Coding Technologies And Their Impact On The Future

 Coding Technologies And Their Impact On The Future

Steve Jobs, a co-founder of Apple Inc, is famous for expressing the importance of computers in a lucid metaphor. “Computers are the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds,” he reported in an interview with Stewart Brand, the founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, in 1990 on the future of libraries. In other words, computers help to improve productivity. A computer is a tool for getting more work done in less time. What a brilliant quote from one of the greatest technology innovators and geniuses of the 20th and 21st Centuries.

 

Now, if you think of computers as bicycles, coding technology is the brain behind the riding of the 'bicycle'. Coding technologies are software solutions such as websites and applications which use computer programming languages in the development process and enable human interaction with computers to solve human problems or make work easier and faster to perform and life more convenient. In other words, coding technologies are the creative solutions or products of computer programmers. Examples of coding technologies are traffic lights, motion-sensor lighting systems (for sustainable energy), AI (artificial intelligence), computer video games (for entertainment during leisure time), IVR (interactive voice recording), chatbots, ATM (automated teller machine; originally for accessing banked money during weekends and after closing hours), manufacturing assembly line (for automating monotonous work and saving productive energy), blockchain and cryptocurrency (for a secure, decentralized ledger distribution and file-sharing networking of computers), and so much more.

 

In modern times, we can find traces of coding technologies in virtually all areas of human endeavor and lifestyle. From the mobile phones in our pockets to the desktop in our offices, schools, and banks, and the gadgets we have at home and high-end computers in hospitals and manufacturing companies, it is difficult to imagine modern life without the products of coding technologies. Unlike many centuries ago, computers have quickly become a part and parcel of our daily lives today that we cannot imagine how else to survive without them. The reason is as obvious as daylight: computers make life much easier and more convenient.

 

Some decades ago, computers were used in performing simple tasks like calculations and data storage. Today, the technological breakthroughs in coding technologies are mind-boggling. This is a result of ongoing research and development. Far more intriguing are the possibilities of what life will be like in the near or far future with technological advancements. There are speculations about likely advances in computer technology and what life and work would be like in the future. 

Work

In recent years, there was a global pandemic that caused virtually all outdoor activities to be restricted and households and institutions to be on lockdown. It was during the lockdown that the possibility of the future of work with regards to technology was put to the test globally and it marked the wake of a new evolution of the nature of work and employment. It was the first of its kind. Many employees were displaced from their jobs at their workplaces due to restricted work activities and transactions, slow or no revenue inflow, and downsizing. Many of the few employees who were retained had to work from home. This is also known as remote employment. The remote employees had to leverage existing and new computer technologies to perform their tasks and meet deadlines.

 

Some of the tools which enabled individual and teamwork are by-products of coding technologies. For example, project management software and video conferencing applications such as Slack, Zoom, Trello, Asana, Google Doc, Google Meet, GoToMeeting, Toggl, GitHub, and the likes were used frequently during the lockdown by work teams for effective communication, brainstorming meetings, and meeting of deadlines. Of course, remote employment is not a new development due to the global lockdown; it had been in practice before the general restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the period of lockdown only made it more pervasive.

 

Gradually, remote employment has caught on to become the new normal for many companies that adapt quickly to the continuously changing nature of work. Now, it is evident that work can happen without a central office location. This is more likely to be the trend soon as more jobs will become remote for managerial and cost-effectiveness reasons among others. Perhaps the most outstanding benefit of remote employment to employers and human resource personnel is the acquisition of super talents from across the globe. In other words, there will no longer be a geographical limitation for high in-demand skilled labor at affordable rates from abroad.

Lifestyle

Once upon a time, humans had to trek the distance if they wanted to move from place to place. Over time, our forebears learned to make use of animals called 'beasts of burden' such as horses, donkeys, and camels, to move both themselves and their luggage from one location to another. This was the level of technology they could afford in ancient times. Nevertheless, though simple, the use of the beast of burden made life easier for our forebears.

 

Right from the Stone Age down to the Agrarian Era when humans leveraged using animals to perform hefty duties, mankind has come a long way in terms of inventing man-made technologies to our advantage. The mechanization of labor in the Industrial Revolution Age was the beginning of the subsequent breakthroughs mankind has developed with machines and computers as a form of technology.

 

Today, we live in a world strewn with computers and computer technologies at the fiber of our very existence. Virtually all that we engage in is machine-integrated or computer-related. To travel, we make use of vehicles such as cars, buses, trains, ships, and aircraft, all of which have routes that are navigated, monitored, and controlled with the aid of AI. To communicate, we have many different options from which to choose. Gone are the days of handwritten letters and postage stamps. In modern times, a basic smartphone can be used in sending messages via SMS, MMS, and emails, and making voice calls through telecommunication services from one end (termed the sender) to another (termed the receiver). Interestingly, a smartphone or PC user with internet access can make voice and video calls with family members, friends, and co-workers in real-time on social media platforms.

 

The interoperability of computer technologies has changed the way we live and interact with one another. We no longer have to be in the same location to hear the voice and see the faces of loved ones. We do not necessarily have to visit a hospital in person to have an appointment with a physician. We can conduct consultations, sign business deals, and keep in touch with loved ones and coworkers right from the comfort of a corner of our living spaces. Computer technologies have lifted the barriers of distance and time. Much more advances in computer technology are predicted in the future.

 

For instance, VR ( virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) are the next possible features in human communication and interactions. Recently, developers at Meta Technology Company (formerly known as Facebook Company) are working to create a virtual world called the Metaverse in which its users will have avatars of their real-life selves in a game-like world or should I say instead a world-like game. It is a new computer technology breakthrough that seems so surreal but probable. (For a general comprehension of what the concept of the Metaverse would look like, I recommend seeing the movie 'Free Guy' featuring Ryan Reynolds acting as Guy who is the protagonist). VR and AR would change the way we communicate, interact, and engage in transactions and recreation. It would disrupt our daily lives as we know them to be today. In the future, likely, we would be living in a world where our existence HEAVILY depends on computer technologies.

 

Conclusion

The possibilities of future computer technology breakthroughs are endless and unfathomable. The best predictions we might be able to make would be insights drawn from ongoing research and experiments. However, from a historical vantage point, we could observe the difference between life before the advent of computers and life afterward. Without question, it is evident that the times, as musician and songwriter Bob Dylan once wrote in a song, "they a-changin'". Needless to say that the nature of life and work would be greatly impacted by advancements in computer technologies in the future, more than it already has at present.