• Question: Do you think that the economy is benefiting with all types of modern engineering? If so why?

    Asked by 426msep46 to Pauline, Michelle, Henry, Fidel, Chris on 5 Nov 2018.
    • Photo: Chris Neale

      Chris Neale answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Some yes, other’s maybe not.
      Historically if a new widget was invented, and became really popular, it needed lots of people to make it.
      Now a lot of engineering is services based, like Amazon, and even though Jeff Bezos is a Billionaire, his workers aren’t. So we/governments need to look at how the future will look if big companies like Google/Amazon are making money but not paying back, or creating jobs at the scale we need.

      Retraining older people, or getting younger people skilled quickly enough to meet the changing demand will be the hardest problem to solve.

    • Photo: Michelle Hands

      Michelle Hands answered on 5 Nov 2018:

      Massively so, I use a table out on site and It helps me in so many ways. Calculation and communications are always super quick with advanced technology.

    • Photo: Fidel Olaye

      Fidel Olaye answered on 6 Nov 2018:

      In most ways, yes. Engineering is in almost everything nowadays. From small gadgets like your phones that help maintain communication to large structures like your houses that provide you with shelter and protection. Even the food you eat has gone through some sort of engineering to determine the best way to produce it and in what quantities.
      At the same time, some people are harnessing modern engineering and using it to negatively impact people around us.

    • Photo: Henry Watts

      Henry Watts answered on 7 Nov 2018:

      Well, I don’t think anyone fully understands what the effect on the economy will be of technologies such as advanced robotics and Artificial Intelligence. Wil the loss of jobs in simple tasks be outweighed by the increase in need for maintenance engineers and designers? It’s a very difficult question to ponder but one for the social scientists rather than the engineers. We just want to make cool stuff and push the boundaries of new technology!

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