thesis about technology advancement

Technology Thesis Statement

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The dynamic world of technology continually shapes our daily lives and future. Writing a compelling thesis statement about technology means delving deep into the nuances of innovation, foreseeing its implications, and presenting a clear, concise perspective. Crafting the perfect statement requires a keen understanding of your topic, its relevance, and the message you wish to convey. Below, we will explore examples of technology-related thesis statements, provide tips on how to hone them, and guide you in encapsulating the essence of your research.

What is the Technology Thesis Statement? – Definition

A technology thesis statement is a concise summary or main point of a research paper, essay, or dissertation related to a technology-focused topic. It establishes the central theme, position, or argument that the author intends to communicate, providing readers with a clear overview of what the subsequent content will address. This research paper thesis statement is essential in guiding the flow and coherence of the piece, ensuring that the content remains relevant to the proposed topic.

What is an example of a Technology thesis statement?

“With the rapid evolution of wearable technology, there is a compelling need to address the associated privacy concerns, arguing that without comprehensive regulations, users’ personal data could be at significant risk.”  You should also take a look at our  middle school thesis statement .

100 Technology Statement Examples

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Technology concise thesis statements encapsulate the essence of tech-focused research papers or essays, presenting a concise argument or perspective on a specific technological development, trend, or challenge. These statements guide the reader’s understanding, giving clarity and direction to the narrative.

• Artificial Intelligence : “The integration of AI in healthcare can revolutionize patient diagnosis, but ethical constraints need addressing.”
• Virtual Reality : “Virtual reality’s potential in education extends beyond immersion, offering tailored learning experiences.”
• Blockchain : “Blockchain technology, while disruptive, promises to make financial transactions more transparent and secure.”
• Cybersecurity : “The rise of IoT devices demands stronger cybersecurity measures to prevent unprecedented breaches.”
• Biotechnology : “CRISPR technology might hold the key to genetic disorders, yet its ethical implications are vast.”
• E-Commerce : “The shift to e-commerce has fundamentally changed consumer behavior, prioritizing convenience over brand loyalty.”
• 5G Technology : “The deployment of 5G will enhance IoT capabilities, but infrastructure challenges persist.”
• Green Technology : “Solar panel advancements are crucial for sustainable energy but require policy support for widespread adoption.”
• Robotics : “Robotic automation in manufacturing accelerates production but poses employment challenges.”
• Wearable Tech : “Wearables are transforming health monitoring, but data privacy remains a significant concern.”
• Quantum Computing : “While quantum computers promise to solve complex problems in seconds, they also pose threats to current encryption methods.”
• Space Exploration : “The commercialization of space travel opens new frontiers for tourism but also raises environmental and safety concerns.”
• Augmented Reality : “Augmented reality in retail can enhance customer experience, yet it challenges traditional shopping norms.”
• Drones : “The proliferation of drone technology in delivery services improves efficiency but brings forth airspace regulation issues.”
• Nano-Technology : “Nanotechnology in medicine offers targeted drug delivery but has unexplored long-term effects on human health.”
• Self-Driving Cars : “Autonomous vehicles could drastically reduce traffic accidents, but their integration requires comprehensive legal frameworks.”
• Smart Cities : “Smart cities optimize urban living conditions; however, they highlight disparities in digital access.”
• Edge Computing : “Edge computing decentralizes data processing, enhancing IoT performance, but it raises concerns about localized data breaches.”
• 3D Printing : “3D printing revolutionizes manufacturing and healthcare but challenges intellectual property rights.”
• Digital Assistants : “Voice-activated digital assistants streamline daily tasks but provoke debates on user surveillance and privacy.”
• Telemedicine : “Telemedicine democratizes healthcare access, yet questions arise about its efficacy compared to in-person consultations.”
• Big Data : “Big data analytics can transform industries, but the potential misuse of information is a growing concern.”
• Cloud Computing : “Cloud adoption offers businesses scalability and flexibility, though it introduces unique cybersecurity challenges.”
• Digital Currency : “Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin could redefine financial systems, but their volatility and regulatory gray areas persist.”
• Gaming Technology : “Esports and gaming technology foster global communities, but they also spotlight issues of digital addiction.”
• Neural Networks : “Neural networks enhance machine learning capabilities but make algorithm decision-making processes more opaque.”
• Mixed Reality : “Mixed reality blends the best of AR and VR, offering innovative solutions in training but requires significant hardware investments.”
• Social Media Algorithms : “Algorithms on social platforms shape user behavior, leading to questions about influence and manipulation.”
• Broadband Technology : “Universal broadband access can bridge educational gaps, but infrastructural and cost barriers remain.”
• Digital Learning Platforms : “Online education platforms democratize learning but challenge traditional educational paradigms.”
• Agricultural Tech : “Smart farming through tech can optimize yields, but its cost can exclude small-scale farmers.”
• Mobile Banking : “Mobile banking boosts financial inclusion in developing nations but raises issues of digital literacy.”
• Chatbots : “Chatbots in customer service optimize responsiveness but can depersonalize the user experience.”
• Facial Recognition : “Facial recognition tech can enhance security measures but has sparked debates on privacy and misuse.”
• Deepfakes : “Deepfake technology, while impressive, poses significant threats to misinformation and trust in media.”
• Health Tech : “Wearable health devices offer real-time monitoring, yet there’s growing concern over data security and interpretation accuracy.”
• Marine Technology : “Underwater drones present opportunities for oceanic exploration, but their use raises environmental concerns.”
• Sustainable Tech : “Technological solutions to waste management are crucial for urban sustainability, but require societal behavior changes for maximum effectiveness.”
• Language Translation : “Real-time translation tools are bridging communication gaps, but can’t replace the nuance of human translators.”
• Online Privacy : “VPN services enhance online privacy, yet they introduce challenges in legal jurisdictions and data accountability.”
• Internet of Things (IoT) : “While IoT connects everyday devices, it also increases potential points of cyber vulnerabilities.”
• Haptic Technology : “Haptic tech holds potential in virtual training environments but demands rigorous testing for consistent real-world replication.”
• Renewable Energy Tech : “Wind energy is a clean alternative, yet its land use and noise pollution issues remain unresolved.”
• Genomic Editing : “While genomic editing can prevent hereditary diseases, its potential misuse in ‘designer babies’ raises ethical debates.”
• E-Learning : “Digital classrooms can provide education continuity during crises, but highlight inequalities in tech accessibility.”
• Wireless Charging : “The evolution of wireless charging technology promotes convenience but necessitates universal standardization.”
• Retail Tech : “Smart mirrors in retail enhance consumer experience but can potentially infringe on privacy rights if misused.”
• Data Storage : “Quantum data storage could revolutionize information keeping, yet the transition from classical methods is fraught with challenges.”
• Livestreaming Tech : “The growth of livestreaming platforms boosts creator economies, but presents issues of content moderation.”
• Digital Twins : “Digital twins in manufacturing optimize production processes, but require significant data management and interpretation efforts.”
• Animal Tech : “RFID tags in wildlife conservation assist in species monitoring but raise concerns about animal welfare and interference.”
• Thermal Imaging : “Thermal imaging in public spaces can enhance security, but its widespread use prompts privacy debates.”
• Financial Tech (FinTech) : “Digital-only banks provide unparalleled convenience, yet face skepticism over their ability to handle financial crises.”
• Audio Tech : “Spatial a in headphones creates immersive experiences, but its effects on auditory health are under-researched.”
• Nano-Biotechnology : “Nano-biotech in targeted drug delivery holds promise, but its long-term interactions with biological systems remain unknown.”
• Location-Based Services : “Geolocation tools in apps enhance user experience, but inadvertently contribute to data surveillance concerns.”
• Human-Machine Interface : “Brain-computer interfaces might redefine communication for the differently-abled, but they also present neuroethical dilemmas.”
• Gig Economy Platforms : “Tech-driven gig economies offer flexible employment, but often at the cost of job security and benefits.”
• Environmental Monitoring : “Satellite technology for environmental monitoring is crucial for climate change mitigation, but depends on international collaboration and data-sharing.”
• Entertainment Tech : “Augmented reality in entertainment redefines audience engagement, but challenges traditional content creation paradigms.”
• Food Technology : “Lab-grown meats could significantly reduce the environmental impact of livestock, but their societal acceptance and taste equivalency remain under scrutiny.”
• Telecommunication : “The transition to satellite-based internet services can enhance global connectivity but introduces space debris management challenges.”
• Digital Art and Media : “Digital art platforms democratize artistic expression, though they raise concerns over copyright and originality.”
• Fitness Tech : “Smart gyms utilize AI to personalize workout regimens, but their reliance on user data raises privacy issues.”
• Medical Imaging : “AI-driven medical imaging can enhance diagnostic precision, yet its integration demands rigorous validation against traditional methods.”
• Urban Mobility : “Electric scooters in urban centers promote green mobility, but their indiscriminate use poses pedestrian safety risks.”
• Adaptive Tech : “Adaptive technologies for the differently-abled democratize access, but their high costs can limit widespread adoption.”
• Cryptographic Tech : “Post-quantum cryptography aims to secure data against future quantum attacks, but its practical implementation remains challenging.”
• Travel and Navigation : “AR-based navigation tools can revolutionize travel experiences, but they demand robust infrastructure to prevent inaccuracies.”
• Event Technology : “Virtual event platforms offer global outreach, but they challenge the conventional understanding of networking and engagement.”
• Consumer Electronics : “Flexible electronics pave the way for innovative gadgets, yet their durability and recyclability are concerns.”
• Space Mining : “Space mining could answer Earth’s resource scarcity, but its feasibility and impact on space ecosystems are contentious.”
• Fashion Tech : “Smart fabrics offer dynamic design possibilities, but their production processes raise environmental questions.”
• Elderly Tech : “Tech solutions for the elderly improve quality of life, but require intuitive designs to ensure ease of use.”
• Cyber Physical Systems : “Integrating physical processes with computer-based algorithms promises efficiency, but challenges real-time adaptability.”
• Rehabilitation Tech : “VR in physical rehabilitation offers immersive therapy, but its long-term efficacy compared to traditional methods is under exploration.”
• Collaborative Platforms : “Cloud-based collaborative tools redefine workplace productivity, but their over-reliance can risk centralizing data control.”
• Quantum Sensing : “Quantum sensors could redefine detection limits in various fields, but their scalability in real-world applications remains a hurdle.”
• Learning Management Systems (LMS) : “LMS platforms facilitate organized e-learning, but their design must prioritize user-friendliness for diverse user groups.”
• Aerospace Tech : “Electric aircraft represent the future of eco-friendly travel, but the transition requires breakthroughs in battery technology.”
• Hydroponic Farming : “Tech-driven hydroponic systems can increase agricultural yield in urban areas, but the initial setup costs and energy consumption are deterrents.”
• Waste Management Tech : “Automated waste sorting can significantly enhance recycling rates, but its success demands public awareness and participation.”
• Digital Publishing : “E-books and digital publications increase accessibility, but they also challenge traditional publishing economics.”
• Therapeutic Tech : “Biofeedback apps promise personalized stress management, but their recommendations need backing by robust clinical research.”
• Molecular Electronics : “Molecular-scale electronics could miniaturize devices further, but their stability and manufacturing pose significant challenges.”
• Industrial IoT : “Integrating IoT in industries optimizes production and maintenance, but its seamless functioning demands strong cybersecurity protocols.”
• Photonics : “Photonics in data transmission offers higher speeds, but its integration into current infrastructure is complex.”
• Marine Energy : “Harnessing oceanic energy can be a renewable power solution, but its impact on marine ecosystems needs careful evaluation.”
• Prosthetics Tech : “Advanced prosthetics with AI integration promise life-changing mobility, but the cost of development and acquisition challenges their accessibility.”
• Resilient Infrastructure : “Smart materials in construction adapt to environmental changes, but the long-term sustainability and economic feasibility remain subjects of research.”
• Optogenetics : “Optogenetics holds transformative potential for neurological disorders, but its ethical application in humans is still debated.”
• Entertainment Streaming : “Streaming platforms are reshaping entertainment consumption, but they also spotlight issues of digital rights and royalties.”
• Water Purification Tech : “Nanotechnology in water purification can address global water crises, but its ecological impact requires close monitoring.”
• Transportation Tech : “Hyperloop transportation promises rapid transits, but the infrastructural and safety challenges are monumental.”
• Pedagogical Tools : “AI-driven pedagogical tools individualize learning, but there’s a risk of over-reliance and diminished human interaction.”
• Remote Work Tech : “Advanced collaborative tools enable effective remote work, but they also blur the lines between professional and personal boundaries.”
• Sensor Technology : “Smart sensors in agriculture optimize irrigation and reduce water wastage, but their implementation costs can be prohibitive for small-scale farmers.”
• Food Preservation : “Innovative food preservation technologies can reduce global food wastage, but their energy consumption and efficiency need optimization.”
• Gaming Interfaces : “Brain-computer interfaces in gaming promise immersive experiences, but their long-term effects on neurological health are underexplored.”
• Material Science : “Meta-materials can revolutionize optics and telecommunications, but their large-scale production and integration pose significant challenges.”

