Fascination with the future

Megatrends of our age are changing society and putting new demands on individuals, institutions and corporations. Globalization, universal mobility and increasing life expectancy, for instance, awaken new desires and demands for flexible answers. Is technological development playing catch up with the trends or is it preparing us for the future?

In our constantly changing society, innovation and technological development are the prerequisites for ensuring our future. Yet who is the driver? Who reacts to whom? Globalization and individualization, ageing and heath, new work and new learning are the megatrends of society that no one can stop. But who will coach us to be “fit for the future” and will provide the practical living tips for managing everyday life in our future? And what comes first, the problem or the solution? Under the motto "Innovation for People," Deutsche Telekom and its subsidiary T-Systems are confronting the possibilities and limitations of technological development so that they never lose sight of the concrete benefit for human beings in the search for fundamental answers to the challenges of the future.

Opportunities and risks

The interaction of sociological trends and technological development involves both opportunities and risks in equal measure. Intelligent technology with smart systems are often rapidly suspected of acting behind the backs of human beings. However, when technical systems are permanently perceived as superior to human beings there is a growing risk of a loss of confidence in technological progress according to experts on business ethics.

Examples of how technology can polarize people are abundant. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) transponder technology, for example, hovers on the fine line between trust and skepticism which people show for it in equal measures. A wide range of possible applications for this modern data technology in numerous human activities – apart from purely logistical processes in the global transport of goods – is conceivable of course.

However, not just skeptics believe that protecting the individual is the highest priority. Although citizens in the USA can have RFID chips implanted following a change of legislation four years ago, in Germany and many other countries data protection and security are still the subject of intense political debate.

Impulse for our future everyday life

Conflicts between the desires of the individual and the demands on companies and institutions are already a motor for technology-based changes in many areas of life today – such as in working world, medicine, and traffic systems. The effects of the key socio-cultural trends of our time, such as increasing mobility and urbanization, constantly demand new products and services from service providers and industry that will make life easier and more comfortable for consumers as individuals.

Read the full report on “The Future is Made Today” with numerous examples of innovative technological solutions that demonstrate how different ICT solutions are shaping the future today in the current print edition.