The appearance of a new invention can lead to the transformation of a society and, consequently, modify certain paradigms under which it has lived for a long period. The century that ends, leaves us great samples of this reflection.
Such is the case of inventions such as the telephone, which, despite having been created at the end of the 19th century, had its diffusion during the following century. This device that made communication between two people possible, without the need for the person to be in person, caused an unimaginable impact on the new habits that the entire world was acquiring, to the extent that its effects were noticed in each nation. We could say that with the telephone, a chain begins in the communications revolution.
It is also interesting to mention the invention of the automobile, an element that was initially considered as a toy for the wealthy, but which soon became a means of transport not only incredibly innovative and useful, but also economically viable in the early twentieth century, thanks to an innovative subject, such as Henry Ford, who made possible the diffusion of a continuous production model, called assembly lines.
This, like the telephone, caused great changes in the society of the moment. It is enough to analyze the way the new constructions would be designed, the emergence of a different infrastructure for the cities, and the behavioral changes of a town that began to plan its decisions of time and resources in a totally different way from the way in which It was addressed by individuals from previous generations; question that undoubtedly marked a great step in the industrial evolution of the time.
But the world has continued its upward march, bringing with it new advances in science and technology, which have made it possible for humans to tend more and more, to seek an approach with other cultures, other economies and other political systems and social.
In this sense, we could observe some aspects that make technological advances favorable.
For example, Graham Bell, possibly never thought that thanks to his invention, man later would reach previously unimaginable places, sitting in the same place, or Ford that his production techniques would make it possible to lower costs to manufacture infinite manufactures, spanning many more consumer segments.
There are those who consider that these events represent an advance in the way of relating to each other, of making organizational processes simpler and more effective, of increasing the quality of life of a population for which their daily activities are facilitated, of making them more accessible relevant information for the development of new investigations that lead, in some cases, to the endurance of human life.
However, many consider that the result of these events is nothing more than an attack on the preservation of old traditions, of more indigenous cultures, of an ecosystem that is rapidly becoming extinct, in short, which constitute only one step forward in the extinction of our species.
In this order of ideas, we might ask, for example, how necessary are these "progress" for man, if in many cases they only lead to his own destruction? Or how indispensable are they, if primitive societies could live perfectly, lacking them? Are they not rather market traps, which at some point makes us feel that without them our daily life would be unbearable?
And it is without a doubt, perhaps one of the most revolutionary events in the modern world, the creation, development and expansion of computing, and through it, the generation of open communication networks, potentiated in what is now known as the Internet., or the network of networks. Phenomenon that unquestionably produces a change at an ideological, economic, social, cultural and educational level, and that gives rise to new trends, which will evolve throughout the millennium.
An effect that inevitably occurs and is known as isolation, causes that human beings increasingly shorten distances with people from all over the planet, by means of a computer, a modem and a telephone line; but that in turn we begin to dispense with teachers, bosses, classmates and work, in short, that the need to interact directly with a social group ends, closing ourselves in a technological capsule, which will transform our current means of communicating, -the oral language-, to move, and even to consume.
And it is in this field, where another consequence of the large network arises, such as electronic commerce, which will undoubtedly cause a change in the way of systematizing distribution channels in companies, of designing customer service programs, to advertise the good or service offered, to redistribute personnel, to design sales strategies, production and management of human and financial resources. And in addition, to establish relationships with suppliers and engage in a game of less imperfect competition, since there is the possibility of greater access to information.
So far, the industrialized countries have already created organizational systems that adapt to this new way of marketing, like consumers, to supply their demands. Obviously, that behind the great powers of the developing countries we are adapting to the rhythm imposed by the progress of the world economy.
And like the aforementioned trends, many more will come with the expansion of the Internet, and other technological advances, which will modify the patterns of an increasingly globalized society, and immersed in a new digital economy, which will create new opportunities to create company, that there is a transition from one industrialized system to another in which the essential is the handling of information and that will lead to deadly paths for those who are not willing to accept the change that is coming.
That if it is good or bad that the evolution of technology becomes unavoidable, nobody can predict it for sure. What does not have a turning point, is that being immersed in the society of these times, makes us complicit in being aware, about everything that happens around. Especially when our profession leaves us no other alternative.
However, he questions the speed with which these processes advance; thinking about how man will live in this millennium. Personally I would not like to observe the moments when all these innovations take the human being to disastrous extremes. It will dawn and we will see.