Technology Thesis Statement Examples for Argumentative Essay

As the digital age progresses, there’s a growing consensus about the pros and cons of technology’s integration into our daily lives. Argumentative essays thesis statement on technology often delve into the ethical and societal implications, pushing the boundaries of the debates even further.

• Social Media’s Impact : “While some argue that social media strengthens interpersonal relationships, it can also be held responsible for eroding face-to-face interactions and deepening feelings of social isolation.”
• Digital Dependency : “The increasing reliance on smartphones has jeopardized our cognitive abilities, leading to diminished memory recall and reduced attention spans.”
• Online Privacy : “In the digital age, online privacy has become an illusion, with corporations and governments frequently infringing upon personal data rights.”
• Virtual Reality : “Despite the immersive experiences offered by virtual reality, its overuse can blur the distinction between the real and virtual worlds, leading to psychological implications.”
• Technological Progress vs. Job Security : “Technological advancements, while driving efficiency and progress, also threaten traditional jobs, potentially leading to economic disparities.”
• Digital Currency : “Cryptocurrencies, despite their volatile nature, represent a significant shift in the financial landscape and have the potential to decentralize traditional banking systems.”
• E-books vs. Traditional Books : “While e-books offer convenience and accessibility, they can never replace the tactile experience and emotional connection readers have with physical books.”
• The Internet and Democracy : “The internet, although hailed as a tool for democratizing information, also presents threats like misinformation campaigns that can undermine democratic processes.”
• Tech Giants and Monopoly : “The unchecked rise of tech giants poses a threat to competition, potentially stifling innovation and enabling monopolistic behaviors.”
• Green Technology : “Investing in green technologies is not merely an environmental imperative but also an economic opportunity that promises both sustainable growth and job creation.”

Thesis Statement Examples for Technology in Education

Education has undergone tremendous transformation thanks to technology. The intersection of technology and education raises questions about equity, effectiveness, and the shaping of future minds.

