Jessica Li
Technology will transform societies in big and small ways, but harnessing the distinctive intelligences of men and computers is key to materializing a better future, explained Eric Schmidt ’76, executive chairman of Google, at a lecture on Thursday.
We are in the era of apps, Schmidt said, citing whimsical mobile gadgets like Am I Going Down, Swearport, and SitorSquat that calculates odds of a flight crashing, translates curse words into foreign languages and locates proximal bathrooms in all corners of the world, respectively.
With apps capable of predicting tomorrow’s hair conditions and automating text messages, it is foreseeable that in the near future, an intelligent alarm clock will be able to tell the user that he or she can snooze for eighteen more minutes because his or her boss is running late.
He said that credit for the blossoming of modern technology must be due in partto Vannevar Bush, a lifelong engineer who advocated for increased science research funding in the postwar era, ultimately leading to the creation of the National Science Foundation.
With this stimulus, the government and private sectors collaborated together and witnessed unprecedented progress for the military and the public, Schmidt explained, fostering industries that are still growing very quickly.
But perhaps they are changing too quickly, he said, noting that while many people have just begun making websites, the current generation has already moved on to mobile apps.
The impacts of technological advancement are far-flung across disciplines, he said.
Improvements to photovoltaic cells, carbon dioxide processing and even the realization of automated driving are within our reach, Schmidt said.