opens up strategic management and exposes it to new and quick ways of running organizations (Sundbo, 2001). International co-ordination of organizations is enabled by technology with management of global companies made easy by the click of a mouse.

There are many trends of innovation that are shaping the business world today. Telematics allow organizations to tore send and receive information and has revolutionised the medical informatics. Massive data s collected and managed. Management and control of data, recruitment that can be done online, remote access to health care and education, new business models and markets have been actualised by innovation. Technology being an aspect of innovation is the greatest driver of change in strategic ,management with the introduction of aspects such as cloud computing and smart mobility that have revolutionised running of organizations.

• Afuah, A. (2003). Innovation management: Strategies, implementation and profits. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Chapman, C. S. (2005). Controlling strategy: Management, accounting, and performance measurement. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Sundbo, J. (2001). The strategic management of innovation: A sociological and economic theory. Cheltenham [u.a.: Elgar.

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Essay on Information Technology in 400 Words

• Updated on  
• Apr 26, 2024

Essay on Information Technology: Information Technology is the study of computer systems and telecommunications for storing, retrieving, and transmitting information using the Internet. Today, we rely on information technology to collect and transfer data from and on the internet. Say goodbye to the conventional lifestyle and hello to the realm of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

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Also Read: Essay on Internet

Scientific discoveries have given birth to Information Technology (IT), which has revolutionized our way of living. Sudden developments in technology have given a boost to IT growth, which has changed the entire world. Students are taught online using smartboards, virtual meetings are conducted between countries to enhance diplomatic ties, online surveys are done to spread social awareness, e-commerce platforms are used for online shopping, etc.

Information Technology has made sharing and collecting information at our fingertips easier. We can learn new things with just a click. IT tools have enhanced global communication, through which we can foster economic cooperation and innovation. Almost every business in the world relies on Information Technology for growth and development. The addiction to information technology is thriving throughout the world.

Also Read: Essay on 5G Technology

• Everyday activities like texting, calling, and video chatting have made communication more efficient.
• E-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart have become a source of online shopping.
• E-learning platforms have made education more accessible.
• The global economy has significantly improved.
• The healthcare sector has revolutionized with the introduction of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and telemedicine.
• Local businesses have expanded into global businesses. 
• Access to any information on the internet in real-time.

Also Read: Essay on Mobile Phone

Disadvantages

Apart from the above-mentioned advantages of Information Technology, there are some disadvantages also.

• Cybersecurity and data breaches are one of the most important issues.
• There is a digital divide in people having access to information technology.
• Our over-relying attitude towards the IT sector makes us vulnerable to technical glitches, system failures and cyber-attacks.
• Excessive use of electronic devices and exposure to screens contribute to health issues.
• Short lifecycles of electronic devices due to rapid changes in technological developments.
• Challenges like copyright infringement and intellectual property will rise because of ease in digital reproduction and distribution.
• Our traditional ways of entertainment have been transformed by online streaming platforms, where we can watch movies and play games online.

The modern world heavily relies on information technology. Indeed, it has fundamentally reshaped our way of living and working, but, we also need to strike a balance between its use and overuse. We must pay attention to the challenges it brings for a sustainable and equitable society.

Also Read: Essay on Technology

Paragraph on Information Technology

Also Read: Essay on Wonder of Science

Short Essay on Information Technology

Check out the short essay on information technology from below:

Also Read: I Love My India Essay: 100 and 500+ Words in English for School Students

Ans: Information technology is an indispensable part of our lives and has revolutionized the way we connect, work, and live. The IT sector involves the use of computers and electronic gadgets to store, transmit, and retrieve data. In recent year, there has been some rapid changes in the IT sector, which has transformed the world into a global village, where information can be exchanged in real-time across vast distances.

Ans: The IT sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the world. The IT sector includes IT services, e-commerce, the Internet, Software, and Hardware products. IT sector helps boost productivity and efficiency. Computer applications and digital systems have allowed people to perform multiple tasks at a faster rate. IT sector creates new opportunities for everyone; businesses, professionals, and consumers.