• Digital Literacy : “Incorporating digital literacy in education is crucial, not just for technological proficiency but for navigating the modern world responsibly and critically.”
• Online Learning : “Online education, while offering flexibility and accessibility, can lack the personal touch and hands-on experiences that traditional classrooms provide.”
• EdTech in Early Childhood : “Introducing technology in early childhood education can foster creativity and adaptability, but it must not overshadow foundational learning experiences.”
• Gamification of Learning : “Gamifying education can increase student engagement, but there’s a risk of prioritizing rewards over actual knowledge acquisition.”
• Tech in Special Education : “Technology has the potential to revolutionize special education, offering tailored learning experiences to cater to individual needs.”
• Digital Distractions : “The integration of technology in classrooms, while beneficial, also brings the challenge of combating digital distractions and ensuring focused learning.”
• Open Source Learning : “Open-source educational resources can democratize education, but there’s a need to ensure the quality and credibility of these materials.”
• AR and VR in Education : “Augmented and virtual reality tools in education can offer immersive learning experiences, but their efficacy compared to traditional methods remains to be thoroughly evaluated.”
• Adaptive Learning Systems : “Adaptive learning technologies promise personalized education, but reliance on them must be balanced with human mentorship.”
• Digital Divide : “The push for technology in education must also address the digital divide, ensuring that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds have equal access.”

Thesis Statement Examples on Technology in Artificial Intelligence

The realm of artificial intelligence is a marvel of modern science and engineering, but it brings forth numerous concerns and speculations. Essays on AI and technology focus on the potential of machines surpassing human intelligence and the societal repercussions of such a possibility.

• Ethical AI : “As AI systems grow in complexity, there’s an urgent necessity to establish ethical guidelines that prioritize human values and safety.”
• AI in Warfare : “The integration of AI in military operations, while enhancing precision, raises alarming concerns about the lack of human judgment in life-and-death decisions.”
• Bias in Machine Learning : “Unchecked, machine learning models can perpetuate and amplify societal biases, necessitating rigorous audit processes before deployment.”
• AI and Employment : “The rise of automation and AI in industries risks a significant displacement of the workforce, highlighting the need for societal adaptation and job retraining.”
• Emotion AI : “Artificial Intelligence designed to recognize and respond to human emotions could revolutionize industries, but also brings concerns about privacy and emotional manipulation.”
• Singularity : “The potential for an AI singularity, where AI surpasses human intelligence, necessitates preemptive safeguards to ensure the alignment of AI goals with humanity’s best interests.”
• AI in Healthcare : “While AI in healthcare can lead to more accurate diagnoses, it must complement, not replace, the critical thinking and empathy of medical professionals.”
• Deepfakes and Reality : “The advent of deepfake technology, driven by AI, challenges our trust in visual content, pressing for the development of verification tools.”
• AI and Creativity : “The surge of AI in creative fields, from art to music, questions the uniqueness of human creativity and the future role of AI as co-creators.”
• General AI vs. Narrow AI : “While narrow AI excels in specific tasks, the pursuit of general AI, mirroring human intelligence, presents unprecedented challenges and ethical dilemmas.”

Thesis Statement Examples on Medical Technology

The medical field has seen rapid technological advancements, leading to breakthroughs in treatment and patient care. Discussing medical technology often centers around its impact on the patient-doctor relationship and health outcomes.

• Telemedicine : “Telemedicine, while increasing healthcare accessibility, requires rigorous regulation to ensure the quality of care and the privacy of patient data.”
• Gene Editing : “CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies hold promise for eradicating genetic diseases, but they also raise ethical concerns about the potential misuse in creating ‘designer babies’.”
• Wearable Health Tech : “Wearable health devices empower individuals to monitor their health, but also bring concerns about data privacy and the accuracy of health information.”
• 3D Printed Organs : “3D printing of organs could revolutionize transplants, but the technology must first overcome challenges in biocompatibility and functionality.”
• Robot-Assisted Surgery : “Robot-assisted surgeries promise precision and minimized invasiveness, yet the high costs and training requirements present hurdles for widespread adoption.”
• Mental Health Apps : “Digital tools for mental health can democratize access to resources, but they cannot replace the nuanced care provided by human professionals.”
• Nanotechnology in Medicine : “The integration of nanotechnology in medicine offers targeted treatments and drug delivery, but long-term effects on the human body remain largely unknown.”
• Virtual Reality in Therapy : “VR therapies hold potential for treating phobias and PTSD, but research must ensure that virtual experiences translate to real-world recovery.”
• EHR (Electronic Health Records) : “While EHRs streamline medical data management, concerns arise about patient data security and system interoperabilities.”
• AI-driven Diagnosis : “AI-driven diagnostic tools can analyze vast data quickly, but they should act as aides to human clinicians, not replacements.”

Thesis Statement Examples for Technology Essay

General technology essays touch on the overarching theme of how technology shapes society, cultures, and personal interactions. These essays dive deep into both the boons and banes of technological innovation.

• Digital Age and Mental Health : “The digital age, while connecting the world, has also escalated mental health issues, prompting a deeper examination of our relationship with technology.”
• Augmented Humanity : “Biohacking and body augmentations, powered by tech, are pushing the boundaries of human capabilities but also raise ethical questions about self-modification and societal implications.”
• Cybersecurity : “In a hyper-connected world, cybersecurity is not just a technical challenge but a fundamental aspect of ensuring personal rights and national security.”
• Sustainable Technologies : “The rise of sustainable technologies is not a mere trend but a necessity to ensure the future survival and prosperity of our planet.”
• Digital Nomadism : “The evolution of remote work technologies has birthed the digital nomad culture, reshaping traditional perceptions of work-life balance and productivity.”
• Space Technologies : “Emerging space technologies, from satellite constellations to interplanetary exploration, hold the promise of reshaping our understanding of the universe and our place in it.”
• Tech and Pop Culture : “The infusion of technology into pop culture, from movies to music, reflects society’s struggles, aspirations, and dreams in the digital age.”
• Digital Archiving : “The practice of digital archiving is crucial not just for preserving history but for ensuring accountability in the digital era.”
• The Right to Disconnect : “As work and personal life boundaries blur due to technology, there’s a rising demand for the ‘right to disconnect’, ensuring mental well-being.”
• Tech in Urban Planning : “Smart cities, driven by technology, promise enhanced living experiences, but they also raise concerns about surveillance and the loss of privacy.”

Thesis Statement Examples for Technology in the Classroom

Classroom technology has redefined traditional teaching methodologies, leading to a new age of learning. Essays in this category often grapple with the balance between technology and traditional pedagogies.

• Digital Collaboration : “Collaborative tools in classrooms foster teamwork and communication but necessitate guidelines to ensure productive and respectful engagements.”
• Interactive Learning : “Interactive whiteboards and digital simulations can enhance understanding and retention, but educators must ensure they don’t become mere entertainment.”
• Classroom Analytics : “The use of analytics in classrooms promises personalized feedback and interventions, but raises concerns about student privacy and data misuse.”
• Digital Textbooks : “While digital textbooks offer dynamic content and portability, the potential loss of traditional reading skills and tactile learning must be addressed.”
• Flipped Classrooms : “Flipped classrooms, facilitated by technology, encourage student-centered learning at home, but require a redefinition of classroom roles and responsibilities.”
• Tech and Special Needs : “Assistive technologies in classrooms have democratized education for students with special needs, but teachers need training to utilize them effectively.”
• Student Engagement : “Gamified learning platforms can significantly increase student engagement, but there’s a risk of overemphasis on rewards over actual learning outcomes.”
• Distance Learning : “Technology has made distance learning feasible and expansive, yet the challenges of student isolation and self-regulation need addressing.”
• Digital Citizenship : “Teaching digital citizenship in classrooms is essential in the modern age to ensure students use technology responsibly and ethically.”
• Classroom VR : “Introducing virtual reality in classrooms can offer immersive educational experiences, but its efficacy and potential overstimulation issues need thorough research.”

