Science and technology have impacted society to a large extend. With the
passage of time, new innovations are brought about by researchers in
science and technology. The multiplier effect is observed in a society where one
innovation opens the doors for many other innovations. Governments, private
organizations, and investors are rapidly investing in science and technological
developments and which has shifted these trends and developments in science and
technology towards economic development. Following are some of the major trends
and developments in science and technology (Augustyn, 2017) followed by
implications for education in the future.
Robotics, AI, and Automation
One of the core trends in science and technology is robotics, artificial
intelligence (AI), and automation which have been largely applied in the economy
including many market sectors such as agriculture, finance, customer support, and logistics. Many countries use intelligent software to monitor frauds, deteriorating
cases, and so on within very short intervals of time. Currently, artificial intelligence
is used to perform such tasks which have been previously declared as expert’
tasks. According to a study, a robot was particularly introduced to diagnose and
recommend treatment for cancer.
After analysis of a huge number of written materials
on cancer, the robot recommended the treatment which matched with the
recommendations of almost 90 percent of human oncologists make in their daily
routine work. Robotics and artificial intelligence are deeply applied in the defense sector as well. The adoption of robotics and artificial intelligence is
growing in global markets for autonomous vehicles. Its economic impact has been
predicted to be on top in the years and decades ahead. Its impacts on finance, health
care and services will likely cross the level of growth.
Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies
Another core trend of science and technology is advanced materials and
manufacturing technologies in which such techniques and strategies are applied
which introduce innovations based on increased investments in various
industries from automotive designs to medical equipment. Advanced materials in the global market and advanced manufacturing methods are reaching more than
trillions. 3D printing and quantum dots are applied in high fidelity video
displays and other such tasks leading towards a fast pace of growth as advances
in manufacturing nano-materials.
Regarding advanced materials, there is a wider
range of innovations starting from nano-materials, ceramics, materials that have the capability of self-healing, and such type other capabilities. Graphene is a
tiny material that has only two layers of carbon atoms is replacing silicon
semiconductors which made it possible significantly smaller, faster electronic
chips for computers and other electronic applications. Advancement and
creativity are integrated with producing very small but significant materials from
recycled waste materials. In China, replacing supercapacitors, porous carbon
material has been introduced by leaves and other biomass waste.
3D printing has already come into practice in industries and it
will be widely available at low cost which is distributed by a small-scale network of manufacturers. Research is being conducted on developing 4D printing
which will be having additive manufacturing techniques to produce such
materials which will change their shape in response to heat, light, force, and
other electromagnetic signals.
Food and Water Technology
Food and water are the emerging issues to be progressed rapidly
throughout the world. Global warming and climatic changes have alarmed the
importance of food and water. However, in many folds improvement in food and
water security is observed to occur. Relevant actors in the field are
busy applying productive practices regarding agriculture. Research-based suggested strategies are
employed by farmers. They rely on localized data and remote sensing images to apply
the appropriate amount of water, fertilizers, and pesticides to the newly grown
crops. Visualize weather, field health, and nitrogen data, customize planting
schedules and connect wirelessly to the machinery related to sowing and
harvesting in order to collect and analyze the relevant data are carried out by
Climate Corporation’s tools.
Genetic engineering is being capitalized on crops
that can cope with extreme weather conditions. Genetically diverse crops
are preserved through cryogenic facilities which help farmers to grow food
under different weather conditions. In the recent past, various technologies have been undergone for water
security. Desalination plants have been used to provide water to households. Water is produced at a lower price and consumes less energy in
reverse osmosis desalination plants. It is also attempted to recycle water from
wastes into clean potable water. Vertical fog-harvesting mesh nets are used to
collect clean water from the atmosphere in the areas where the climate suites for
that purpose.
Space Technology
After an artificial satellite named sputnik sixty years back, now progress
is made to utilize low-cost commercial space flights, tininess, materials, and
space forward motion. Much of the progress in the past five years has come from
the rapidly expanding commercial space industry. The investment made in space
technology is growing spending on research and development in this regard.
More exploratory is asteroid mining which is a highly transformative and
emerging technology. There are an estimated 15,000 near-Earth asteroids that could
feasibly be mined with current space technologies. There are significant
technical barriers to making asteroid mining cost-effective. T is difficult to
calculate the composition of asteroids using current ground and orbital sensors
and the rate of return from the retrieving minerals makes the investors reluctant.
However, private investment in space technology is growing rapidly.
Synthetic Biology
Along with cutting and pasting genes through genetic engineering,
synthetic biology is applying the principles of engineering to biotechnology
using computer modeling and DNA synthesis. Falling costs and new gene-editing
tools like CRISPR are accelerating progress in the global market. Professionals
are engaged in designing simple synthetic gene circuits to develop the first fully
synthetic genome in bacteria. Side by side with these efforts, the focus is on
learning how to rebuild entire genomes, and scientists are trying to design
artificial gene circuits that will perform new functions. Using standardized
DNA parts, parallel to electronic components used to build integrated circuits.
