Innovation Integration

Technology has come a long way in the last few years. In fact technology seems to be accelerating and integrating into our lives at an alarming rate. Human beings can hardly exist without accessing several forms of technology on a minute to minute basis. Digital natives are reaching a point of near technology dependence. We are lucky if we can even drive to our friends houses without having to access a GPS - how on earth did sales people of the past get from destination to destination without turn by turn guidance?

Google is ready to take the small screens of our phones, gps', tablets, and computers and take them to the next level. A project called Google Glass is allowing people to effectively wear the technology and change the very perception of our reality. Remember Arnold in his most famous role of all time, The Terminator? When the terminator looked across a landscape his HUD was able to identify threats, pick out people and places of interest, and beyond all of that it was able to recommend action. At first glance this technology may seem amazing, in fact you may be jumping at the bit to get your hands on it. It will revolutionize the way humans interact with our environment. It has the ability to increase human effectiveness and allow man kind to be more efficient than ever before. It will increase our ability to network, communicate, relay information (both personal and professional), and even warn people of impending danger.

Though the Google Glass program may result in a major breakthrough, the question is will it again breed a new generation of true digital dependents? For instance, the need to learn how to do long complex math problems was effectively eliminated by the invention of the calculator. On the same note, the invention of the GPS (as mentioned above) took away the need for you to familiarize yourself with your travel routes and surroundings.  Will a new generation of digital dependents need to rely on this technology to execute daily tasks and remain in control of their lives? With all the information being uploaded to their HUD's at all times, information regarding places they like, what their friends are up to, their schedule, even recommendations regarding what they should do and with whom (again organized by marketers who would have complex algorithm's based on behavior), begs the question - could we be rendered helpless without the constant information stream? Of course it is impossible now to be sure. I do look forward to the coming technology and maybe more so to the challenges and issues we encounter along the way. For now I will appreciate the world as I see it now - clean and clear, that is of course until I click my phone on for the latest update!

Images via New York Times