What is a good thesis statement for technology?

A good thesis statement for technology succinctly captures your main argument or perspective on a specific technological issue. Such a statement should exhibit:

• Precision : Clearly articulate your viewpoint on the technological matter, ensuring it isn’t vague.
• Debate Potential : Present a point open to discussion or counterargument, not just a plain fact.
• Current Relevance : Address up-to-date technological advancements or concerns.
• Conciseness : Stay direct and avoid broad overviews.

Example: “Artificial intelligence in healthcare, while promising enhanced patient care, raises pressing ethical concerns.”

How do you write a Technology Thesis Statement? – Step by Step Guide

• Pinpoint a Specific Tech Area : Instead of a broad area like “technology,” zoom into niches: e.g., “Blockchain’s role in data security” or “Virtual Reality in education.”
• Undertake Preliminary Research : Grasp the current scenario of your selected area. Identify ongoing debates, breakthroughs, and challenges.
• State Your Assertion : Your research will guide you to a specific stance. This becomes your thesis’s foundation.
• Check for Debate Potential : Ensure that your assertion isn’t just stating the obvious but invites discussion.
• Maintain Brevity : Keep it succinct—usually, one to two sentences will suffice.
• Iterate : As your research or essay progresses, you might find the need to fine-tune your statement.

Tips for Writing a Thesis Statement on Technology Topics

• Stay Informed : With technology’s rapid pace, being up-to-date is essential. Your thesis should resonate with current technological dialogues.
• Steer Clear of Jargons : If your audience isn’t tech-centric, simplify or explain tech terms for clarity.
• Dive into Ethical Angles : Tech topics often interweave with ethical considerations. Tackling these adds depth.
• Solicit Feedback : Sharing your thesis with colleagues or mentors can offer new viewpoints or refinements.
• Employ Assertive Language : Words like “should,” “must,” or “will” give your statement authority.
• Remain Adaptable : If new evidence emerges as you write, be open to reworking your thesis slightly.
• Link to Broader Implications : Relating your tech topic to wider societal or global issues can offer added layers of significance.
• Ensure Clarity : Your thesis should have one clear interpretation to avoid reader confusion.

By honing these techniques and tips, you’ll be adept at formulating impactful thesis statements tailored to technology-centric topics. As technology continues to shape our world, the ability to critically and concisely discuss its implications is invaluable.  You may also be interested in our Analytical Essay thesis statement .

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Essay on Technological Advancement

Students are often asked to write an essay on Technological Advancement in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Technological Advancement

What is technological advancement.

Technological advancement refers to the development of new and innovative technologies that improve our lives, making things easier and faster. It encompasses a wide range of fields, such as communication, transportation, medicine, and energy.

How does technological advancement impact our lives?

Technological advancement has a profound impact on our daily lives. It makes communication easier and faster, allowing us to stay connected with friends and family around the world. Transportation has become more convenient and accessible, enabling us to travel longer distances in less time. Medical technology has improved healthcare, leading to better treatments and longer lifespans. Energy advancements have made it possible to harness renewable sources, such as solar and wind power, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels.

What are the benefits of technological advancement?

Technological advancement brings numerous benefits to society. It enhances productivity, leading to economic growth and improved living standards. It also creates new jobs and opportunities, especially in the tech industry. Additionally, technological advancements improve education and access to information, enabling people to learn and stay informed.

What are the challenges associated with technological advancement?

While technological advancement offers many benefits, it also presents challenges. One concern is the potential loss of jobs due to automation and artificial intelligence. Another challenge is the digital divide, where certain populations lack access to technology and its benefits. Ethical considerations also arise, such as privacy concerns and the potential misuse of technology.

250 Words Essay on Technological Advancement

What is technological advancement.

Technological advancement refers to the development of new and improved technologies that make people’s lives easier, more convenient, and more efficient. It involves the creation of new products, processes, and systems that address various challenges and improve the way people live and work.

Benefits of Technological Advancement

Technological advancement has brought many benefits to society. It has improved communication, transportation, healthcare, and education. For example, the internet has made it possible for people to connect with others around the world instantly. Mobile phones have made it easy for people to stay in touch with friends and family members who live far away.

Challenges of Technological Advancement

While technological advancement has many benefits, it also comes with some challenges. One challenge is that new technologies can be expensive, and not everyone can afford them. Another challenge is that new technologies can sometimes be harmful to the environment. For example, the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which contributes to climate change.

The Future of Technological Advancement

It is likely that technological advancement will continue to accelerate in the years to come. This will bring both benefits and challenges. It is important to be aware of both the potential benefits and challenges of new technologies so that we can make informed decisions about how to use them.

Technological advancement is a complex and ever-changing field. It has the potential to improve people’s lives in many ways, but it also comes with some challenges. It is important to be aware of both the benefits and challenges of new technologies so that we can use them wisely.

500 Words Essay on Technological Advancement

A transformative power: technological advancement, communication and connectivity.

The advent of the internet has revolutionized communication and connectivity. Social media platforms, instant messaging, and video conferencing have made it possible to stay connected with friends and family across vast distances. The world has become a smaller place, fostering global collaboration and understanding.

Medical Breakthroughs

Technological advancements have also led to significant breakthroughs in healthcare. Medical imaging techniques, such as X-rays and MRI scans, have enabled early detection and more accurate diagnosis of diseases. Advanced treatments like robotic surgery and targeted drug therapies have improved patient outcomes and enhanced the quality of life for millions.

Education and Knowledge Access

Industrial and business evolution.

Technological advancements have transformed industries and businesses. Automation and robotics have streamlined production processes, increasing efficiency and productivity. Supply chain management systems have optimized logistics, ensuring faster and more efficient delivery of goods and services. These advancements have also led to the creation of new industries and jobs, driving economic growth and innovation.

Challenges and Ethical Considerations

While technological advancements have brought immense benefits, they also pose challenges and raise ethical considerations. The rapid pace of change can lead to job displacement and the need for continuous upskilling. Moreover, the increasing reliance on technology can result in privacy concerns, data security breaches, and the spread of misinformation. Navigating these challenges and addressing ethical implications requires careful consideration and responsible action.

Technology’s Impact on Society

Technological advancement is a continuous journey, marked by both challenges and opportunities. It has transformed the way we live, work, and communicate, and its impact will continue to shape our future. As technology advances, it is essential to embrace its benefits while addressing its potential drawbacks responsibly and ethically. By doing so, we can ensure that technological advancements contribute to a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world.

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A comprehensive study of technological change

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The societal impacts of technological change can be seen in many domains, from messenger RNA vaccines and automation to drones and climate change. The pace of that technological change can affect its impact, and how quickly a technology improves in performance can be an indicator of its future importance. For decision-makers like investors, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, predicting which technologies are fast improving (and which are overhyped) can mean the difference between success and failure.

New research from MIT aims to assist in the prediction of technology performance improvement using U.S. patents as a dataset. The study describes 97 percent of the U.S. patent system as a set of 1,757 discrete technology domains, and quantitatively assesses each domain for its improvement potential.

