We’re living in extraordinary times.  The digital revolution is fundamentally impacting every aspect of our lives.  The pace of change is happening at breath taking speed, and I find myself fascinated by the evolution of change.  I think we’re all become somewhat blasé regarding innovation, and it’s not surprising given that “wow” factors are happening with greater frequency.  One thing we take for granted is our smart phone.  Mobile phones have been around for a while, but our dependency on the device grows daily.  I came across a survey that indicated that 96 per cent of mobile phone owners have their device within arm’s reach, twenty four hours a day.  That folks is attachment or addiction if you will.

As for the handle, the smartphone, not sure if it’s made me any smarter.  In some ways it’s made me intellectually lazy.  There was a time when the grey matter between my ears was my Rolodex.  I had a multitude of phone numbers memorized because I had too. Today, I would be hard pressed to come up with more than two numbers.  Why? I don’t have to memorize phone numbers. I push a button and magic happens, the number appears.  If the number doesn’t appear? I ask Siri to find it.  If you own an iPhone you know who/what Siri is.  Siri does a lot of thinking for all of us.  Need a phone number, directions, restaurant name, the weather, the score in the Jay’s game, you name it, she knows it all.  When some other entity does a lot of the thinking for you, well, you stop doing it.  I’m not sure if that’s such a good thing.  I think from now on I’m going to stop referring to it as a smart phone, and start calling it something more appropriate, like the “dumbass phone”.

My reason for thinking about smartphones, and our growing dependency on them, was a result of reading an article about Google developing a self-driving car.  The prototype is a two seater, no steering wheel, gas pedal or brakes.  It’s all powered by computers and is guided by sensors.  The possibilities are mind boggling.  If Google makes the self-driving car a reality it will have a ripple effect that would make Charles Richter, creator of the Richter scale, say “that’s what I’m talking about”.  Automakers, the oil industry, regulators, oh hell, most every business would be impacted.  Some cars today have functions that are automated, but not fully automated.  A fully automated self-driving car would be game changer, for all of us.  Now, you may think this is too futuristic and is nothing more than a bunch of techno geeks creating cools things that will never get off the ground.  That’s what I thought.  Mind you that was six years ago when I read an article that we would become dependent on our mobile phones, and that they would eventually replace our personal computers.

Until next time,

 Cheers.