Sorry Bob, But Technology Means the Times Will Always Be a-Changing

The thing about technology is that, regardless of how miraculous or otherworldly it may seem upon its introduction, it can quickly become so very familiar to us. Hard as it may seem to believe, someday (maybe even soon), things like ChatGPT and other bleeding-edge technologies will seem typical, perhaps even humdrum.

Why am I so confident in saying so? Simple: everything we have today in the modern world was once an earth-shaking discovery—in many cases, first conceived in fiction.

For Instance, You Wouldn’t Be Reading This If Writing Wasn’t Invented

There’s a lot that we have the ancient Mesopotamians to thank for, which are in many ways the foundations of our modern world. Every time we go to the office or the store or a friend’s house or even order delivery, we’re feeling their influence literally carry us.

Who do you think actually invented the wheel? Or, in the case of ordering delivery or zipping to the store, agriculture, and transportation? The modern economy pretty significantly depends on math to function…which the Mesopotamians also significantly helped develop. Again, if the Mesopotamians had never invented written language, you might not be reading this blog…and if the number of love letters exchanged through history are any indication, a lot of people might not be here at all.

Even the content of this ancient civilization’s written works show evidence of technologies that once were seen as incredible enhancements. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the first example of a transcribed epic story, shows numerous technologies being used by the titular hero in his quest as he pursues immortality—all of which are relatively commonplace, if not antiquated by today’s standards, but at the time, were seen as miraculous.

AI is Just the Latest in a Line of Literary Inventions That Will Likely Be Just as Commonplace

Artificial intelligence was yet another invention of past minds creating a story—specifically, in writer Samuel Butler’s 1872 addition to his creation Erewhon, titled The Book of the Machines.

In this work, Butler touches on a variety of topics that we see today, including Moore’s Law (beating Moore by just shy of a century) by describing the rapid development of technology as well as artificial intelligence, with machines achieving some level of consciousness over time.

So, it seems that at least two things are true:

1. There really isn’t any such thing as an original idea.
2. Technology will continue to advance, making the marvels of yesteryear seem modest in comparison.

Just consider how quickly the technology that people use for work (a lot of which was predicted/inspired by the popular culture of the past) has advanced. Frankly, it can be hard to keep up, even with the technology we have at our disposal today. As Bob Dylan sang, “For the times they are a-changin.”

While we still can’t promise a lot of what is seen in fiction from years past, there is plenty we can provide to assist your business in its endeavors. Give SMART Services a call at 586 258-0650 to see what we can do for you as a part of our managed services.