Imagine you died 20 years ago and were thrown back into the world of work today. A thought experiment about tech that changed everything.

My father, a die-hard mechanical engineer, died in late 2003. Besides many family moments he never saw, have you thought about all the work-related technologies he never saw?

Although my late father had a mobile phone and an email account, let’s look into the most relevant technologies that transformed work and life since 2003.

2003: Social Media

In 2003, the first social media platforms appeared: MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

What would my father say if I told him that today, he could start selling his products to a global audience by just using social media on his phone?

What would my father’s face look like if I told him that today, addiction to social media is a widespread phenomenon?

What would he say if he heard that social media is used to influence elections?

2004: YouTube

The now-omnipresent video platform debuted in 2004.

What would my father say if I told him that today, looking up instructions on how to change your car’s air filter is best done using YouTube?

What would he say if he heard that even 15-year-old kids can make serious money by operating their own YouTube channels?

2005: Google Maps

Google Maps was introduced in 2005, but it fully unfolded its potential only after the introduction of smartphones a couple of years later. Together with the omnipresence of satellite location services and 5G coverage, it became an indispensable tool for everyone.

What would my father say if I told him that today, we can step off the plane in a city we’ve never been to before, and follow our smartphone to find the nearest sushi place with a good Google review?

What would he say if he knew that most ambulances worldwide use Google Maps (controlled by big tech) and GPS (controlled by the U.S. military) to quickly reach their patients?

2006: Cloud Computing

Until 2006, operating a server meant setting up hardware in the basement of your premises. You also needed your own team to operate this hardware. In 2006, this changed for good. Amazon Web Services (AWS) went live, starting the age of cloud computing.

What would my father say if I told him that today, even small companies operate dozens of cloud servers and can spin up additional servers at the click of a switch? What would he say if he knew that Yonder, his son’s B2B SaaS company, operates cloud servers in many different countries all over the world?

What would he say if he knew that the most valuable company on Earth, Nvidia, made its fortune through supplying processors to the ever-growing need of AI servers?

2007: iPhone

The 2007 launch of the iPhone changed the smartphone market for good. The sleek, keyboard-less design altered the way we interact with technology. Together with the App Store, launched in 2008, a whole new ecosystem was born.

What would my father say if I told him that today, his son needs to monitor and limit the screen time of his grandchildren on those devices?

What would he say if he knew that people take digital detox holidays, completely disconnecting from an ever-growing flood of notifications, messages, and distractions?

What would his face look like if I told him that losing my smartphone is more serious than losing my wallet?

2009: Bitcoin

In 2009, a nerdy new currency called Bitcoin, based on the concept of blockchain, was launched. The public outcry was: A parallel currency, a danger to the sovereignty of states, a tool for criminals. Yes, but it was a lot more than that. It initiated a decentralized trust infrastructure (and created an unnecessary hype, too).

What would my father say if I told him that today, the bitcoin price peaked at 100k USD without being backed by any assets?

What would he say if he knew that the Bitcoin infrastructure consumed more power today than a medium-sized European country?

2012: Tesla Model S

In 2012, Tesla launched its Model S, marking the first electric car that even petrolheads liked. This is the innovation I wanted my father to see most, as he was a die-hard mechanical engineer.

What would he say if he knew that I have been driving electric for 10 years now, and charging my car almost always from the solar panels on my self-sufficient house?

Would he ever have thought that an electric car would become the most sold car in Switzerland, my home country?

2016: Reusable Rockets

In 2016, SpaceX achieved the first successful landing of a reusable rocket, landing upright on its launchpad. My father only knew this kind of rocket from the Tintin comics.

I would love to see the expression on his face if he could witness the live broadcast of a SpaceX landing.

2019: Starlink

Why do you need reusable rockets? To launch thousands of satellites into orbit to build up a constellation of satellites that provides broadband internet all over the planet. That’s what Starlink did, starting in 2019. This new form of connectivity complemented the rollout of 5G, which also happened in 2019.

My father was used to moving closer to the window to have better reception with his mobile phone, and he only ever saw dial-up modems. What would he say if he knew that we live in constant high-speed connectivity now?

2020: Remote Work

Even though Zoom, Skype, and GoToMeeting were invented way before 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic helped them become indispensable tools. What would have happened to the world of office work had the pandemic struck 20 years earlier without reliable broadband connectivity?

And what would my father say when I told him that today, I can hold multiple meetings in multiple countries each day through omnipresent video call tools?

2022: Generative AI

And of course, Gen AI changed everything from 2022 onwards, when ChatGPT was released. I’m not sure if we can already assess the full effects AI will have on our daily lives and even on humanity, but the speed of AI development is significantly faster than it was for all the other technologies described above.

I’m not sure my father would understand the world if he knew we spent hours each day chatting with a machine that returns professional texts, images, and software code.

Conclusion

The technologies described above have transformed work and life in the past 20 years, yet the list is far from complete. Nevertheless, I draw two conclusions from the development described above.

First, it’s crazy how work has changed in the last 20 years due to the digital transformation. After only one generation, my late father would be completely lost in today’s work environment.

Second, it’s equally crazy how slow digital transformation has moved. Introducing a tool might be quick, but changing the processes around a tool takes much more time than anticipated.

Where will digital transformation lead us in the next 20 years? Stay tuned, I’ll set a reminder to write a follow-up post in 2045.