TWENTY years ago I filled up my hire car with petrol at a Florida service station and paid for it by putting my credit card into a slot in the pump and keying in my pin number.
A small screen lit up and my name appeared. I was astounded at the advance of new technology. Only in America, I said.
Not any more. Automated petrol pumps are old hat. We get our cash from a hole-in-the-wall, train tickets from a machine. You put money in a slot to get your parking ticket validated. Retail outlets offer serve-yourself tills. The record industry has been changed by music downloads, ebook readers are replacing books. We have drone aircraft and robot submarines and automated call centres with eight choices before you actually speak to a human being. If you’re lucky.
In the US, computer software, that can scan and discover evidence from documents, has replaced lawyers
. A medical robot is being developed to help the elderly.
The world has always been in a state of forward motion and there has always been progress. But today, new technology is sweeping everything before it.
We are in the age of a revolution that could transform society.
Phew, I’m breathless already.
In the past, workers adapted. But this time millions could be left unemployed and stagnating at home in front of wall-sized TV screens watching mindless game shows and endless repeats of The Only Way Is Essex. Or am I just being a Luddite? Perhaps it could be the start of a Utopian era of leisure time without the pressure of work, when job sharing is optional.
“Go on, then, I can do you a Tuesday morning and a Thursday afternoon.”
When we discover alternative energy sources, save the planet and embrace world peace. When people develop pastimes and pursuits that challenge the senses.
“Today, Mary, I shall build an ark.”
“Oh Arthur, the summer’s not been that bad.”
If the future does turn out to be full of potential and spare time, one thing is certain, we will have to get our brains into gear to ensure we make the most of it .
I didn’t like TOWIE the first time round.