“The rate of improvement can only be empirically estimated when substantial performance measurements are made over long time periods,” says Anuraag Singh SM ’20, lead author of the paper. “In some large technological fields, including software and clinical medicine, such measures have rarely, if ever, been made.”

A previous MIT study provided empirical measures for 30 technological domains, but the patent sets identified for those technologies cover less than 15 percent of the patents in the U.S. patent system. The major purpose of this new study is to provide predictions of the performance improvement rates for the thousands of domains not accessed by empirical measurement. To accomplish this, the researchers developed a method using a new probability-based algorithm, machine learning, natural language processing, and patent network analytics.

Overlap and centrality

A technology domain, as the researchers define it, consists of sets of artifacts fulfilling a specific function using a specific branch of scientific knowledge. To find the patents that best represent a domain, the team built on previous research conducted by co-author Chris Magee, a professor of the practice of engineering systems within the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS). Magee and his colleagues found that by looking for patent overlap between the U.S. and international patent-classification systems, they could quickly identify patents that best represent a technology. The researchers ultimately created a correspondence of all patents within the U.S. patent system to a set of 1,757 technology domains.

To estimate performance improvement, Singh employed a method refined by co-authors Magee and Giorgio Triulzi, a researcher with the Sociotechnical Systems Research Center (SSRC) within IDSS and an assistant professor at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. Their method is based on the average “centrality” of patents in the patent citation network. Centrality refers to multiple criteria for determining the ranking or importance of nodes within a network.

“Our method provides predictions of performance improvement rates for nearly all definable technologies for the first time,” says Singh.

Those rates vary — from a low of 2 percent per year for the “Mechanical skin treatment — Hair removal and wrinkles” domain to a high of 216 percent per year for the “Dynamic information exchange and support systems integrating multiple channels” domain. The researchers found that most technologies improve slowly; more than 80 percent of technologies improve at less than 25 percent per year. Notably, the number of patents in a technological area was not a strong indicator of a higher improvement rate.

“Fast-improving domains are concentrated in a few technological areas,” says Magee. “The domains that show improvement rates greater than the predicted rate for integrated chips — 42 percent, from Moore’s law — are predominantly based upon software and algorithms.”

TechNext Inc.

The researchers built an online interactive system where domains corresponding to technology-related keywords can be found along with their improvement rates. Users can input a keyword describing a technology and the system returns a prediction of improvement for the technological domain, an automated measure of the quality of the match between the keyword and the domain, and patent sets so that the reader can judge the semantic quality of the match.

Moving forward, the researchers have founded a new MIT spinoff called TechNext Inc. to further refine this technology and use it to help leaders make better decisions, from budgets to investment priorities to technology policy. Like any inventors, Magee and his colleagues want to protect their intellectual property rights. To that end, they have applied for a patent for their novel system and its unique methodology.

“Technologies that improve faster win the market,” says Singh. “Our search system enables technology managers, investors, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to quickly look up predictions of improvement rates for specific technologies.”

Adds Magee: “Our goal is to bring greater accuracy, precision, and repeatability to the as-yet fuzzy art of technology forecasting.”

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Impact of Technology on Society Essay (Critical Writing)

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Technology advances date back to the Stone Age. Through the centuries, technology has evolved in this era of civilization and modernization. This has had advantages as it has led to today’s civilization and development. The technology considered useful but has its own setbacks. Neil Postman is a technology critic.

Technology has many evident benefits and society has unquestioningly embraced it. Postman’s intellectual target which is to illustrate how technopoly redefines culture is illustrated in his book, “Technopoly: The surrender of Culture to Technology” Therefore, this essay presents a critical analysis on the impact of technology on society through Postman’s eye.

Postman argues that uncontrolled advances in technology destroy important sources of humanity. He states that this could lead to losing morality and changes in our ideologies. Technology takes superiority over humanity because of its efficiency. The rise of control systems that manage information such as statistics are based on the fallacy that information can be scientifically measured and stored. Technology cannot be blamed because humans are the ones to be blamed in case of a mishap due to technology. This puts pressure on humanity and gives superiority to technology (Postman, 1993). Postman feels that this puts humanity in a subordinate position to technology.

He addresses the issue of information invasion in his book. Traditionally, information was limited and therefore it was easy to manage it. Information was critically classified such that what was delivered was standard for the age and academic level of a person learning. This way, tradition ensured productive development in children.

On the other hand, technopoly gives children information without limitation. Subsequently, this indiscrimination corrupts and overloads young minds. For example, children have access to information that should be rated on the internet (Postman, 1993). Technopoly has given a solution to this issue by installing software that is able to deny access to specified sites. It is therefore now upon the parents to rate what they think is fit for their children.

Postman argues that technology gives and takes away. He states that the benefits and deficits of technology are not distributed equally. He further states that the hazards that accompany technology overshadow its advantages (Postman, 1993). This is a true observation, as it is clear that every aspect of change has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, with regard to computers, he argues that they have given some members of the community benefits and have resulted in deficits for other members.

He observes that computer put more focus on the technicalities but they have little to offer. Concerning television, he says those who have achieved high paying careers consider it a blessing. According to him, the television also ends schoolteacher’s career (Postman, 1993). Rather than work against the education system, computers are actually promoting academic. A wider range of individuals can now access quality education through online services. Educative programs on televisions also help students better understand their academics (Szoka, 2010).

He argues that some societies are tool-using, some are technocracies and others technopolies. This is a relevant taxonomy as presented in society. He gives strong definitions for what he means by these classes too. In traditional culture, the invention of tools was purposely done to give solutions to specific problems in the community.

The tools invented promoted the dignity and integrity of the specific communities. They were important aspects of the cultural processes as humans were defining their way of living. In contrast, tools work against culture in the technocracy world. Here, the tools govern humanity rather than humanity governing tools (Feist, 2010). This is a threat that Postman feels should be addressed.

Technopoly leads to the disappearance of thought -worlds by making it invisible and irrelevant. It changes the meaning of terms and standards of culture to suit its standards. This keeps away technology from its basis to serve humanity. It takes a higher position such that humans are subject to it. It is supposed to be the means through which humanity gets to the end it has defined in its culture. In contrast, technology has had an upper hand in restructuring culture and therefore humanity becomes a means to realize ends set by technology (Postman, 1993). The omnipotence assumed by technology blurs humanity’s major interests. Technology takes the lead and shapes human lives as humans blindly follow. He thus defines it as totalitarian technocracy (Ibid).

His arguments in his book, particularly in chapter two are true. Their disadvantages depend on one’s standpoint. A society that has the tool-using culture only is primitive and less developed while the society with the technopoly culture it is civilized and developed. Given time, the tool-using one will advance to the technopoly one naturally.

Change is a constant aspect of life and embracing it is a necessity. It is also true that technopoly has made life so much easier and comfortable than it was initially. It has shifted the focus from manual labor to technical labor. This has seen many people ending up jobless. It has also provided easy means of acquiring the technical skills required to fit into technology. Thus, striking a balance between these cultures is all it takes and this can be done at the individual level. Granted, striking a balance is not as easy as there is a lot of pressure from technology (Postman, 1993).

To support this, he further argues that in societies that are technocracies, technology and tradition co-exist in an uneasy tension. This is because the two oppose each other with the technological one being the stronger. The traditional one is still there though and cannot be ignored. Therefore, practices from both cultures are practiced but these may be in conflict with each other. This is the case in most aspects but some traditional cultures may not be in conflict with technology (Postman, 2010).

For example, technological ways of farming are in constant conflict with the traditional ways of farming. Farmers who use traditional farming methods suffer losses because of the availability of advanced farming methods. Therefore, to be safe farmers have to embrace the traditional methods at the expense of the traditional ones.

