"My interest is in the future because I am going to spend the rest of my life there." -Charles Kettering-
This quote holds much truth, in the sense that where else can we spend our lives besides the present and the future? We can't stay holed up in the past that is for sure. However, dealing with the future is a tricky situation, there is much uncertainty in the future. Building security is vital, in all aspects like healthcare and sustainable infrastructures. Benjamin Franklin once said: "Look before, or you'll find yourself behind". Imagination is the only limitation, and our capabilities are so much more, if we would just tap deeper into it.
So many people have come up with ideas for the future; GPS embedded into our bodies, controlling devices with our minds, augmented reality as mentioned in previous post and so many more! Lives will be made so much more convenient, with greater access and innovations to spur our lives to greater heights. We can be more eco-friendly with e-papers and nanotechnologies, that allows us just ONE equipment that can last us forever. For example, one electronic newspaper, which news can change by itself everyday, or every minute. With the use of augmented reality, we can diss brochures and fliers already, as the device in our hands can tell us much more infomation required about the unknown object.
This is a video of a parody of Microsoft vision of the future:
The whole idea that has been incorporated in us since day one of this course: To be a change leader. I too believe that empires of the future..are empires of the dream. I sourced YouTube and found this video below, which has tonnes of pictures about visions of the future-the new types of vehicles, buildings and infrastructures, planes and nanotech-strips, technology about DNA and bionic motions. Take a look!
Presentation One was on Ethical Technology Assessment by Hannah
Presentation Two was by Bryan, whose slides were pretty interesting.
Hannah came up with a checklist approach to ethics:
Dissemination and Use of Information
Control, Influence and Power
Impact on Social Contact Patterns
Privacy
Sustainability
Human Reproduction
Gender, Minorities and Justice
International Relations
Impact on Human Values
A point was made in class about the privacy issue. Some harp so much on privacy, when they have no qualms about putting up their own personal issues on Facebook and their blogs. However, when this invasion of personal space is brought to another level, when the 'publicising' of personal infomation is not voluntary, then it is a violation of privacy rights.
Tools to assess technology is also crucial, but the concepts and basis of it is far more important. The basis forms the foundation and provides the route to our future, which is the key to it all before we even use tools.
I would rate today's lesson a seven. Future technology sure is interesting and can confound us at times, but yet intrigue us much more. However, assessing future technology can kind of bore us to certain extent, as we are always much more interested in dreaming about whats possible, than whats probable. To end it off, heres another video I found, that is on Siemen's Limitless Possibilities.
The future is in our hands; it is for our future generations to reap or to wreck. We can keep on dreaming, but dreaming will take us only so far. We have to incorporate our dreams with tools to access and assess these dreams and technologies that can take us higher and further. Change is accelerating exponentially, we have to continually change our mindset and adapt to changes before we get left behind.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Lesson #9 Emerging and Future Technologies
George Bernard Shaw once said this: "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?" Certainly, curiosity is the key to our vast and limitless innovations; children are perpetualy curious, asking the simplest question "why?". However, what Shaw is trying to say is that, instead of questioning the existence of things, why not ponder about things that aren't here yet? That is probably the main root to how things came about in the first place, and can also be applied to future technologies, things that will will change our way of life permanently.
Prof's quote of the day:
"In terms of the development and application of new and emerging technologies, we are limited only by our imagination-and, all too often, the lack thereof." -Gurinder Shahi-
Today's topic of emerging and future technology is one that interest I would say, the mass population. After all, who doesn't enjoy a dosage of day dreaming and letting their imaginations run wild? The future is ours to make, future tech holds such great potential for us to tap into. Just think back of how much our world has changed since the Neolithic times, from carvings to paper to the computer to smart phones. Now there will be a whole new realm of claytronics, virtual reality and even augmented reality.
As today's topic is on future technologies, and the future is hard to predict much less describe in words, I shall post more videos, as a picture paints a thousand words, imagine how many more words can a video speak of. I was 'youtube hopping' and found several interesting videos of future tech, none that was discussed in class. Take a look at this 'Computers of the Future' video, this technology is really cool and would make laptops and ipads seem redundant and bulky and impractical if such technology really existed.
Today's reading 4 was pretty interesting, about the Ten Most Important Emerging Technologies for Humanity.
#1 The Global Electronic Library (A Global Electronic Library would combine all the available knowledge on the planet -- all books, periodicals, newsletters, journals, newspapers, web pages, spoken word, and more -- into a single, searchable resource available to everyone on the planet.)
