A FEW weeks ago, I wrote a couple of general columns regarding the use of ‘artificial intelligence’ or AI, which will impact on all our lives and how this might affect the way we do things in the future.
Of late, there has been more and more information in the media and on the internet, about how this change will impact on our social and business life Looks like our mobile phones are going to be indispensable to us, there are more and more ‘apps’ allowing us to gain more use from our phones than ever before.
If it’s any indication what the future holds, this will be amazing for us older folk, I don’t know whether we’ll be able to keep up with all this new technology.
What our phones can do now, some, I’m sure are still unaware of the potential of this small communication device that can virtually do anything, and all we must do is to remember to charge it.
There is a thought that this is only a phase, and it will go away, I’m inclined to think that this is a wrong conclusion. There are still folk out there in suburbia that still don’t have a computer and don’t want one.
However, the time is coming, sooner than later, that all our business as well as a lot of general things will have to be completed on these communication systems.
It’s not just the old black phone on the phone table or the white one fitted to the wall with the finger dial any more. Nor is it the advent of the mobile phone ‘ the brick,’ that was really heavy, awkward and cumbersome. No, it’s more than that, it’s the future.
BUT! These phones are only the start of this technical revolution. What will the next 30 years bring, how will this change from what we now know.
75 years ago, ‘Dick Tracy’ in the comics was using his wrist watch to communicate with others, and space exploration was high on our list of comics and TV shows, now countries can put their space craft on the moon and beam back pictures of the surroundings and space travel has just begun, albeit short steps, but leading towards the inevitable journey into outer space.
But can we continue the purchasing of these new mobile phones, costing $1000-$2000 each time that there is a change, how soon will customers get sick of this phone revolution and how soon will companies start making phones that can be adjusted or software added too and save the end user money. Updating your phone may occur quicker than you think.
These phones are pretty good these days, as well as making phone calls and sending emails and text messages, one can ‘ask the voice’ to find a number and tell you about the weather, they can close your garage door, turn on your lights and air conditioning, take a quality picture and send it to anyone instantly, tell you what flower is that, how to cook in an air fryer. They can connect you with people the other side of the world and you can see them physically as you talk with them.
It is an exciting world we live in, AI is here to stay in its many forms. We must learn to embrace it. 10 years from now it will all be a new world. An exciting time for our grandchildren.

