The COVID-19 pandemic is creating problems not just in healthcare, unemployment and education, but it is also impacting the global economy on a pretty major scale. eMarketer brought this topic to our attention in their article, “How COVID-19 Is Fast-Tracking Emerging Tech.”
That impact is not all bad. It is helping to accelerate the development and commercialization of several emerging technologies that previously received lukewarm public and/or government support. This is especially true for innovations that reduce human-to-human contact, automate processes and increase productivity amid social distancing.
For many years, we have been beset by and immersed in apps and devices that are quietly reducing the amount of meaningful interaction we have with each other. In the past, that has been seen as reducing the value of human resources in lieu of machines that won’t unionize and be subject to labor laws. However, in the light of the pandemic and need for social distancing, it is being viewed as progressive and needed.
The fear of robots replacing humans has not disappeared, but the fear of the virus has made them receptive to help.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.