#2 Hydrogen Economy Enablers (By shifting to a hydrogen economy, we will solve a long list of problems resulting from the oil economy while creating a cleaner and more productive society.)
#3 Augmented Reality (Like many technologies, augmented reality holds both tremendous creative potential and a truly horrifying potential for abuse. Augmented reality can either enslave the world, or it can set it free)
#4 Practical Robots (Practical robots can greatly enhance our collective quality of life by freeing us from daily labors, serving as true companions and multiplying the realization of our creativity and intentions)
#5 High-Density Portable Power (Today’s chemical batteries are holding back promising applications for emerging technologies, and only a breakthrough in portable power can overcome those limitations)
#6 Fuel Cell Vehicles (Fuel cell vehicles hold the promise to clean up our cities, halt the chronic disease caused by air pollution, slow global warming and once again make personal transportation an enjoyment rather than a burden on society.)
#7 Genetic Engineering of Humans (With the proper technology, maturity and ethics, we could accomplish tremendous outcomes through genetic engineering.)
#8 Computer/Human Interface Systems (Breakthroughs in computer / human interface technologies will multiply the speed of personal computing, eventually approaching the speed of thought.)
#9 Vibrational Medicine (Vibrational medicine is the future of healing. While the eras of physical and chemical medicine are now fading, vibrational medicine is emerging as a far superior model for accelerating healing in patients everywhere.)
#10 Superlearning Systems (Superlearning systems will allow our civilization to take a quantum leap in the transfer of knowledge and wisdom to each successive generation.)
We had 5 presentors enlightening us on future tech today:
Presentation #1: Electronic Paper-Changing the Way we work by Yi Rong
Presentation #2: Touch Technology by Shuna
Presentation #3: Future of Biometrics in Enhancing Security by Darren
Presentation #4: Gaming as an emerging technology by Rebecca
Presentation #5: Smart Cards by Peiting
Shuna's presentation on touch technology was pretty interesting, she mentioned that in our world today, everything is gradually becoming touch screen. Majority of the population own some form of touchscreen device, be it iPhones, iTouch or even normal phones like Samsung. The QWERTY keypad days are more or less losing its phase. Even the newer malls like ION, its shopping directory is touchscreen, instead of the traditional board with all the info chucked onto it, and people scrutinizing the small words carefully to look for one shop. The touchscreen directory at ION makes our lives so much easier, as we can easily source for the shop we're looking for.
I found these 2 videos on youtube, they are ads on blackberry and apple that never came out on TV. They are pretty funny, just showing how the blackberry phone wants to take apple products like the iPhone out of the market, and apple's strategy to fight back. It is humorous as they make use of the blackberry and apple fruits literally.
Future technologies are really fascinating as we never know what the future entails for us. Who knows, 10 years down the road, we will all be using touch screen for everything, user interfaces and virtual reality; books will be replaced by electronic paper etc; the gaming technology that Rebecca showed us in her presentation will exist, and takes over playstation, xbox and even wii. That concept was really really awesome, as it allows you to play games at anytime, without a remote. All you have to do is stand in front of the screen, let it scan your data, and you can play anything, as though it is real. Our lives would really change by then.
However, on second thoughts, all these talks about future technology..none of these are in line with what we have been talking about the past weeks, about helping the developing countries catch up with the rest of the world in this global technology rat race. None of this talks about sustainable development. None of this assures us that the environment will not be harmed at the same time, that it will not widen the poverty cycle and inaccesibility cycle. Technology and World Change, Technology is rising, yes that is definite. What about the part about World Change? Is it on the rise too? Yes, only to certain parts of the world, that have the capital to allow such changes. Food for thought I guess, are we progressing in the right way? Will these changes benefit the poor, or is it only for our convenience, to make lives better for us, without giving two hoots about those elsewhere? Personally, much as I think these future technologies are really great and interesting, and would love to get my hands on one of these, I still stand for my grounds on sustainable development and helping the developing countries get back on this global technology race first. I feel that solving the issues of hunger and poverty elsewhere takes precedence over additional convenience in our already-very-convenient lives.
I would rate today's lesson a 8/10 as future technology is one very interesting topic, and the videos watched today were really an eye opener. I will definitely watch out for these gadgets and changes in the years to come. Hopefully, they will emerge within the next 50 years, so that my generation and I can still live to witness such changes. I feel that my generation is already lucky enough to be in the midst of change from the pager-era to smart phones-era, who knows we might live to be in the midst of paper-era to e-paper-era too!
