Will Smart Phones Become Ubiquitous in 50 Years?
India appears to be at the economic epicenter of the race for global connectivity. Datawind is launching 3 4G LTE capable phones priced between 3,000 and 5,000 rupees ($45-$75). There is also a plan underway to provide unlimited data for 99 rupees ($1.50) a month.
What will happen to the global economy when previously unconnected parts of the world come online and begin to create, share, buy and sell? Their contribution may well enliven not just global connectivity, but global economy.
What other driving changes will increase the effect of the spread of the smartphone in India? Add to this communications development an interesting economic proposal. India’s chief economic advisor wants India to consider a universal basic income. Basic income is a government guaranteed income as a safety net against poverty. They hope to enable millions of people to move from poverty to prosperity through economic reforms.
There is a secondary concern. With the growth in the fields of robotics and AI, those jobs commonly available now in India will be taken by futuristic development. Perhaps the economic concern speaks to the issue of whether the masses of people will have any interest in smart phones, while the technical concern speaks more to conceptualization of economic progress. It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict the cultural environment in 50 years.
This report centers on what is happening in India – a country with a large people base and an errupting economy. However, signs of similar economic drivers appear in America as well. Smaller in people base. More stable in economy. Yet America has already reached the point at which the mobile smart phone dominates. Read our article Google SEO Mobilgeddon for some specifics.
The very change that enables global connectivity also spreads the concept describing the possibility. When people understand what the possibilities are, the desire for the benefits develop. Minds begin to imagine yet other creative potential. The globe shrinks again. Jules Vern’s book, Around the World in 80 Days, becomes quaint. We realize daily the ability to circumnavigate the globe in 80 nanoseconds.
