Where are we headed? I will never see some of the things I’m going to tell you about, but there is no doubt they are coming. Society is in for the biggest change since man has been on earth and it will not only have to do with inventions, it will also have to do with an extreme change in our culture. It is turning out as new devices are invented they are becoming responsible for this cultural change. Since the end of the Stone Age most societies worked the same way. There would be jobs and some sort of payment and the rich and powerful would be on top of the pyramid. Sure some of those jobs were very distasteful, because they would have included being a serf. You would be laboring very hard on someone else’s land to grow crops and animals and maybe only given enough food to keep you and your family alive as your pay. As time went on many societies became more civilized and people earned their living in many different ways.

One thing was for sure, there were plenty of jobs around, because many people were required not only to grow and create things, they were also required to power things. The Romans had large cranes used for construction which were completely people powered. Workers would get inside of a large wheel, similar to the type hamsters use and would walk turning the wheel which in turn wrapped a heavy rope used to lift objects. For thousands of years ships were powered by rowers and plows sometimes pulled by humans. It was a time when human muscle was the industrial machine. Slowly but surely human muscle power began to be replaced, then animal power. We realized the wind could be used as a source of power and so could water. Mills were constructed which used the power of water flowing downhill to turn giant wheels and later it was discovered the currents in rivers could do the same thing. Factories began to be constructed which used waterpower for many of the different machines which would have required human beings pushing, pulling and lifting to do the same thing.

The wind was also used to create mills for grinding crops into flour and for powering the sails on ships. Eventually the machine age came along. Engines were constructed and were used to power mighty machines like the world had never seen before. Some of these machines were as big as small buildings and were used to power bigger and bigger ships and later electrical generation was discovered which in turn not only allowed us to have an easier life, but also allowed for the construction of even bigger factories which used this new power source. As years went by and we entered the 20th century there was some setbacks to society, but in general people seem to be living a better life than their ancestors did. This was not true all over the world however, since in many places people were still living the same way they did for thousands of years.

While these inventions were responsible for the change in the way many of us lived, the one invention which will ultimately be responsible for a complete change in society over the entire planet is the computer. In the beginning it looked harmless enough. It was a massive collection of tubes and wires which filled rooms and it seemed there would be very limited use for it. There had even been mechanical computers constructed before the electronic ones, but these didn’t amount to much as far as being practical and it was felt neither would the electronic computer. In 1943 Thomas Watson was the head of IBM and he predicted few people would ever want a computer. We all know how shortsighted this prediction was, but given the fact these machines were huge and super expensive at the time, one can almost understand where Mr. Watson was coming from. He never would’ve dreamed people would be walking around with a small computer in a shirt pocket which could also be used as a telephone and a camera. It might be true if we were around in 1943 and asked that question we would have replied the same way. If someone asked us today if we would ever have personal transportation which could take us to other planets, many of us would say that is a ridiculous question, but the truth is who knows what the future holds?

The computer has been changing our society at an ever increasing pace. I am not just talking about allowing us to create devices which make our lives more convenient, I am talking about something much more profound. The computer is going to be a device which will go down in history books as something which completely changed our entire society and how we live. We are beginning to see how computers are affecting our ability to earn a living. Intelligent machines are taking away jobs. This is much more noticeable in the advanced countries of the world, since the countries with lower wages are still being used to produce merchandise. Soon cars, trucks and even airplanes will have no drivers or pilots. So what happens to the millions of people who make their living driving and flying these things? They either have to find other jobs if they can or they will be out of work.

Today in the Western world we are being forced into a corner. As jobs disappear we are being told there are plenty of jobs in the service and medical fields. What people don’t realize is these are temporary since computer technology will have its effect in these areas eventually. In the service field robots are already beginning to appear. Lowes has announced it will deploy a robot greeter which will understand many different languages and be able to direct you to the proper place in its store to find what you are looking for. Machines are being constructed which will be able to refill shelves with new merchandise and checkouts are already in use which are automatic. Machines are being created which will be able to cook your food, serve you and then collect what you owe. In the field of medicine machines will eventually appear which will be able to do a better job of diagnosing, since they will be able to check your symptoms against an incredibly large database of diseases and injuries. It is only a matter of time before robot nurses and doctors appear.

So where does this leave all of us? We have to change the system of labor for pay. Some countries are already experimenting with a guaranteed income. If you are wondering where the money would come from, it could come from companies, because the machines will be saving them so much money it will be much cheaper to contribute to a guaranteed income than paying a worker. Will this be the way we go or is there something else on the horizon which we can’t see at this moment? I guess only time will tell.