Technology Is Now about Empowering Humans

Just the way we watch the television shows how much empowerment of the individual has changed. And it speaks of the wider picture of how technology is no longer a takeit-or-leave-it template, but a bespoke service tailored to the individual.

Can you picture early television broadcasts? They were carefully scripted and delivered to present a highly curated programme, forcing us all to not only share the same worldview, but also to watch on the programme-makers' terms.

But the evolution of video has fundamentally changed both our view of the world and how we interact with it. In less than a century, we've moved to an online world with billions of viewpoints, coming from governments and businesses and more importantly from people, every one with a unique perspective. We now have a truly live culture where technologies like Periscope and Facebook Live mean anyone can broadcast what they want and tune in when they want - on their terms.

It illustrates that the way we use technology today is to bend it to our own needs. Change may be endemic, but the key point is that we are now in control. It's no longer people who are adapting to technology - rather, the technology is adapting to us. In fact, every time an experience is personalized, or technology anticipates people's needs and wants, we are being placed in the driver's seat to realise or satisfy those needs. In evolutionary terms, this is the technology age of human empowerment and it matters to business. With technol-ogy that truly responds to people, based on what they want, companies can evolve from being a supplier to become their customers' partner.

London-based IntelligentX Brewing Company has developed an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system to continuously collect and incorporate customer feedback. It incorporates this into its thinking to brew new versions of the company's beers. "Our AI can have a conversation with all of our customers, and that gives us the feedback that allows our beer to evolve," says Rob McInerney, co-founder of IntelligentX. "You can talk to the algorithm whenever or wherever you're drinking the beer."

His co-founder Hew Leith says: "People's tastes are changing faster than ever before… And AI is the perfect way to respond." This is how businesses will grow their role in people's lives, and establish a place in the future of society: by being more than just a provider of products and services.