Will the Transformation of Computing Be Never Ending?

Photo from Gigabyte Magazine

Growing up in the early 2000's, it was incredible to partially witness the transformation of cellular devices. It's truly evolutionary, not only for the development of technology, but also for the development of humans. Cellphones have impacted the way we communicate and consume information, ultimately through the creation of the digital era (also known as the Information Age). In fact, a lot of the computing transformations we've seen over the last 20 years were somewhat foretold by a man named David Gelernter.

Photo of David Gelernter

Gelernter, a Professor of Computer Science at Yale University, is well known for his 1999 manifesto titled, "The Second Coming," which focuses heavily on the transformation of modern computing. To sum it up, his manifesto is a giant list of his interpretations on not only how technology will be transformed, but also how technology will transform the human race.

In his manifesto, he makes the a claim regarding peoples personal information being stored on computers. "Your whole electronic life will be stored in a cyberbody. You can summon it to any [computer] at any time." Depending on how you interpret this claim, you could very well say that Gelernter predicted the future. In the mid-2000's, newly created social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube, allowed people the ability to store their personal information digitally online. Whether this would be through text, photo, or video, you were able to create a new life online through digital technology. These websites are the cyberbodies that store our information.

Fast forward to 2020, we are still undergoing these transformations. Things like:

• Storing personal information online (Social Media)
• Digital communication (iMessage, Snapchat, Instagram Stories, etc.)
• Applying for jobs (such as using LinkedIn, Handshake, etc.)
• Ordering food at a restaurant (Kiosk Technology)
• Requesting Physical Transportation (such as Uber and Lyft)

These technological transformations have been going on constantly for the past two decades, and I strongly believe that they will continue indefinitely. In Gelernter's manifesto, he does not directly discuss how long it will take for the transformation of computing to be complete; however, he does state that in the future, we will have plenty of technology - and the best consequence will be that we no longer have to think about technology. Does this mean that the Information Age will evolve into something else? Does it mean that we humans will get to a point where we can no longer make advancements in technology? What do you think will happen?