Technology has led to the disintegration of cultural beliefs paving the way to a new way of life. It makes society find fulfillment and authority in the implementation of technology (Ibid).

Technopoly is viewed as the means by which dilemmas may be solved. Those who believe in technopoly believe that information gives freedom, creativity, and peace of mind. Postman believes that information does the opposite (Postman, 1993).

This is a true observation. On the other hand, technology embraces social sites that help people break communication barriers. This allows people to communicate across continents, defying race, ethnicity and language differences. This is a means of getting exposed to other cultures and raising a culturally diversified generation. Information obtained online also enlightens on the different cultures helping people appreciate each other (Szoka, 2010).

He further says that information needs to be controlled. When there is too much information to sustain any theory, information becomes essentially meaningless. Technopoly increases the availability of information. Too much information is hard to be controlled due to the load put on the control measures. This call for more control machines but need more information as they are more technical.

The overflow of information stresses brains receiving them and threatens psychological peace and social purpose. The information glut leads to the breakdown of a coherent cultural narrative, he argues, for without a meaningful context, information is not only useless but also potentially dangerous. He cites the old saying that, to a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail, and therefore, “to a man with a computer, everything looks like data” (Postman, 1993).

The importance given to information and technology’s control over information is the major reason why technopoly has thrived over traditional culture. Technology has weaved a distinct web for passing information. This is in the form of social media like phones, telegrams, and internet and satellite communication. This means that information has become a vital part of humanity.

Technopoly gives technology the power to control the dispersion of information and hence it is able to redefine culture. This has led to confusion of terms like knowledge and information, or reason and familiarity (Postman, 1993). The availability of information may be overwhelming, but it has led to the expansion of people’s way of thinking hence curbing ignorance. Thus, Postman is not justified in crucifying technology on this score.

Another major setback of technology is its effect on the education system. He also addresses the redefinition of information and knowledge. His arguments are well thought and they have strong support. It calls upon the reader to reflect and think critically. This is a habit he believes technology has made irrelevant. He thus calls upon the reader to reconsider the old ways and think of ways technology has helped make the world better.

He agrees with the many benefits of technology and helps expose its loopholes too (Feist, 2010). The education system has actually not suffered as the techno pessimists may want us to believe. Rather it has undergone a major redefinition to give opportunities to both young and old. Quality education is now readily available, thanks to technology (Szoka, 2010).

The defense given by techno-optimists lies in decentralizing, globalizing, harmonizing and empowering. Technopoly encourages the participation of both the experts and the non-experts for example in writing. It encourages diversity of thought and expression as information can be shared globally. It also allows self-actualization and empowerment by providing information.

Through the Internet, masses are able to be educated therefore increasing literacy. Information abundance creates new opportunities for learning. It offers real choices and genuine voices. Connection through social sites helps diversify culture due to globalization. It also promotes international integrity as peace initiatives can be run faster through technology. Granted, technology offers efficiency and quality and that within a short time (Szoka, 2010).

Postman is, therefore, a strong author who handles his writing expertly and conveys his arguments in a way that is understandable to the reader. The simple traditional methods offer peace and tranquility of mind. They offer freedom and strong morals and they were efficient enough. Modernization brings with it slavery of mind and loses morals. On the other hand, development owes its origin to technology. The simple cultural methods are the ones that have advanced this far. Technology advances cannot be regulated as they arise out of necessity. The benefits of technology far outdo its deficits, though, and as Szoka (2010) says, change is inevitable.

Feist, R. Beauvais, C. & Shukla, R. (2010). Technology and the Changing Face of Humanity. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press.

Postman, N. (1993). Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology. New York: Vintage Books Publishers.

Szoka, B. Marcus, A. (2010). The Next Digital Decade. New York: TechFreedom Publishers.

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Technological Advancement, Globalization, and Developing Countries

A Case Study of Travel Behavior and Familial Settings in Sub-Saharan West Africa

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• Sunday Olutayo Fakunle   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0053-0082 7 ,
• John Lola Okunola   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-9870-3462 7 &
• Bukunmi Kehinde Ajani   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3358-890X 8  

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The twenty-first century has witnessed an unprecedented advancement in technology as one of the major components of globalization. This advancement has led to the invention of the Internet and Android mobile phones. The use of these invented devices has resulted in significant changes in how people conduct their social activities and construct their daily lives. Moreover, globalization has influenced social institutions such as the economy, politics, education, technology, health, and family life through several adjustments that have occurred in each of these social institutions. This section is mainly concerned with the interplay among various concepts such as globalization, the advancement of technology, neoliberalism, and social change. Therefore, this section shows the extent to which people in sub-Saharan West Africa have been incorporated into globalization through the Internet and mobile phone use and the significant alterations or modifications that globalization has brought to travel behavior and the traditional familial settings in the region. The section begins with a succinct discussion of the contextual meaning of each of these concepts, while the significant impacts of globalization in relation to neoliberalism and change are succinctly highlighted, in particular, travel behavior and familial settings in the sub-Saharan African region.

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Fakunle, S.O., Okunola, J.L., Ajani, B.K. (2023). Technological Advancement, Globalization, and Developing Countries. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Social Change. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87624-1_160-1

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Tech at the edge: Trends reshaping the future of IT and business

It is easy to become numb to the onslaught of new technologies hitting the market, each with its own promise of changing (more often “revolutionizing”) the business world. But our analysis of some of the more meaningful tech trends lays out a convincing case that something significant is happening. 1 Michael Chui, Roger Roberts, and Lareina Yee, “ McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2022 ,” McKinsey, August 24, 2022.

These tech trends are generally accelerating the primary characteristics that have defined the digital era: granularity, speed, and scale. But it’s the magnitude of these changes—in computing power, bandwidth, and analytical sophistication—that is opening the door to new innovations, businesses, and business models.

The emergence of cloud and 5G , for example, exponentially increases compute power and network speeds that can enable greater innovation. Developments in the metaverse of augmented and virtual reality open the doors to virtual R&D via digital twins , for example, and immersive learning. Advances in AI, machine learning, and software 2.0 (machine-written code) bring a range of new services and products, from autonomous vehicles to connected homes, well within reach.

Much ink has been spilled on identifying tech trends, but less attention has been paid to the implications of those changes. To help understand how management will need to adapt in the face of these technology trends in the next three to five years, we spoke to business leaders and leading thinkers on the topic. We weren’t looking for prognostications; we wanted to explore realistic scenarios, their implications, and what senior executives might do to get ready.

The discussions pinpointed some broad, interrelated shifts, such as how technology’s radically increasing power is exerting a centrifugal force on the organization, pushing innovation to expert networks at the edges of the company; how the pace and proliferation of these innovations calls for radical new approaches to continuous learning built around skills deployed at points of need; how these democratizing forces mean that IT can no longer act as a centralized controller of technology deployment and operations but instead needs to become a master enabler and influencer; and how these new technologies are creating more data about, and touchpoints with, customers, which is reshaping the boundaries of trust and requiring a much broader understanding of a company’s security responsibilities.

1. Innovation at the edge

Key tech trends.

