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by Kelli Ross ('00) (kross@jacksonsun.com) “They made us too smart, too quick, too many and we are the ones to suffer.” In a line from this summer’s box-office hit, “A.I.: Artificial Intelligence,” an android robot points out the problems with man and robot living side by side. Though this focus on future human-like robots was the work of science-fiction, the advancement of technology in the 21st century is very evident, leading many to believe that society is not far off, one day reaching depths that are only now in people’s dreams. Personal computers, DVDs and digital cameras just skim the surface of recent advances in technology. During the past century, telephones, televisions and computers have become necessities of daily life. And the Internet, email and instant messaging are now essential for routine business operations. The limit on the future of technology is in the hands and minds of those working on advancements. “Rapid change has now become the standard within the computer field,” says John David Barham, director of computing services at Union and a graduate of the class of 1982. “Moore’s Law states that you can pack twice as much computer power into the same space every 18 months.” The computer industry is always trying to make improvements on current products – not necessarily to meet needs, but to make money, according to Barham. He explains that it’s similar to a game of leapfrog, and, “I don’t think anyone sees a practical limit anytime soon.” The New Super Highway “Today, the Internet is as much a utility as electricity. It used to be a big deal, but now if a university doesn’t have it, you won’t find many students there,” says Barham.
“I wish I knew,” he says. “Because of rapid advancement, you can’t even look five years out,” he explains, citing that three years is a more respectable window of time. According to Barham, changes in technology have become so rapid that predicting where the technology is going is very hard, but he says that the trend for the last five years seems to be a much greater integration of basic tools into everyday life. For example, the consumer electronic company Casio recently introduced two new camera wristwatches that can take color photographs and then transfer them to a Windows computer. Wearable technology is on the horizon in the fashion world. Levi Strauss & Co. has already paired up with Phillips NV to create a line of jackets that carry a mobile phone and MP3 player in the pockets and connect the devices with wires woven throughout the fabric of the jacket. The buttons on the jack-et would control the volume, and the volume of the player would automatically be lowered to receive in-coming calls from the cell phone.
Barham sees the average consumer having a refrigerator with a monitor in the near future. The monitor would keep track of the refrigerator’s contents with bar codes, noting when a product would need to be replaced and emailing a grocery list to the local store. The items would then be delivered to the home and the bill for the groceries would be electronically sent to the bank. “It’s not that far-fetched if you make it cheap enough for the consumer not to notice,” says Barham. Nanos – Microtechnology at work “If the meeting I went to is any indication of the future, there were five themes addressed: materials chemistry for the future, chemistry by computer, challenges for drug discovery and development in the 21st century, environmental chemistry and the greening of industry and modern synthetic chemistry,” Baldwin says. “It seems that those five areas are the areas where big strides are being made presently and where we are going to see within the next two decades the development of a world we would not recognize looking back.” While it is common to see and use computer chips the size of stamps, explains Baldwin, nanotechnology will make it possible to deal with chips the size of pinheads, and they will be much faster. A nanometer is one billionth of a meter or three to four atoms wide. And the building blocks of nanotechnology will aid in the development of future products by utilizing catalysts and chemical reactions. “That kind of system will lead to the ability to make things with highest efficiency meaning the lowest energy required and virtually no waste,” says Baldwin, excitedly. “The catalyst does one thing and has no side products.” Nanots, a combination of robots and nanotechnology, will be used in manufacturing, assembly and authentication. “Theoretically, this can all be carried out by nanomachines,” Baldwin says. “It is already possible to make gears on the atomic level, which are bumps on the side of an atom. If we can do that, we can build nanomachines.” And the abilities of those machines will have a direct effect on everyday events. “The basis is chemistry, putting atoms together in arrangements that are useful,” says Baldwin, who believes it will “give fantastic promise.” The future of nanotechnology would offer consumers medication the most effective price.
Nanomachines could be built that would prevent the disease process and Baldwin believes that the field of drug discovery will also be enhanced by nanotechnology. The technology could also be used in the development of fibers, which normally break at the weakest link. Nanomachines would put fibers together and ensure no weak links, creating materials required for extended space travel. According to Baldwin, besides the strength and durability they offer, nanomachines create virtually no waste – offering an environmental solution to many modern-day problems. “Many times pollution is the result of manufacturing or the use of too much energy in fossil fuels,” explains Baldwin. “From an environmental point-of-view, using the nanotechnology model and theory, waste will be non-existent, which will lead to the greening of the planet.” Scientific thinking on nanotechnology, says Baldwin, is divided into two tiers. First-tier thinkers see the technology leading to motors and equipment as we know them, only lighter and smaller, while second tier thinkers conclude that multiple nanoengines working together as a motor will do the work to push an automobile or boat. While the thought of atomic particles performing the work of a motor may sound like science fiction to the average person, research is already taking place in the field of nanotechnology to make this a reality, Baldwin says. “Where do you draw the line between science fiction and what can really happen? Years’ ago, flying to the moon was science fiction in Jules Verne’s novels. Today, it has been a reality for more than 30 years,” Baldwin points out. Verne (1828-1905) published a variety of science fiction books describing machines and capabilities that had not yet been invented. He wrote about airplanes, submarines, television, guided missiles and space satellites. “I think Jules Verne gave us a glimpse of the future,” Baldwin says. “And those who dream are defining reality – what was dreamt in the past is now reality.”
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He admits that he’s not sure where the future of computer
technology could lead. 
