Tech is Dead..and Guess Whodunit?

“...you might want to focus less on recreating the cyborg from Ex Machina and more on finding a company that is applying machine learning to a data-heavy industry.”

And so concludes the bleak counsel to would-be innovators in a popular VC newsletter that I receive.

Coincidentally, Timehop, the popular digital memory app, reminded me shortly before I started writing this post that Nintendo premiered its legendary NES 34 years ago. It was cutting edge gaming technology (I still have mine) and created cult classics like Zelda and Super Mario Bros.

Back then, I imagined a 21st century world where video game screens were everywhere and life basically looked like the Jetsons. I imagined being frustrated by my smart-alec housekeeper robot and shouted at by a mean “space” boss because I couldn’t push buttons fast enough.

Well, after 20 years of the 21st century some of my childish tech predictions have come true. I have been shouted at for not typing fast enough but alas, no robot housekeeper. There are screens everywhere but they seem to distract people more than thrill them.

Perhaps the writer of that rather soul-killing advice was recalling that sense of hope that the 21st century would be overflowing with nifty inventions.

But tech has flatlined.

These days all tech seems to revolve around smartphones that actually aren’t that smart. The A. I. “assistants” still have trouble understanding “foreign” accents and syntax that doesn’t describe exactly what you want. There is some sort of patroling vacuum that I recently saw parodied for accidentally sweeping up the spilled ashes of a dearly departed character because it was programmed to clean up at a certain time each day...no matter what.

Now granted, I do enjoy the ease of being able to find my way someplace instantly. I love the spontaneity of taking selfies and capturing other images that could never have happened even with the slickest Polaroid. I also like the addictive apps that offer me a sense of accomplishment for collecting all the diamonds!

But a void remains. It does seem as if all the tech giants gathered and decided that enough progress had been made and all that remains is to gather data that everyday companies need. Forget about true innovation that creates wondrous, ridiculous, must have gadgetry -like Astrolabes.

Remember that remote that could control other remotes and would sound an alert if it, like the other remotes, ended up buried in the sofa cushions?

What about Simon? That was pretty innovative!

But this article is not just a walk down memory lane. It’s a reminder that tech didn’t start in Silicon Valley (it started in Tokyo but that’s another story).

Greatness creates dullness. Some would say that the slow release of out-of-the-box ideas is due to the “boys club”. Too many men of a certain race making too many important, unchallenged decisions. “Deciding” what’s best for us.

Now that the tech leaders are aging billionaires, they have lost their fire, their knack for wanting something new just for the hell of it. Surrounded by each other, they can pat each other on the back and reminisce about the old “non tech” days and how far they’ve come. The same ideas get circulated and applauded. Their employees, grateful for work in a softening economy, simply carry out their job functions, which focus on execution, not innovation.

Without a degree in Data Analytics, forget about even getting on the campuses of these elite tech clubs.

So I stand outside the gates like millions of others. There’s more to tech than blockchain and flat screens. What about New gadgets that actually “think” the way I think? How about a microwave that automatically recognizes food WITHOUT me pressing a button? Self-driving car? Keep it. What about cars that recognize your ass and reject substitute drivers? If digital assistants must exist, please infuse them with personality like KITT or JARVIS. Don’t give me any bullshit that “we’re working on it.” The leaders have had 20 years and are simply cannibalizing each other, gnawing on the same dry bones over and over.

No tech is not dead. A bit dull, but not dead. And I believe there’s at least one Dr. Frankenstein out there just crazy enough to dazzle us with something new, even if it is a cyborg...made of cadavers.