The Transformative Power of Technology
Forum Speaker Jack Uldrich - expert and author on technology and innovation |
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Read the Technology report (pdf) 460 kb |
Think of some of the technologies that did not exist 50 years ago: the internet, cell phones, PCs, laser technology, pacemakers, contact lenses, microwave ovens, Doppler radar, video conferencing, and thousands of other inventions. Just the past eight years alone have brought us the Segway, transformer fluid from vegetable oil, the artificial heart and liver, the iPod, Mars rovers, hybrid cars, the wii, thin film solar panels, the retail DNA test, Google Maps and brain radiators, to name but a few.
Technological progress spawns even more rapid technological progress. If we think that the past 50 years have changed the world we live in, imagine how much the next 50 years will change it!
Imagine the impact that technological and scientific innovations will have on our region. What types of new jobs will technology bring and what types of jobs will technology eliminate? How will technology and science improve our health and increase our life expectancy, and how will this shape the make-up of our population? How will new communication mechanisms decrease or even eliminate the need for travel and transportation?
Will technology and science be able to save us from the damage that we have done to our environment? What will be our future sources of energy? How will innovations in technology change housing and architecture in the region? How will all this progress affect our economy?
In order to prepare our region for the future, we explored the latest techno trends and how they might help us shape our vision of a brave new region in 2050 at a forum on the impact of technology on the region over the next 50 years. Our keynote speaker was Jack Uldrich, an expert and author on technology and innovation. Uldrich and a panel of regional technology experts discussed nanotechnology, robotics, biotechnology and other emerging trends, shining the spotlight on how these trends might shape life in the Atlanta region over the next few decades.