Technological Gridlock: The Tech Revolution May Be the Beginning of the End - Essay Example

 Technological Gridlock: The Tech Revolution May Be the Beginning of the End! INTRODUCTION Technological advances, especially prevalent in modern society, have created many positive advances in relation to how humans live their daily lives. Internet technology, medical advances in health care, infrastructure technologies, and even air traffic control systems have made contemporary living much better, especially in Westernized nations. Technological gridlock, involving the sudden decay and stoppage of these functional systems, may cause extreme problems with the modern world. This paper describes technological gridlock and efforts to prevent/combat this potential problem. THE MODERN SOCIETY AND TECHNOLOGY There is not a great deal of available literature on the concept of technological gridlock, largely due to the fact that the notion is highly theoretical, being proposed as a future outcome of human and global development. Humans generally take for granted that various systems will always be available to enhance modern living and that they will function according to their intended purposes. Sewer and sanitation systems, now controlled virtually autonomously by sophisticated and complicated technological systems, represent significant urban changes which provide a better quality of life for the contemporary citizen. Air traffic control systems, mass communications, and Internet applications serve to create a renewed sense of human purpose and mastery over the elements. However, as all of these systems require additional capacity in order to secure their longevity, and with the increases in global populace in urban societies, a legitimate mathematical equation suggests that eventually these systems will become over-burdened and unable to support the modern metropolis. This phenomenon is known as technological gridlock. The author of the renowned essay, The Coming of the Dark Ages, compares the reality of future technological gridlock to that of the Christian apocalypse, with a sudden, unexpected, and radical shutdown of the modern infrastructure, leaving citizens unable to function in modern society as all of their technological luxuries fail them due to being over-burdened. When all of these inter-connected technological systems fail, the author suggests that mass hysteria, looting, and violence on an enormous scale will occur, perhaps halving the population of the most industrialized nations (Vacca, 2000). However, despite this gloomy prediction of the outcomes of technological gridlock, it is important to identify why such gridlock is being proposed by various professionals. Consider the impact of the 2003 power blackout which caused a total stoppage of electricity to most of the Eastern United States and into Southern Canada. Failure to recognize and adapt these technologies to support a higher consumer/business demand for electrical energy was the primary catalyst for this particular situation. During the blackout, essentially unrelated systems, such as mobile telephone devices, experienced a sudden halt, preventing business as usual in the Eastern U.S. Situations such as the aforementioned blackout tends to support the notion that many of our technological advances in supporting technology are inter-connected, meaning that a shutdown of one system leads to another, until an entire hierarchy of databases and communications grind to a standstill. However, it is not only the electronic systems facing technological gridlock in upcoming years, it is also the basic infrastructure that Western nations rely on heavily in relation to commerce and business development. For instance, in London, United Kingdom, traffic congestion is causing significant problems due to the lack of available space by which to develop more appropriate highways. New technologies exist which have rapidly enhanced the process of developing new roadway infrastructures, which has aided the modern world since the mid-20th Century. However, financing these new technological breakthroughs has become significantly difficult in the United Kingdom, creating a type of traffic congestion that is becoming alarmingly difficult to combat (Deloitte Research, 2003). With Westernized nations relying so heavily on the physical infrastructure for transportation of goods and commercial activities, gridlock can occur in relation to traffic control, affecting the economic stability of these industrial regions. In this instance, it is the failure to attain and finance technological advances in roadway construction, leading to an infrastructure that is no longer practical for the needs of a country's ever-expanding populace. Internet technology has radically transformed the way that Americans, especially, conduct business, offering new opportunities for global marketing initiatives, new consumer audiences to boost profitability through commercial sales, and enhancing global relationships. Without getting into the technical specifications for how the Internet works, it is important to identify that its entire function is virtually completely dependent on a series of inter-connected servers and databases. Failure within a handful of these priority systems would represent a sudden shutdown of Internet services, stopping commercial transactions and other various electronic business activities, creating havoc in terms of profitability. The end result of these failures: technological gridlock leading to a short- or even long-term end to civilization as we know it. COMBATING THE ISSUE The hysteria over the Y2K problem in the late 1990's, involving a computer glitch which was proposed to cause massive disruption to all electronic systems nationwide (Blitzer, 2002), prompted individuals from all aspects of business and technology to create the appropriate programs to combat this glitch. Virtually all of their efforts met with success, as the country experienced little to no shutdown of any important systems. Combating technological gridlock is really no different than that of the Y2K situation, as it requires ongoing assessment of the demands on technology and acknowledgement as to whether these systems can be sustained in the same fashion they are today. People across the world who recognize that technological gridlock is a probable reality for future society must assess whether temporary power blackouts or disruption to other critical services can be prevented. The key is to assess the demand on these vital systems and either re-invent or propose radical changes to current technologies in order to avoid the over-burdened system. Businesses, governments, and private service providers are developing contingency plans in the event of a total, catastrophic stoppage of technological systems, however no available literature suggests that these efforts are meeting with any measurable success. CONCLUSION It is clear that as nations become more industrialized and urban populations grow, demands on current systems will continue to escalate. If a strain already exists, today, on these vital systems, it is likely that these pressures will worsen tomorrow. London is working with a new toll road system which may provide the funding necessary to purchase and implement modern technologies to enhance and speed the roadway construction process so as to prevent any severe economic disturbance in the United Kingdom. Systems analysts are assessing the capability to support multiple computer systems for future generations. Other than these proactive steps, it appears that technological gridlock is a likely outcome to urban culture unless new and innovative approaches to managing complex data and communications systems (as well as many others) can be determined and implemented with due rapidity. As satellite technology becomes the staple element to Westernized living, something as simple as a solar eruption could transform the United States from a powerful, thriving entity to that of a lifestyle reminiscent of the Middle Ages virtually overnight. As such, it would seem the main ingredient to preventing technological gridlock is to establish a contingency plan in the event of total systems failures across the globe. References Blitzer, Paul A. (2002). Sustaining the Unsustainable: Technology in Crisis. Schocken Books, New York: 45,49,51-54. Deloitte Research. (2003). 'Combating Gridlock: How Pricing Road Use Can Ease Congestion'. Retrieved September 17, 2007 from http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/DTT_DR_GridlockExecSumm_110303.pdf Vacca, Roberto. (2000). 'The Coming Dark Ages (revisited)'. Retrieved September 18, 2007 from http://www.printandread.com/download/comingdarkagefree.pdf. Read More