Disruptive Innovation - The Key to a Sustainable World

                

As I reflect on the article, 'Disruptive Technologies: Advances That Will Transform Life, Business and the Global Economy', I want to introduce you to what disruptive technology means and why adopting it is imperative to our future. Coined by Harvard Business School professor and innovator Clayton Christensen, disruptive technology by definition is the idea of adding significant value by creating new markets that are radically different from existing ones. While this is not limited to social innovation alone, embracing disruptive technologies to implement social change will prove to drive positive impact that far outweighs the costs incurred in adopting it.

The case discusses a few such technologies in the energy and machine learning domains whose potential impact cannot be understated. The field of robotics has come a long way since the 1960's when robots were used to perform tasks that were limited to lifting and operating machinery that was too heavy for humans, to the present age when they can compute and learn dynamically based on their own prior actions. The advent of this evolution of robotics has a multitude of applications including operating in mines and other hazardous areas where humans would otherwise be exposed to harmful chemicals, in space exploration (who among us did was not amazed by TARS and CASE from the movie 'Interstellar') and other applications where human emotion poses a significant threat. 

In a planet where constantly increasing consumption is resulting in radically depleting energy supply, the possibility of energy storage devices being adopted by the automobile industry across the planet will not only mean cheaper and more cost effective ways to commute, just think of the impact it will have on reducing the carbon footprint. Similarly, 3-D printing will play a significant role in shaping consumer demand. With the possibility of volume production resulting in 3-D printers moving from an industrial model to a consumer-centric model looming large, consumers can potentially build customized products that can help building houses for the homeless extremely reasonable.

As we grow and increase in number, it is of prime importance to evolve constantly as a species - to take risks in moving from incremental towards radical innovation and adopt technology as a friend. As I close this case on disruptive innovation, it is clear that my stance lies firm in the need to be disruptive. And as we look to the future, will the need for disruption cease to exist as a choice and become a necessary beast?