Technology: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

 As an Indian millennial in the 21^st century, I proudly say, especially to the Gen Z folks, that I have been a part of both worlds – one where technology had a negligible role, and now, in a world where AI is already penetrating every sphere of human existence.

I grew up during a time when technology had little to no influence in my life. In the 90s, a computer in an Indian household was primarily used for three main things – Microsoft Word, Paint and Solitaire. Internet Explorer was largely unheard of up until the start of the millennium. Back then, having a computer meant that reserving a considerable section of your room to fit the big dabba that came with the monitor and a CPU, which had the capacity to get as hot as a burning oven and sounding like a breathless rat in no time. There was also a full-size keyboard, which often went into the table drawer along with a moody mouse and its wholesome wire. If you also had a printer, you easily sacrificed a third of an average-size room.

My family first bought a handset when I was 12. A Nokia 6610i (oh, so nostalgic!), the six-inch device got everyone around us, including our extended family, talking and asking to see it with a sense of wonderment. What was meant to be my father’s handset was used by six people, with more than half the people (read: children) hooked on the only game on the phone - Bounce. For your reference, some of the keys on the phone became stuck just within the first few weeks of getting the phone, which resulted in a complete ban on the game and a whole lot of pleas and crocodile tears.

It's been 20 years since the early days of Internet Explorer. As I look back on my life and the years gone by, I can easily chart the evolution of technology, year on year, just like the way I’m able to analyse my own trajectory. We are at an age when the reference to technology sounds as yesteryear as the early days of television sets and telephones. 20 years hence, same would be the case with artificial intelligence, but the one thing that is likely to remain same through the constant state of evolution is the ability to compare where we were and where we are. And that, hopefully, is enough to add that little spark to our existence.