Times, they are a changin'

 

The pandemic has caused a huge change in the way we deal with life in general. So much has changed in the last two years. The way we work, the way we play, the way we deal with people. Jobs have changed as companies have had to change the way they function. Normally these changes would have taken at least a decade or more to be adopted. But times have been anything but normal in the last three years or so.

It is not that technology was not being developed before the pandemic. But we are adapting much faster. People are more ready to assimilate new technology in their lives and their daily routines because of the pandemic. Why? Many things which we took for granted before the pandemic were disrupted as the virus spread around the world. The simple routine of going to the market to buy necessities or to go to one’s office for work became impossible.  In this case technology came to the rescue. This was not rocket science. Simple things like working online, and making digital payments or ordering groceries became routine. It was a paradigm shift. It is not that people were not doing it earlier. It is that the adoption to the new ways was happening much faster. The transition period is much shorter now.

The paradigm shift happened not only in adoption of new technology, but a complete change of attitude was witnessed the world over. People wanted to get over this disruption of their lives as quickly as possible.  They were ready to do anything as long as their actions kept them away from the dreaded disease and helped them get on with their lives.

The world in general slowed down as the lockdowns hit, but some businesses took off. Online delivery services saw a rapid rise demand. Healthcare food, medicines and allied industries suddenly saw a big uptick in their sales.

It is predicted that technology will leapfrog in the next decade and we can see some telltale signs today. Nano technology is on the verge of takeoff. Combined with AI and ML, it will revolutionise its applications fundamentally.

Similarly many technologies under development have the potential to change the way we live, work, travel and do business. Electric vehicles will be come into use in a big way in the near future. Battery technology is undergoing a revolution. Li-ion, Aluminum and Sodium Ion batteries may find use in the new electric vehicles currently on the drawing board. Digital payments are already being used on a large scale and digital currencies are not far behind. The Reserve Bank of India recently announced that it will introduce the digital Rupee in the near future.

The pace of innovation has accelerated over the course of the pandemic, or so it seems. Many technology companies have made money during this period despite the slowdown in economic activity in general. This does show that new technology is more readily being assimilated in our everyday routine.

They say predicting the future is dangerous. However one thing can be safely predicted. It does not matter if this pandemic lasts longer or mankind is hit by another one, we are going to see some rapid and profound changes in the way this world is run.