A Moment In Tech

And a lifetime of hindsight

It's probably a universal truth that we live in interesting times, but for those of us who work in the tech industry in any way, shape or form, it feels more true today than it has done for a long time. In an industry which is defined by progression - which lives or dies on its ability to propagate, to replace old with new, and to reinvent processes and systems that have been with us for centuries - there is, for the first time in my adult lifetime, a New Thing™ that is causing equal parts delight and horror everywhere we look.

I am not an expert in AI and machine-learning technology. I know enough to recognise what’s interesting about the likes of ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion, but not enough to say one way or another whether they’re coming for our jobs or our lives. There are people far more qualified than I am to give a view on what these tools mean for the future of <x> - but that hasn’t stopped the hype train from loading itself up and setting off at full speed to terror-town.

It seems that wherever you look right now, there are people arguing over the ins and outs of the latest iteration of some AI tool, and what the future might look like in a world where AI apps and utilities are coming thick and fast. From artists protesting the use of their work as training data for generative art tools, to copyright claims against AI-generated code, to academic papers on why AI is going to impact your job; for now, only one thing is really certain: we are living and working through a pivotal moment in tech history.

Where we’ve been

I was born in the late 80s, which means I remember (admittedly, only just!) what the world was like before the internet became ubiquitous. I had no life experience, however, and no grounding against which I could comprehend just how radical a change it would eventually become. I remember the buzz and the excitement of the early days of mass internet access; I remember too the nay-sayers and the people who, for whatever reason, were dismissive of the potential. As a child with an entire digital frontier at his fingertips, the only thing I really cared about was having fun. I don’t believe that I ever thought for one moment about the impact on jobs or lifestyles; but it is obvious now, as an adult, that the internet was one of those things that changed the world. At the time, it was just exciting to share my favourite Simpsons pictures with like-minded kids across the world. It’s only over time that I’ve come to appreciate what I believe is the fundamental appeal and promise of the internet: the democratisation of technology and communication. Whether that promise has been delivered is a discussion for another day, but as a basic principle, this is what I believe underpins the radical shift that the world has seen as more and more people and organisations ‘went online’.

I am old enough to remember with clarity what the world was like before the next major technological shift occurred; the arrival of the humble smartphone. Without wishing to re-ignite old arguments, I would pin the ‘moment of change’ on the arrival of the first iPhone. I found myself recently re-watching the original iPhone announcement presented by Steve Jobs, and despite never having owned one myself - it’s fascinating to see Jobs demonstrate features which have now become absolutely bog-standard, but which at the time were game-changing for the phone-carrying public:

In 2023, It feels almost bizarre to imagine a world where people aren’t carrying a smartphone around with them at all times - but in historical terms, almost no time at all has passed between the first iPhone being sold, and today. The propagation of smartphones has been unbelievably rapid, and I doubt there’s a single person alive today who would argue that they haven’t changed the world; whether it’s on the personal level - how we communicate with one another, how we interact with our institutions and government - or in our professional lives. It’s true that mobile phones had become largely ubiquitous prior to the smartphone, but - at least to my memory - they didn’t represent such a phenomenal shift in our behaviour, habits, and lives as the arrival of iPhone and Android phones did.

Where we’re going

It is in this context, then, that I try to imagine a Post-AI world, and, rather than feed into the paranoia, the hype, and the hyperbole, I’ve decided to simply see what happens, as much as possible, without fear or favour. I believe it’s likely that we will see fundamental shifts across wide swathes of our society, but I’m not going to worry (too much) about things beyond my control. The arrival of the internet and the smartphone both heralded fundamental changes to the Way We Do Things - which resulted in new industries being born, old industries waning and disappearing, job creation, job losses, joy, misery, and entirely new opportunities for happiness and hatred to flourish. Vast sums of wealth have been created and destroyed, and will continue to be created and destroyed - stars will be born and will burn out - and the world will continue to turn. For the vast majority of people on Earth, all of this will happen whether they want it to or not, and my only real wish is that by the time we’re able to look back with hindsight, we’ll all be happier and better off than we were.

To that end, I’ve decided to write. I have no firm idea about what the impact on my own industry will be; I have gut feelings, predictions, hopes and fears just like everybody else. I even have ideas(!) - so maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones and ride the wave all the way to a beach-front mansion where I can retire early. The only thing I’m really confident about is that change will come - as it always does - and the one constant we have is that we share this planet with each other. With that in mind, I’ll be writing about programming, technology and the politics thereof, and how we can all make the best of these tools and tech in our daily and professional lives. Sometimes I’ll be focused on very specific things - maybe a tutorial or guide for some specific language or tech; other times I’ll be writing more broadly about things that I find interesting or that I feel deserve a wider discussion. Either way, I’ll be trying to find the fun and the utility, and will aim to share it with you. I believe technology is best when it’s open and shared - when it improves lives and brings a smile to your face - and so, if that sounds like the kind of thing you’d like to spend 5 minutes reading every now and then, then feel free to hit the Subscribe button below, and we’ll spiral this singularity, hand in hand, together.