How technology has changed life

Technology has made a positive impact to human society for many years, possibly thousands. If you think about what you do every day and how that activity is linked to using technology, the list is quite exhausting. When I wake up in the morning, I check my mobile for messages or emails, before preparing for the day, which is dominated by more apps, devices, equipment, vehicles, and machines.

In my career, I am surrounded by technology, and the hum of monitors and lab tops is a sound I consciously don’t hear because of familiarity, unless of course my equipment crashes. Like everyone, I rely on a high performing Wi-Fi and Bluetooth service to perform all my tasks. But sometimes my performance is impacted by breaks in the service, an experience that most people are familiar with.

Science studies are reliant on technology, for example, collars with a tracking device are fitted to wildlife species to monitor their movements. Even your family pet can be checked on through surveillance cameras set up in your home, and there are some devices that deliver food treats when the dog or cat hits a button. Fish need filters, bubblers, and lights to survive, some bird feeders are set up with a camera to film visiting bird species, while gardens have automated water systems. Homes with smart technology can perform tasks using voice commands.

Technology has enabled people to keep track of everything in their lives, even where other devices are located, if accidentally left at a location or taken. You can go shopping in some supermarket’s checkout free, a trend that is happening overseas and being introduced to major grocery stores in Australia over the next ten years. The system scans your digital wallet and the items you place in your shopping bag. When you exit, your bank account is charged automatically.

I think technology is interesting because each application has functions that help me reach my goals faster. Of late, stories have announced transport is set to take to the sky with flying taxis, security drones in the house are going to be buzzing around all the rooms doing security checks, even international travel times will be faster, thanks to innovations in aviation technology.

In ancient times, technology was being invented and the thinking driving those designs has been lost, leaving scientists with a jigsaw puzzle to solve. The Antikythera mechanism was thought to be a computer developed by the Ancient Greeks to predict astrological events and eclipses and calculate the 4-year cycle of the Ancient Olympic Games. It was discovered in a shipwreck at sea in 1901 and dates back to 100 BC. Zhang Heng a statesman and a polymathic scientist from the Han Dynasty, (AD 78–139) was a Chinese inventor who designed a seismograph in 132 AD to warn of the direction an earthquake would strike.

We take automatic doors for granted now, but so did Ancient Greeks who lived in the 1st Century AD. The sliding door operation was driven by steam technology and usually part of a temples’ construction. Archimedes of Syracuse (c. 287 BC – c. 212 BC) a Greek scientist, and Zhang Heng, are both believed to have invented an odometer, a device used to measure the distance a vehicle travelled. Surgical procedures for trauma, injury, cosmetics, and gynecology were recorded in the Ancient Egyptian medical text – the Edwin Smith Papyrus – copied from an Old Kingdom manuscript – and dated sometime between 3000 to 2500 BC. Archeologists hypothesize magical incantations and spells were used by Ancient Egyptian physicians to treat terminal patients.

Given how old Earth is, who is to say what else might have been invented or in operation at any time during Earth’s history. Things rust, breakdown, are destroyed, buried and disappear, so other interesting technological scenarios might have existed, perhaps more advanced than what we take for granted now. Scientists find bits and pieces from the past and make conclusions based on the evidence and their discoveries inspire the imagination. The name Bluetooth originated from an ancient Viking leader, King Harald Gormsson, who united the Danish people under one kingdom and converted them to Christianity in mid 10th Century AD. He is also known for constructing one of the Jelling Stones. Bluetooth was his nickname, and the symbol we all know is drawn in the ancient runic alphabet, a combination of Harald’s initials called a bindrune – H (ᚼ) and B (ᛒ).

Looking toward the future, creative minds are conceptualizing a planet where we’ll either be inhabiting sky high apartments, floating ocean cities or space pods with views of the Earth and space. Whatever way technology is going and whoever is responsible for making those decisions, I hope they take advantage of methods in place to recycle the material already available, to construct renewable technologies that drive solar, hydrogen, water, geothermal and wind powered energy. The jobs created are much safer, longer term, and kinder to the environment.

* Premiering 15 June 2023, The First Inventors is a four-part documentary series investigating the traditional knowledge and inventiveness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples across 65,000 years and highlights how their ingenuity is inspiring new scientific discoveries.

Story written by Gabrielle Ahern, Salty Wave

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