Ans: There are four basic concepts of the IT sector: Information security, business software development, computer technical support, and database and network management.

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Essay on Information Technology 1000+ Words

Information Technology, often referred to as IT, is a marvel of the modern age. It encompasses the use of computers, software, and networks to process, store, and transmit information. In this essay, we will explore the incredible world of Information Technology, its significance in our lives, and the endless possibilities it offers.

The Evolution of Information Technology

Information technology has come a long way since its inception. In the early days, computers were enormous machines that filled entire rooms. Today, we have powerful computers that fit in our pockets! The evolution of IT has made it more accessible and versatile, revolutionizing the way we live and work.

Information at Our Fingertips

One of the most remarkable aspects of Information Technology is its ability to bring vast amounts of information right to our fingertips. With the internet, we can access knowledge from around the world with just a few clicks. This easy access to information has transformed how we learn, research, and communicate.

Education and E-Learning

Information Technology has revolutionized education. Through online courses and e-learning platforms, students can access quality education from anywhere in the world. This has made learning more flexible and accessible, ensuring that knowledge is not limited by geographical boundaries.

Communication and Connectivity

Information Technology has connected people across the globe like never before. Through email, social media, and video calls, we can stay in touch with friends and family, no matter where they are. This connectivity has bridged gaps and fostered global understanding and collaboration.

Innovation and Creativity

It has fueled innovation and creativity in countless ways. From digital art and animation to video games and app development, technology has opened up new avenues for self-expression and entrepreneurship. It has empowered individuals to turn their ideas into reality.

Business and Industry

The business world relies heavily on Information Technology. Companies use IT for everything from managing finances and inventory to marketing and customer service. IT has increased efficiency, reduced costs, and expanded opportunities for businesses of all sizes.

Healthcare and Medical Advancements

Information technology has transformed healthcare. Electronic health records make patient information easily accessible to medical professionals, improving patient care. Telemedicine allows doctors to diagnose and treat patients remotely, which is especially important during times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Environmental Impact

IT has the potential to contribute to a greener planet. Through data analysis, smart technology, and energy-efficient solutions, we can reduce waste and make more sustainable choices. IT can help us monitor and combat climate change.

Conclusion of Essay on Information Technology

In conclusion, Information Technology is a powerful force that has reshaped our world in countless ways. Its evolution, easy access to information, impact on education, and role in communication have made it an essential part of our lives. IT drives innovation, empowers businesses, and revolutionizes healthcare. It also has the potential to contribute to a more sustainable future.

As we navigate the digital age, it’s important to harness the potential of Information Technology for the greater good. It offers endless possibilities and opportunities, but also comes with responsibilities. Let us embrace the power and promise of Information Technology, using it wisely to build a brighter and more connected world for all.

Also Check: The Essay on Essay: All you need to know

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Toward a Green Energy System: How Does Carbon Capture,  Utilization,  and Storage Technology Innovation Promote Green Total Factor Productivity? *

The article is sponsored by the National Social Science Foundation of China (grant no. 23VMG006); Grant-in-Aid for the Excellent Young Researcher of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT); Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (grant no. 22K13432) of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) and the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (grant no. 22H03816) of the JSPS. The authors acknowledge the constructive comments of Fumiharu Mieno, Wai-Mun Chia, Phouphet Kyphilavong, Wing Thye Woo, and all the participants of the AEP conference held on 6–7 September 2023 at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. Certainly, all remaining errors are our own.

Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Disclosure statement: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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Kangyin Dong , Jianda Wang , Congyu Zhao , Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary , Han Phoumin; Toward a Green Energy System: How Does Carbon Capture,  Utilization,  and Storage Technology Innovation Promote Green Total Factor Productivity?. Asian Economic Papers 2024; doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/asep_a_00892

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Using a panel data set from 2007 to 2019, we empirically evaluate the impact of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology innovation on green total factor productivity (GTFP). The findings show that (1) CCUS technology innovation significantly improves GTFP. (2) CCUS technology innovation significantly contributes to GTFP by promoting industrial structure upgrading and carbon emissions efficiency. (3) Environmental regulation plays a positive moderating role in the nexus between CCUS technology innovation and GTFP. The findings of this paper provide guidance for China to achieve green energy transition and build a green energy system.

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CFP: Sports Technology and Innovation symposium, 21-22 October 2024, Smithsonian Institution

Final Call for Papers: Sports Technology and Innovation  symposium   October 21-22, 2024 Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA

**Note: we’ve extended the deadline for proposals to May 15, 2024!

In Game Changer (2017), Rayvon Fouché argued that modern sports have been radically transformed by scientific and technological advances in materials, training, nutrition, and medicine. Indeed, from elite professionals to recreational “weekend warriors,” sports technologies can make the difference between victory and defeat, safety and injury, participation and exclusion. Moreover, athletes regularly engage in “user innovation” (von Hippel, 2006) to develop advanced technologies for their own benefit. Meanwhile, players’ unions, sports federations, and fans collectively influence whether certain sports technologies are widely adopted, regulated, or rejected.

To further explore these ideas, we invite proposals for a forthcoming symposium titled “Sports Technology and Innovation.” The symposium will examine the different motivations that inspire inventors to develop game-changing technologies, their creative processes, and the often-surprising sources of their ideas. It will investigate the high-tech apparel, protective gear, adaptive prostheses, medical advances, officiating technologies, AI algorithms, and training equipment that infuse all modern sports. We will also explore how athletes, coaches, and general managers engage in non-technological innovation when they introduce new training regimens, “bodily techniques,” (Loland, 1992) and front office strategies. The symposium will examine the social and cultural reception of sports technologies, the passionate debates they spur, and the myriad ways they change the games, for better and worse. Finally, we will explore different approaches to the assessment, regulation, and governance of sports technologies and examine why game-changing innovations are ultimately adopted or rejected.

We are interested in original, unpublished research that is conceptually informed and historically framed addressing the above and related topics. We invite paper proposals that span a wide variety of time periods, geographies, and sports. We welcome proposals from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including all subfields of kinesiology, the sport humanities and social sciences, sport management, physical culture studies, public health, history, science & technology studies, technology management/entrepreneurship, sociology, anthropology, economics, communications, media studies, and ethics. Besides academics and scholars, we also invite paper proposals from practitioners, i.e., the inventors, scientists, engineers, coaches, athletes, and officials who have advanced and regulated innovations in sports. 

New Deadline for proposals: May 15, 2024: Interested participants should visit  https://forms.gle/kxHbzfU8HFdyusYz5 to upload a short proposal, written in English, containing a 1-page paper abstract followed by a 1-page CV or short bio. Selected symposium presenters will be notified in early June and should pre-circulate a written version of their conference papers by October 7, 2024. The symposium is planned as an in-person event on October 21-22, 2024, but will adopt a virtual format if necessary. In addition to the paper presentations, participants will tour the Lemelson Center’s new bilingual sports technology exhibition, Change Your Game / Cambia Tu Juego and learn more about the forthcoming companion volume, Inventing for Sports (2024). The Lemelson Center will provide all selected symposium participants with travel to Washington, DC, hotel accommodations, and meals. The symposium organizers are planning to develop an edited volume or special journal issue (e.g., Sport History , International Journal of the History of Sport , History and Technology , or similar) from a selection of revised conference papers. The program committee is comprised of Eric S. Hintz (Lemelson Center, Smithsonian Institution), Tolga Ozyurtcu (University of Texas, Austin), Matt Bowers (University of Texas, Austin), and Rachel S. Gross (University of Colorado Denver). Questions? Please contact Tolga Ozyurtcu ([email protected]) or Eric S. Hintz ([email protected]).