Back to the Future
By Greg Kahn
Emerging Tech Exchange
Founder & CEO
Published on May 9, 2023
Last week, I had a debate with my 14 year-old son about the Nintendo Wii. He wanted us to get a one so we could play games as a family we did 10 years ago
He's already got an Xbox and a gazillion other games. And yet, he’s yearning for a bit of the past.
I told him that Wii’s were discontinued. You can still buy them on eBay, of course. But I told my son that there’s no point getting a piece of technology that's no longer being made. What if there’s a problem with it and it needs to be repaired? It would be like buying a VCR so I could watch old video tapes. I asked him if that made sense.
“Well dad, it doesn’t make sense to buy a VCR because it's so much easier now to access any video,” he said.
Then it was my turn to be nostalgic.
I can never find what I want to watch online, I told him. When I had a VCR, somehow I was able to find everything that I wanted to get at that moment. Yes, there's an infinite amount of content now. But half the time, I don't know if I have a subscription to something. Or, if there’s a new streaming series people are talking about, I don’t know where to find it. (Okay, it just takes a few seconds to search, but those are long seconds that take you out of the viewing mindset.)
Remember when we just had a Blockbuster subscription to rent videos?
Anyway, we’re not going to go back in time for old VCRs, Nintendo Wiis, and other old tech. But we can ask if current tech can still be simpler. Is the tech we have now better? In what ways, yes or no? There are always trade-offs in life and technology. Limited choices do make viewing and gaming decisions easier. But I do like to think: what have we learned from the past that we can apply to today and to the future of accessing content?
That’s where I am as I contemplate the role that AI is taking in our work and personal lives right now. There's enormous interest in AI. But does it have the same utility for everybody? How is it changing the way we create and access words and images and information? Will we be nostalgic for scrolling for blue links delivered by a search query in 10 years? Will we be nostalgic for touchscreens and old-school Alexa devices?
What tech from today will we miss tomorrow? And how do you think today’s tech should be improved?
Share your thoughts with the ETX team via our Twitter or LinkedIn.
Greg Kahn
Emerging Tech Exchange
Founder & CEO
