Page 42 - MSDN Magazine, November 2019

• The quantity, concurrency and fusion of exponential tech- nologies as they potentially amplify each other. Example: Energy storage amplifies drones technology.
• The exponentially increasing adoption of cyber physical devices connected to the Internet. Example: home automation devices. • The core value of data mined from technology, be it via devices, online services or other technologies. Example: The McKinsey report estimates revenue from data mined and monetized from
connected cars could reach $750 billion in 2030.
• The exponential velocity of change. Example: The incredibly rapid acceptance and ubiquitous adoption of smartphones
and soon after cloud services.
“Get thee to the cloud” is obviously advice you’ve heard before, but it becomes imperative if you hope to capitalize on the exponential growth happening in cloud technologies.
In fact, we’re seeing transformative change for entire systems and industries, such as in transportation, travel and purchasing. What’s more, these paradigm shifts are changing us, both as individuals and as communities and nations. Smartphones, for instance, have already revolutionized personal interaction and relationships.
Confronting Questions
Whether we identify the current decade as the Fourth Industrial Revolution, or simply an inflection point in the digital revolution, there are significant questions to confront. And as programmers, we’re in the unique position of implementing the software that will ultimately control the exponential technologies.
First, there are the obvious ethical questions about many of the innovations in the offing—genetic engineering is an easy example. While I’m surprised and concerned by how few organizations employ ethicists on their teams, the fact is any employee can fill that role simply by raising ethical questions. And there have been some employee protests in recent years that reflect this commitment.
Second, we can’t innovate without considering the issue of governance. How do we regulate exponential technologies that may be used for good or ill? You can use facial recognition to tag your personal photo collection just as easily as governments can use it to track and control populations. Similarly, drones can be used to carry medicines to the sick following a hurricane, but they can be equally effective as weapons.
Almost any technology can be used for good or evil, but the chal- lenge of exponential technology is the potential for exponential consequences. Whether companies self-regulate or the law pro- vides boundaries, either approach will struggle to keep pace with
rapid change. Autonomous driving, social media propaganda and ethnic/gender bias in machine learning have already emerged as immediate challenges.
Finally, we should consider what motivates our innovation. Capitalism was a core driver of the industrial revolutions of the past and it yielded profound progress, but it also produced troubling inequities. Now, as we step forward into a world reshaped by exponential technologies, we have the opportunity to improve humanity and to ensure the economic and social benefits of our advances are felt by all.
Next Steps
When you consider the pace and breadth of technology advance- ment, it’s clear we live in a time like no other. As software developers, we’re in a unique position to influence the future. Whether you’re engaged with exponential technologies in the physical sciences (medicine, energy storage, bio engineering) or in the computer sciences (AI, cloud, Big Data, blockchain), you have opportu- nities to have an impact. And for those not yet leveraging these technologies, you should be urging your organizations to catch up. Organizations that fail to engage exponential technologies early in the curve alongside their competitors court the risk of being left exponentially behind.
Now is the time to explore opportunities to digitize your product. Research how to information-enable your offerings so the data be- comes a profit center. At the same time, evaluate the cloud and at a minimum move there for Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) implementa- tions. “Get thee to the cloud” is obviously advice you’ve heard before, but it becomes imperative if you hope to capitalize on the exponen- tial growth happening in cloud technologies. And nowhere is this growth more dramatic than in the field of AI and machine learning.
These are premonitions of dire unemployment.
Finally, don’t be afraid to think big. Look beyond leveraging existing technologies and budget time to ideate about your next pivot. Instead of Uber replacing taxi drivers, think of autonomous driving replacing drivers entirely. Consider forming an ideation team within your company that allocates time each week to com- plain about frustrations and concoct solutions.
In summary, capture the potential of today’s exponential tech- nology, focus on how you can leverage or even surpass it to make the world a better place, and then—just do it. n
Mark Michaelis is founder of IntelliTect, where he serves as its chief technical architect and trainer. For nearly two decades he has been a Microsoft MVP, and a Microsoft Regional Director since 2007. Michaelis serves on several Micro- soft software design review teams, including C#, Microsoft Azure, SharePoint and Visual Studio ALM. He speaks at developer conferences and has written numerous books including his most recent, “Essential C# 7.0 (6th Edition)” (itl.tc/ EssentialCSharp). Contact him on Facebook at facebook.com/Mark.Michaelis, on his blog at IntelliTect.com/Mark, on Twitter: @markmichaelis or via e-mail at mark@IntelliTect.com.
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Exponential Technology