Prof's quote of the day:
"In terms of the development and application of new and emerging technologies, we are limited only by our imagination-and, all too often, the lack thereof." -Gurinder Shahi-
Today's topic of emerging and future technology is one that interest I would say, the mass population. After all, who doesn't enjoy a dosage of day dreaming and letting their imaginations run wild? The future is ours to make, future tech holds such great potential for us to tap into. Just think back of how much our world has changed since the Neolithic times, from carvings to paper to the computer to smart phones. Now there will be a whole new realm of claytronics, virtual reality and even augmented reality.
As today's topic is on future technologies, and the future is hard to predict much less describe in words, I shall post more videos, as a picture paints a thousand words, imagine how many more words can a video speak of. I was 'youtube hopping' and found several interesting videos of future tech, none that was discussed in class. Take a look at this 'Computers of the Future' video, this technology is really cool and would make laptops and ipads seem redundant and bulky and impractical if such technology really existed.
Today's reading 4 was pretty interesting, about the Ten Most Important Emerging Technologies for Humanity.
#1 The Global Electronic Library (A Global Electronic Library would combine all the available knowledge on the planet -- all books, periodicals, newsletters, journals, newspapers, web pages, spoken word, and more -- into a single, searchable resource available to everyone on the planet.)
#2 Hydrogen Economy Enablers (By shifting to a hydrogen economy, we will solve a long list of problems resulting from the oil economy while creating a cleaner and more productive society.)
#3 Augmented Reality (Like many technologies, augmented reality holds both tremendous creative potential and a truly horrifying potential for abuse. Augmented reality can either enslave the world, or it can set it free)
#4 Practical Robots (Practical robots can greatly enhance our collective quality of life by freeing us from daily labors, serving as true companions and multiplying the realization of our creativity and intentions)
#5 High-Density Portable Power (Today’s chemical batteries are holding back promising applications for emerging technologies, and only a breakthrough in portable power can overcome those limitations)
#6 Fuel Cell Vehicles (Fuel cell vehicles hold the promise to clean up our cities, halt the chronic disease caused by air pollution, slow global warming and once again make personal transportation an enjoyment rather than a burden on society.)
#7 Genetic Engineering of Humans (With the proper technology, maturity and ethics, we could accomplish tremendous outcomes through genetic engineering.)
#8 Computer/Human Interface Systems (Breakthroughs in computer / human interface technologies will multiply the speed of personal computing, eventually approaching the speed of thought.)
#9 Vibrational Medicine (Vibrational medicine is the future of healing. While the eras of physical and chemical medicine are now fading, vibrational medicine is emerging as a far superior model for accelerating healing in patients everywhere.)
#10 Superlearning Systems (Superlearning systems will allow our civilization to take a quantum leap in the transfer of knowledge and wisdom to each successive generation.)
We had 5 presentors enlightening us on future tech today:
Presentation #1: Electronic Paper-Changing the Way we work by Yi Rong
Presentation #2: Touch Technology by Shuna
Presentation #3: Future of Biometrics in Enhancing Security by Darren
Presentation #4: Gaming as an emerging technology by Rebecca
Presentation #5: Smart Cards by Peiting
Shuna's presentation on touch technology was pretty interesting, she mentioned that in our world today, everything is gradually becoming touch screen. Majority of the population own some form of touchscreen device, be it iPhones, iTouch or even normal phones like Samsung. The QWERTY keypad days are more or less losing its phase. Even the newer malls like ION, its shopping directory is touchscreen, instead of the traditional board with all the info chucked onto it, and people scrutinizing the small words carefully to look for one shop. The touchscreen directory at ION makes our lives so much easier, as we can easily source for the shop we're looking for.
I found these 2 videos on youtube, they are ads on blackberry and apple that never came out on TV. They are pretty funny, just showing how the blackberry phone wants to take apple products like the iPhone out of the market, and apple's strategy to fight back. It is humorous as they make use of the blackberry and apple fruits literally.
Future technologies are really fascinating as we never know what the future entails for us. Who knows, 10 years down the road, we will all be using touch screen for everything, user interfaces and virtual reality; books will be replaced by electronic paper etc; the gaming technology that Rebecca showed us in her presentation will exist, and takes over playstation, xbox and even wii. That concept was really really awesome, as it allows you to play games at anytime, without a remote. All you have to do is stand in front of the screen, let it scan your data, and you can play anything, as though it is real. Our lives would really change by then.
