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It is amazing that this book is nearly 15 years old, and further that Bill Gates was so spot on with the current technology that we see today. It is a good read to see both the vision of this truly amazing entrepreneur, as well as to get an idea of how to think about technology enabling daily life. Listen to what Bill Gates says about the future of technology in your life - the past would indicate he knows what he's talking about.
It is amazing that this book is nearly 15 years old, and further that Bill Gates was so spot on with the current technology that we see today. It is a good read to see both the vision of this truly amazing entrepreneur, as well as to get an idea of how to think about technology enabling daily life. Listen to what Bill Gates says about the future of technology in your life - the past would indicate he knows what he's talking about.
It is amazing that this book is nearly 15 years old, and further that Bill Gates was so spot on with the current technology that we see today. It is a good read to see both the vision of this truly amazing entrepreneur, as well as to get an idea of how to think about technology enabling daily life. Listen to what Bill Gates says about the future of technology in your life - the past would indicate he knows what he's talking about.
It is amazing that this book is nearly 15 years old, and further that Bill Gates was so spot on with the current technology that we see today. It is a good read to see both the vision of this truly amazing entrepreneur, as well as to get an idea of how to think about technology enabling daily life. Listen to what Bill gates says about the future of technology in your life - the past would indicate he knows what he's talking about.
It is true that the internet and cell phones have enabled us to do many banking and other transactions much faster without having to wait for hours in lines in front of bank tellers etc. I am not proposing that we return to the stone age. As I write these lines on March 27th 2009 I am amazed to see how accurate his predictions were.However, are we better off as various societies around the world as a result of these revolutionary advances in information technology particularly in communications technology. In the book / audio book the author explains how he got involved in information technology from the time he was a college student, what the developments were in the field until then.
Thanks to the internet and e - mail technology like many people I was also able to find some of my high school mates of 34 years ago on the other side of the globe and start corresponding with them again. However, it upsets me to see that like many other technological advancements the unfavorable effects have been too many. However, careful observation during the past 15 years reveals that this is exactly what has happened ; parental control software have not been sufficient in preventing especially adolescents from accessing harmful websites, too many people surf the net for too long unproductively. I have been listening to Bill Gates' audiobook titled The Road Ahead regularly for the past 15 years since it was published. Not very much. It is not the inventors nor technology that are to be blamed but human nature that prevents the realization of full benefit of these innovations. If we goof around with the time we saved from not getting in line in front of banks then we can hardly say that technology has made us better off.
He also comments that he disagrees people will become individuals spending too much time online with much less social interaction. If the saved time had been used to develop social relationships, exercise, hobbies etc. Because too many people use the time saved surfing unproductively on the internet or watching TV without a purpose. In his book Bill Gates talks about for example the dangers of internet to children but that they can be controlled by parental controls provided by software to prevent children from accessing harmful websites. He proceeds to describe what the further developments likely to happen were in the 15 years ahead around the world in many different aspects of information technology and how our lives would change as a result. then the time saved by the advent of the internet would have attained its purpose.This increase in speed without a clear direction and purpose in life has been the subject of several good books among others such as " First things first " by Stephen Covey, " Faster" by James Gleick and " Success Intelligence " by Robert Holden. Doing tasks faster thanks to technological advance would be beneficial to the society only if the tasks performed faster were tasks that must be performed faster. But what are people doing with the time saved.
In fact this gave rise to a new type of psychological disorder named internet addiction. Thanks to e-mail we can exchange mails several times a day despite the fact that we live on different continents of our planet. There is no doubt that Bill Gates is a man of great vision and creative intelligence. I have been amazed to see his predictions actualize so accurately and gradually over the past fifteen years although some of them have yet to be actualized. Another precondition is the effective use of the time saved.
This can not happen when too many people don't have direction and purpose in their lives. It is not a coincidence that he is one of the richest men in the world. This is similar to the invention of the car being accompanied by the number one killer ; traffic accidents. Is that happening. I would be the last person to suggest that we go back to an age without personal computers, internet and cell phones.
But I believe he has underestimated the downside of the technological innovations that he has led. Many years ago it would have been very difficult to find them and corresponding with them through traditional post would have taken weeks. The purpose of technological advance is to speed up monotonous and repetitive tasks that take too much time that could otherwise be used more creatively. He is also involved in many important non-profit activities for the good of mankind. But I wish inventors, discoverers and pioneers had brainstormed much more about what kind of problems may accompany their inventions / discoveries and what could be done to alleviate these problems as much as they brainstormed about their inventions.
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