The 2017 Future of Technology Summit Essay Winner - Israel - Middle school

WINNER: ARIEL SHAY SHAHARABANI

Teacher: Tatiana Gruzman

School: Makif Gimel , Ashdod, Israel

Topic: The Future of Technology

The fact of the matter is that the technology of the world is changing at a rapid pace. In order to keep up and ensure that these changes serve to positively affect the world, it is necessary that we come together to exchange ideas in order to usher us into the new digital age.

Honorable Mentions

• Nathan Haberman, of Tichon Hamoshava. Teacher, Amy Fields

• Yair Kohn, of Yarkon School. Teacher, Nicole Meron

• Ofek Tzur, of Ulpanit Yeshurun Petach Tikva. Teacher, Lauraine Glazer

The Future of Technology, by Ariel Shay Shaharabani

Today, technology influences my everyday life. From the alarm clock that wakes me up to the final news article I read online before bed, technology is a constant presence in my life. But the technology that is so standard to me today will not be the convention for long. In a very short period of time, technology will cause us to change our environments, economy, bodies and even the very basis of our morals and ethics.

Why do I believe this? Because this change has already started.

Cities from all around the world have begun to incorporate high tech into their very core. London, for example, is well known for their wide CCTV web system that can automatically recognize number plates with high-end AI. That might sound scary, but we ourselves have been improving AIs for years now. With every search we do on Google and every photo we upload onto Facebook, we provide information for the system. Every piece of information helps the AI know you better and know other people better. This process, called machine learning, has come a long way. We are at a point in which organizations know more about us than we do ourselves. This effect will continue and transform the basic amenities we have. In a few years, we might be charged automatically for purchases at the grocery store. Or maybe, AI will be good enough at avoiding threats while driving that we won't even need to drive our cars. Automation is going to change everything we know about current work environments and our economy. As we've already begun seeing, the number of available jobs is going to decline due to this new technology. In 2004 Blockbuster employed 84,000 people but in 2014 Netflix made 50% more in revenue with only 4,500 employees. It is clear that with the quantity of jobs being lost to automated machines, the job market will soon be unable to sustain a growing population. To keep up, we'll need to change the very foundation of our economy.

Beyond these clear advances in AI, technological advances may soon be able to change the very definition of who we are as humans. With CRISPR, scientists can change the genetic sequences that make us ourselves. We are the closest we've ever been to genetically modifying humans. In 1994 the first genetically modified organism (GMO) was approved and commercially released. Today GMOs are found everywhere. If we take it to the next level we might alter the human genome forever: Genetic diseases could be eradicated, and problems like obesity and even old age might be gone forever. That may sound far fetched, but today we have the tools to do this, and they are continuously improving. In a few years, our governments will be bound to approve the alteration of the human genome because it could save more lives than any vaccine or medication. But of course it comes at a great risk. We can cause major genetic problems by making a simple mistake. Genetic modification is be passed via reproduction and will affect the entire human genome in a few generations, that is why every alteration to any human needs to be thought through completely and only beneficial.

The fact of the matter is that the technology of the world is changing at a rapid pace. In order to keep up and ensure that these changes serve to positively affect the world, it is necessary that we come together to exchange ideas in order to usher us into the new digital age.