However, on second thoughts, all these talks about future technology..none of these are in line with what we have been talking about the past weeks, about helping the developing countries catch up with the rest of the world in this global technology rat race. None of this talks about sustainable development. None of this assures us that the environment will not be harmed at the same time, that it will not widen the poverty cycle and inaccesibility cycle. Technology and World Change, Technology is rising, yes that is definite. What about the part about World Change? Is it on the rise too? Yes, only to certain parts of the world, that have the capital to allow such changes. Food for thought I guess, are we progressing in the right way? Will these changes benefit the poor, or is it only for our convenience, to make lives better for us, without giving two hoots about those elsewhere? Personally, much as I think these future technologies are really great and interesting, and would love to get my hands on one of these, I still stand for my grounds on sustainable development and helping the developing countries get back on this global technology race first. I feel that solving the issues of hunger and poverty elsewhere takes precedence over additional convenience in our already-very-convenient lives.
I would rate today's lesson a 8/10 as future technology is one very interesting topic, and the videos watched today were really an eye opener. I will definitely watch out for these gadgets and changes in the years to come. Hopefully, they will emerge within the next 50 years, so that my generation and I can still live to witness such changes. I feel that my generation is already lucky enough to be in the midst of change from the pager-era to smart phones-era, who knows we might live to be in the midst of paper-era to e-paper-era too!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Lesson #8 Energy and World Change: Past, Present, Future
Al Gore once said in his speech in 2008, "We can't negotiate the facts. We can't negotiate the truth about the situation. And for those who are too fearful to finish, it can be done and must be done. Make sure we succeed,...It is wrong for this generation to destroy the habitability of our planet and ruin the prospects of every future generation."
I watched the show 'The Inconvenient Truth', which is basically about him, Al Gore, talking about global warming, and how we need to start finding sustainable resources for our planet, and what is being done and so on. I find it a really interesting show, and his points are clear and well planned. Moreover, he is an amazing speaker too. Today's topic covers the aspect of Energy and World Change. Our resources are being depleted at a fast rate, much quicker than they can be grown again, hence the term 'non-renewable'. Like what Al Gore said in his quote above, it is our responsibility to make this planet sustainable not only for us, but for the future generations as well. We do not owN this planet, neither does the planet owE us. The onus is on us, especially our generation to think up of new inventions, new methods to renew resources such that they are sustainable. Gone are the days of traditional biomass energies, but instead newer ones like modern bioenergy are taking over. Not only is it burning of wood and coal, we now turn to gasification and hydrolysis and many others. Incorporating new technologies into olden methods, a good sign of improvement I reckon.
Once more, Prof's quote for today: "The days of fossil fuels are numbered. Renewable energy will drive the Green Revolution." I agree with him on this, as I feel that the world is also becoming more globally aware. Besides the implementation of the MDG, there is also the Kyoto Protocol and many countries are urging their people to start recycling and using less energy/stop wasting resources.
Video: Animation: Climate change, energy & action
This video is an interesting one which shows animation of how much energy we are consuming and how it hurts the earth, until we go green, which the colours will then change from red to green, and the animated buildings will smile. It is a simple yet powerful message being sent out. Another video below is about how Germany started tapping into renewable energy resources. Although I feel that this is an extremely good and efficient method, and that it will work really well in Singapore I can foresee, as Singapore is near the equator, we have sunshine all year round, solar panels are a good investment. However there are also limitations to it-Singapore lacks the land to install solar panels on open areas like farms etc, just like Germany in the video. Countries like Germany have much more land, and more landed properties, hence each house can have a solar panel on its roof. However, Singapore is mainly high rise buildings and HDB flats, thus the number of houses to install solar panels on are limited in that sense already. Moreover, I feel that it is pretty unsightly to have solar panels paving our streets everywhere. We are supposed to be a green city, I guess the literal meaning of green as in plants and trees, and not environmentally friendly 'green'.
One of the readings mentioned that solar energy is most widely available, as compared to wind and biomass etc. If we were to use the same policy as Germany government, using monetary incentives to encourage people to install solar panels on their roof, this would firstly be a great start in getting the countrymen involved. The onus isn't on the researchers or the govenrment alone, everyone should play a part in this as long as we stay on this planet.