Researchers have created everything from undeveloped biological computers to
bacteria that seek and destroy other microbes. These techniques have experimented with understood organisms like E. Coli and yeast and recently this
process has been applied to mammalian cells and plants. It has also been
performed that different damaged re-engineered organisms can be used to create
multicellular environmental sensors and cell-free gene circuits.
Quantum Computing
The current age is of quantum computing and communications as they have
come out from the theory and landed on practice. Practical quantum computing is
a breakthrough technology in information technology. Governments have been
involved in investing in quantum computing and communications. Most probably quantum
computers will go beyond the capabilities of classical computers. In a
classical computer, a bit has a value of 0 or 1 and acts as an on/off switch
but quantum computers may represent both 0 and 1 simultaneously, and the state
of one quantum bit can depend on the state of another. Quantum bits are more
sophisticated switches that can perform multiple calculations at once. Hence,
quantum computers will be able to make rapid calculations on massive datasets
and solve problems that today’s computers cannot.
The need for research and development has aroused among many agencies like
governments, industries, and investors in this potentially transformative field.
Quantum computing can solve complex problems with a very high speed and
accuracy in different fields of life. Exploration of new medicines and
materials, optimization of global supply chains, making artificial intelligence
more powerful, and improving financial and climate modeling are the potential
areas to be worked on through quantum computing. It helps protect individuals
and institutions from cybercrime.
Biomedical Science and Human Augmentation
There have been many innovations related to human health and
performance. Artificial intelligence has supported health care analytics, is
going to physicians powerful new tools for diagnosing diseases among patients. Through
wearable and ambient sensors with mobile devices are giving patients and
physicians monitoring mechanism health condition resultantly identification of
treatments to diseases that can be given in time. Genetic science is growing to
be a drive for the development of pharmaceuticals that deliver effects that are
tailored to individual physiology, improving treatment outcomes while producing
fewer side effects. Huam healthspan may extend by physical and cognitive
augmentation technologies and help people to remain healthy well into their senior
years.
Regenerative medicine is another example of a rapidly emerging
biomedical application during which genetic material from stem cells or
engineered DNA or RNA is used to rebuild damaged tissues in the body. It acts
as a branch of personalized medicine while leveraging a deep understanding of the
human genome, advanced modeling, and analytics. Principles from bioengineering produce preventive and corrective treatments that are particularly designed to
fit with an individual’s physiological posture.
Implications for education
According to Kola (2013), the trends
and developments in science and technology leave a strong impact on the educational
process. With developments, new techniques are required and such trends and
developments bring about changes in goals by changing patterns of the
society. Libraries will be replaced with
computer-based libraries and teaching will be carried based on the computer-assisted learning approaches. Access to handy and easily available
information through the internet will be practiced by the teachers and learners.
Educational planners and policymakers develop such plans and policies which
will suit the mode of transformation of education. The use of digit technology
will facilitate both teachers and the taught as being the pace fast.
The teachers will be required to
teach in small groups rather than large groups because machines will assist
teachers in sparing time for more activities. The teaching will require teachers
to be more professional and specialized along with their strong content in
subject areas as well as they need to be digitally literate. In the school
setting, more emphasis will be on structures, developing a sense of belonging in
small groups and it will offer a variety of specialized options for study.
The content to be imparted to
students will require to be matched with the trends and development in science
and technology. An updated and research-based curriculum will need to be
developed. New ideas in science and technology will be embedded in content
that would need new and relevant methods of teaching. With the developments in
society by science and technology, assessment systems will also be shifted to
computers. Changes in educational content may be expected also as a result of
social changes arising mainly from the use of new technologies. The teaching of
science will be substantially affected by the renewed interest in field studies
in the biological sciences, by the concern for science and technology.
Flexibility and adaptability in later life will be particularly valuable
characteristics because employment patterns can be expected to change as a
result of technological innovation.
With the trends and development in
science and technology, aims and objectives will be changed by predicting future trends and demands. The demand for such professions will be increased
which would be thought suitable for economic development as well as social
development. Professions which require technical skills would be desirable by society. Engineering, biological sciences, agriculture, mathematics would
be preferred subject areas in which the parents would desire for their children.
References
Augustyn, J. (2017). Emerging science
and technology trends: 2017-2047: A synthesis of
the leading forecast. Retrieved August 13, 2018, from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1043071.pdf
Kola,
A. J. (2013). Importance of Science Education to National Development and
Problems
Militating Against Its Development. American Journal of Educational Research.
1(7), 225-229. Retrieved August 12, 2018, from http://pubs.sciepub.com/education/1/7/2.
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