We estimate that 70 percent of companies will employ hybrid or multicloud management technologies, tools, and processes . 2 “ The top trends in tech ,” McKinsey, June 15, 2021. At the same time, 5G will deliver network speeds that are about ten times faster than current speeds on 4G LTE networks, 3 Irina Ivanova, “What consumers need to know about this week’s AT&T–Verizon 5G rollout,” CBS News, January 20, 2022. with expectations of speeds that are up to 100 times faster with 40 times faster latency. 4 “5G speed: 5G vs. 4G performance compared,” Tom’s Guide, June 1, 2021. By 2024, more than 50 percent of user touches will be augmented by AI-driven speech, written word, or computer-vision algorithms , 5 “ The top trends in tech ,” June 15, 2021. while global data creation is projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes by 2025, up from 64.2 zettabytes in 2020. 6 “Amount of data created, consumed, and stored 2010–2025,” Statista Research Department, May 23, 2022. The low-code development platform market‘s compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is projected at about 30 percent through 2030. 7 “Global $187 billion low-code development platform market to 2030,” GlobeNewswire, November 10, 2020.

Shift: Innovation develops around personal networks of experts at the porous edge of the organization and is supported by capabilities that scale the benefits across the business.

These technologies promise access to virtually unlimited compute power and massive data sets, as well as a huge leap in bandwidth at low cost, making it cheaper and easier to test, launch, and scale innovations quickly. The resulting acceleration in innovation will mean that companies can expect more disruptions from more sources. Centralized strategic and innovation functions cannot hope to keep pace on their own. Companies will need to be much more involved in networks outside their organizations to spot, invest in, and even acquire promising opportunities.

Corporate venture-capital (VC) funds with centralized teams have looked to find and fund innovation, but their track record has been spotty, often because the teams lack the requisite skills and are simply too far removed from the constantly evolving needs of individual business units. Instead, companies will need to figure out how to tap their front lines, particularly business domain experts and technologists, to enable them to act, in effect, as the business’s VC arm. That’s because the people who are writing code and building solutions are often well plugged into strong external networks in their fields and have the expertise to evaluate new developments. One pharma company, for example, taps its own expert researchers in various fields, such as gene expression, who know well the people outside the company who are leaders in the field.

While companies will need to create incentives and opportunities for engineers to build up and engage with their networks, the key focus must be on empowering teams so they can spend their allocated budget as they see fit—for example, experimenting and failing without penalty (within boundaries) and deciding on technologies to meet their goals (within prescribed guidelines).

The IT organization of the future can play an important role in building up a scaling capability to make that innovation work for the business, something that has traditionally been a challenge. Individual developers or small teams working fast don’t tend to naturally think about how to scale an application. That issue is likely to be exacerbated as nontechnical users working in pockets across organizations use low-code/no-code (LC/NC) applications to design and build programs with point-and-click or pull-down-menu interfaces.

One pharma company has taken this idea to heart by giving local business units the flexibility to run with a nonstandard idea when it has proven to be better than what the company is already doing. In return for that flexibility, the business unit must commit to helping the rest of the organization use the new idea, and IT builds it into the company’s standards.

In considering how this scaling capability might work, companies could, for example, assign advanced developers to “productize” applications by refactoring code so they can scale. IT leadership can provide tools and platforms, reusable-code libraries that are easily accessible, and flexible, standards-based architecture so that innovations can be scaled across the business more easily.

Questions for leadership

• What incentives will best encourage engineers and domain experts to develop, maintain, and tap into their networks?
• What processes are in place for tracking and managing VC activity at the edge?
• What capabilities do you need to identify innovation opportunities and “industrialize” the best ones so they can be shared across the organization?

For more on how to empower workers at the edge, see “ Tech companies innovate at the edge. Legacy companies can too ,” in Harvard Business Review.

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2. a perpetual-learning culture.

Advances in AI, machine learning, robotics, and other technologies have increased the pace of change tenfold . By 2025, we estimate that 50 billion devices will be connected to the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), while 70 percent of manufacturers are expected to be using digital twins regularly (by 2022). 8 “ The top trends in tech ,” June 15, 2021. Some 70 percent of new applications will use LC/NC technologies by 2025, up from less than 25 percent in 2020. 9 “Gartner says cloud will be the centerpiece of new digital experiences,” Gartner, November 10, 2021. The global metaverse revenue opportunity could approach $800 billion in 2024, up from about $500 billion in 2020. 10 Bloomberg Intelligence, “Metaverse may be $800 billion market, next tech platform,” Bloomberg, December 1, 2021. This proliferation of technological innovations means we can expect to experience more progress in the next decade than in the past 100 years combined, according to entrepreneur and futurist Peter Diamandis. 11 Peter Diamandis and Steven Kotler, The Future Is Faster than You Think: How Converging Technologies Are Transforming Business, Industries, and Our Lives , New York: Simon & Schuster, 2020.

Shift: Tech literacy becomes core to every role, requiring learning to be continuous and built at the level of individual skills that are deployed at the point of need.

With the pace and proliferation of technologies pushing innovation to the edge of the organization, businesses need to be ready to incorporate the most promising options from across the front lines. This will create huge opportunities, but only for those companies that develop true tech intelligence through a perpetual-learning culture. The cornerstone of this effort includes training all levels of personnel, from “citizen developers” working with easy-to-use LC/NC tools or in entirely new environments such as the metaverse, to full-stack developers and engineers, who will need to continually evolve their skills to keep up with changing technologies. We’re already seeing situations where poorly trained employees use LC/NC to churn out suboptimal products.

While there will always be a need for more formalized paths for foundational learning, we anticipate an acceleration in the shift from teaching curricula periodically to continuous learning that can deliver varying technical skills across the entire organization. In practice, that will mean orienting employee development around delivering skills. This requires breaking down a capability into its smallest sets of composite skills. One large tech company, for example, created 146,000 skills data points for the 1,200 technical skills it was assessing.

The key point is that these skills “snippets”—such as a block of code or a video of a specific negotiating tactic—need to be integrated into the workflow so that they’re delivered when needed. This might be called a “LearnOps” approach, where learning is built into the operations. This integration mentality is established at Netflix, where data scientists partner directly with product managers, engineering teams, and other business units to design, execute, and learn from experiments. 12 Netflix Technology Blog , “Experimentation is a major focus of data science across Netflix,” blog entry by Martin Tingley et al., January 11, 2022.

As important as being able to deploy learning is building a learning culture by making continuous learning expected and easy to do. The way top engineers learn can be instructive. This is a community that is highly aware of the need to keep their skills up to date. They have ingrained habits of sharing code, and they gravitate to projects where they can learn. One advantage of using open source, for example, is the built-in community that constantly updates and reviews code. In the same spirit, we’re seeing companies budget extra time to allow people to try new tools or technologies when they’re building a product. Other companies are budgeting for “learning buffers” to allow for setbacks in product development that teams can learn from. 13 “ The big boost: How incumbents successfully scale their new businesses ,” McKinsey, August 27, 2020.

Netflix, which makes broad, open, and deliberate information sharing a core value, built the Netflix experimentation platform as an internal product that acts as a repository of solutions for future teams to reuse. It has a product manager and innovation road map, with the goal of making experimentation a simple and integrated part of the product life cycle. 14 Netflix Technology Blog , “Netflix: A culture of learning,” blog entry by Martin Tingley et al., January 25, 2022.

To support this kind of continuous learning and experimentation, companies will need to accept mistakes. The art will be in limiting the impact of potentially costly mistakes, such as the loss or misuse of customer data. IT will need to architect protocols, incentives, and systems to encourage good behaviors and reduce bad ones. Many companies are beginning to adopt practices such as automated testing to keep mistakes from happening in the first place ; creating spaces where mistakes won’t affect other applications or systems, such as isolation zones in cloud environments ; and building in resiliency protocols.

• Do you have a list of the most important skills your business needs?
• What is the minimum level of learning needed for advanced users of analytics and manipulators of data?
• How do you track what people are learning and whether that learning is effective and translating into better performance?