We had 5 presenters today:
The Nine Challenges of Alternative Energy by Randy
Fusion Energy by Sweeney
Nuclear Energy, a better Alternative Energy for the World? by Thiha
Selecting your Energy Source by Marvin
Carbon Capture and Recyling by Patrick
I felt that Randy's presentation on the nine challenges was pretty good, he even came up with abbreviations for us to remember them by: TWC SMILE E. Patrick's slides were really cool, I just started using Prezi not long ago too, and it can do so much more than Powerpoint. Anyway, his topic on CCR was interesting, about how car exhaust fumes can be instantly recycled to be used as fuel to power the car, so its a close loop process.
All in all, I thought today's topic is one that is being discussed globally, and is a hot topic given our current state of the rate we're comsuming resources. I am all for using renewable energies like wind, solar, wave, hydroelectric powers etc. I would rate today's lesson an 8 out of 10, as this topic is widely relevant to our society and our life.
I watched the show 'The Inconvenient Truth', which is basically about him, Al Gore, talking about global warming, and how we need to start finding sustainable resources for our planet, and what is being done and so on. I find it a really interesting show, and his points are clear and well planned. Moreover, he is an amazing speaker too. Today's topic covers the aspect of Energy and World Change. Our resources are being depleted at a fast rate, much quicker than they can be grown again, hence the term 'non-renewable'. Like what Al Gore said in his quote above, it is our responsibility to make this planet sustainable not only for us, but for the future generations as well. We do not owN this planet, neither does the planet owE us. The onus is on us, especially our generation to think up of new inventions, new methods to renew resources such that they are sustainable. Gone are the days of traditional biomass energies, but instead newer ones like modern bioenergy are taking over. Not only is it burning of wood and coal, we now turn to gasification and hydrolysis and many others. Incorporating new technologies into olden methods, a good sign of improvement I reckon.
Once more, Prof's quote for today: "The days of fossil fuels are numbered. Renewable energy will drive the Green Revolution." I agree with him on this, as I feel that the world is also becoming more globally aware. Besides the implementation of the MDG, there is also the Kyoto Protocol and many countries are urging their people to start recycling and using less energy/stop wasting resources.
Video: Animation: Climate change, energy & action
This video is an interesting one which shows animation of how much energy we are consuming and how it hurts the earth, until we go green, which the colours will then change from red to green, and the animated buildings will smile. It is a simple yet powerful message being sent out. Another video below is about how Germany started tapping into renewable energy resources. Although I feel that this is an extremely good and efficient method, and that it will work really well in Singapore I can foresee, as Singapore is near the equator, we have sunshine all year round, solar panels are a good investment. However there are also limitations to it-Singapore lacks the land to install solar panels on open areas like farms etc, just like Germany in the video. Countries like Germany have much more land, and more landed properties, hence each house can have a solar panel on its roof. However, Singapore is mainly high rise buildings and HDB flats, thus the number of houses to install solar panels on are limited in that sense already. Moreover, I feel that it is pretty unsightly to have solar panels paving our streets everywhere. We are supposed to be a green city, I guess the literal meaning of green as in plants and trees, and not environmentally friendly 'green'.
One of the readings mentioned that solar energy is most widely available, as compared to wind and biomass etc. If we were to use the same policy as Germany government, using monetary incentives to encourage people to install solar panels on their roof, this would firstly be a great start in getting the countrymen involved. The onus isn't on the researchers or the govenrment alone, everyone should play a part in this as long as we stay on this planet.
We had 5 presenters today:
The Nine Challenges of Alternative Energy by Randy
Fusion Energy by Sweeney
Nuclear Energy, a better Alternative Energy for the World? by Thiha
Selecting your Energy Source by Marvin
Carbon Capture and Recyling by Patrick
I felt that Randy's presentation on the nine challenges was pretty good, he even came up with abbreviations for us to remember them by: TWC SMILE E. Patrick's slides were really cool, I just started using Prezi not long ago too, and it can do so much more than Powerpoint. Anyway, his topic on CCR was interesting, about how car exhaust fumes can be instantly recycled to be used as fuel to power the car, so its a close loop process.
All in all, I thought today's topic is one that is being discussed globally, and is a hot topic given our current state of the rate we're comsuming resources. I am all for using renewable energies like wind, solar, wave, hydroelectric powers etc. I would rate today's lesson an 8 out of 10, as this topic is widely relevant to our society and our life.
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