3. IT as a service

It is estimated that the global cloud microservices platform market will generate $4.2 billion in revenue by 2028, up from $952 million in 2020. 15 Cloud microservice platform market report , Research Dive, November 2021. GitHub has more than 200 million code repositories and expects 100 million software developers by 2025. 16 Paul Krill, “GitHub expects more than 100 million software developers by 2025,” InfoWorld, December 3, 2020. Nearly 90 percent of developers already use APIs. 17 Christina Voskoglou, “APIs have taken over software development,” Nordic APIs, October 27, 2020. Software 2.0 creates new ways of writing software and reduces complexity. Software sourced by companies from cloud-service platforms, open repositories, and software as a service (SaaS) is growing at a CAGR of 27.5 percent from 2021 to 2028. 18 Software as a service (SaaS) market, 2021–2028 , Fortune Business Insights, January 2022.

Shift: IT becomes the enabler of product innovation by serving small, interoperable blocks of code.

When innovation is pushed to the edge and a perpetual-learning culture permeates an organization, the role of IT shifts dramatically. IT can’t support this dynamic environment by sticking to its traditional role as a controlling entity managing technology at the center. The premium will now be on IT’s ability to enable innovation, requiring a shift in its traditional role as protector of big tech assets to a purveyor of small blocks of code. The gold standard of IT effectiveness will be its ability to help people stitch together snippets of code into a useful product.

We are already seeing what that might look like. Employees at G&J Pepsi-Cola Bottlers with little to no experience at software development created an app that examines images of a store shelf to identify the number and type of bottles on it, then automatically restocks it based on historic trends. 19 Adam Burden, “Low code/no code could reshape business innovation,” VentureBeat, February 5, 2022. One pharmaceutical company grew its low-code platform base from eight users to 1,400 in just one year . Business users outside of IT are now building applications with thousands of monthly sessions. 20 Shivam Srivastava, Kartik Trehan, Dilip Wagle, and Jane Wang, “ Developer Velocity: How software excellence fuels business performance ,” McKinsey, April 20, 2020. Companies that empower “citizen developers” score 33 percent higher on innovation compared with bottom-quartile companies that don’t provide that level of support, according to a McKinsey survey. 21 Shivam Srivastava, Kartik Trehan, Dilip Wagle, and Jane Wang, “ Developer Velocity: How software excellence fuels business performance ,” McKinsey, April 20, 2020.

These developments point toward much more of a “buffet” approach to technology, where IT builds useful blocks of reusable code, sometimes assembles them into specific products, and makes them available through a user-friendly cataloging system for the business to use to create the products it needs. IT provides guiderails, such as API standards and directives on the environments in which the code might be most useful; protects the most sensitive information, such as customer data and financial records; and tracks their adoption. This tracking capability will become particularly crucial as bots, AI, algorithms, and APIs proliferate. Transparency isn’t sufficient. IT will need to make sense of all the activity through advanced tech performance and management capabilities and the development of new roles, such as data diagnosticians and bot managers.

This IT-as-a-service approach puts the product at the center of the operating model, requiring a commitment to organizing IT around product management . Some companies have been moving in this direction. But reaching the scale needed to support fast-paced and more diffuse innovation will require a deeper commitment to product owners, working with leaders in the business side of the house, to run teams with real P&L responsibility. Many organizations, from traditional enterprises to digital natives, have found that putting in place product leaders who set overall product and portfolio strategy, drive execution, and empower product owners to drive innovation aligned with business outcomes and P&L metrics can increase the return on the funding that flows to technology delivery and quicken the pace of innovation.

• Do you have a vision for how the role of the IT organization will change to enable democratization of technology?
• How will you elevate the role of the technology product manager, and do you have a road map for developing that role?
• What systems will you need to put in place to manage and track the use, reuse, and performance of code?

McKinsey Technology Trends Outlook 2022

4. expanded trust boundaries.

It was estimated that almost 100 percent of biometrics-capable devices (such as smartphones) will be using biometrics for transactions by 2022. 22 “Usage of biometric technology in transactions with mobile devices worldwide 2016–2022”, Statista Research Department, June 13, 2022. The effectiveness of these technologies has advanced dramatically, with the best facial-identification algorithms having improved 50 times since 2014. 23 William Crumpler, “How accurate are facial recognition systems—and why does it matter?” Center for Strategies and International Studies (CSIS), April 14, 2020. These developments are contributing to profound unease in the relationship between technology and consumers of technology. The Pearson Institute and the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that “about two-thirds of Americans are very or extremely concerned about hacking that involves their personal information, financial institutions, government agencies, or certain utilities.” 24 Chuck Brooks, “More alarming cybersecurity stats for 2021!” Forbes , October 24, 2021.

Shift: Trust expands to cover a broader array of stakeholder concerns and become an enterprise-wide responsibility.

These enormous shifts in technology power and capacity will create many more touchpoints with customers and an exponential wave of new data about customers. Even as IT’s role within the organization becomes more that of an enabler, the expanding digital landscape means that IT must broaden its trust capabilities around security, privacy, and cyber . To date, consumers have largely embraced the convenience that technology provides, from ordering a product online to adjusting the temperature in their homes remotely to monitoring their health through personal devices. In exchange for these conveniences, consumers have traditionally been willing to provide some personal information. But a steady undercurrent of privacy and trust concerns around these ever-more-sophisticated conveniences is raising the stakes on the broad topic of trust. Consumers are becoming more aware of their identity rights, making decisions based on values, and demanding the ethical use of data and responsible AI .

The most obvious concern is around cybersecurity , an ongoing issue that is already on the board-level agenda. But tech-driven trust issues are much broader and are driven by three characteristics. One is the sheer quantity of personal data, such as biometrics, that companies and governments collect, creating concerns about privacy and data misuse. The second is that personal security issues are becoming more pervasive in the physical world. Wired homes, connected cars, and the Internet of Medical Things, for example, are all vectors for attack that can affect people’s well-being. Third is the issue that advanced analytics seem too complex to be understood and controlled, leading to deep unease about people’s relationship with technology. This issue is driving the development of “ explainable AI ” and the movement to debias AI.

Adding to the complexity is the frequent need to manage and secure trust across an entire ecosystem of technologies. Take the wired home, for example. The proliferation of devices—think virtual assistants, security, communications, power management, and entertainment systems—means that a large group of providers will need to agree on standards for managing, in effect, an interconnected security net in the home.

These developments require a complex extension of the boundaries of trust. The significant advantages that many incumbents enjoy—existing relationships with customers and proprietary data—are at risk unless businesses rethink how they manage and nurture that trust. Companies need to consider putting identity and trust management at the core of their customer experience and business processes. That can happen effectively only when companies assign a dedicated leader with real power and board-level prioritization with enterprise-wide responsibility across the entire trust and security landscape. Given the tech underpinnings of this trust environment, IT will need to play a key role in monitoring and remediating, such as assessing the impact of new legislation on AI algorithms, tracking incidents, identifying the number and nature of high-risk data-processing activities and automated decisions, and—perhaps most important—monitoring consumer trust levels and the issues that affect them.

• Who is responsible for the enterprise-wide trust and risk landscape?
• How have you integrated your efforts around customer trust with overall cybersecurity processes?
• What privacy, trust, and security processes are in place to manage the entire life cycle of your data?

It is inevitable that the pace of technological change will continue to accelerate. The successful technology leader of the future will not simply need to adopt new technologies but to build capabilities to absorb continuous change and make it a source of competitive advantage.

Steve Van Kuiken is a senior partner in McKinsey’s New Jersey office.

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