It's overstated that *every* company is going to replace most of its physical processes with information processes -- e.g.:
FedEx, which early in its history took the view that “the information about the package is as important as the package itself
How's that?
The smart grid examples of networked refrigerators and cars seem a little far-fetched. But I don't think these examples should obscure the central theme: that many physical processes
will be replaced with IT solutions.
I'm currently listening to:
$20 Per Gallon: How the Inevitable Rise in the Price of Gasoline Will Change Our Lives for the Better (
http://www.amazon.com/20-Gallon-Inevitable-Gasoline-Change/dp/044654955X).
The chapters are titled: "Chapter $6, Chapter $8... Chapter $20". At each step certain things we take for granted now will no longer exist, like SUVs and cheap air travel and whatever activities are enabled by cheap air travel.
(BTW, I think the 4-star review rating is too generous, mainly because there's way too much padding in the book. It's really a dozen-page paper.)
The author thinks that $20 gas is inevitable because as the standard of living increases for the middle class worldwide they will demand cars and will bid up the price. The cost to produce gasoline will also increase because of diminishing supply and the cost to extract what's left will increase because it will be harder to get at.
As the cost increases, cars will inevitably become plug-in electrics and what gas is used will be used in the onboard backup engine, like what the Volt has.
Air travel is going to be restricted to the rich. Jets burn 13 gal/minute and almost all airlines are currently unprofitable, mostly because of fuel costs and because there are too many of them. The only way for any of them to stay in business as gas increases above $12, or so, will be to merge and dramatically raise prices.
So what's this have to do with IT?
- People will not be taking trips to Disney World or Las Vegas. $1,000 tickets will make it too prohibitive. Instead, look for more VR experiences.
- Any lifestyle where you go beyond the range of your electric vehicle (EV) is going to look unattractive. The author thinks that this will drive people into more concentrated living situations. This includes the demise of small town life, which the author thinks will be too isolating. Personally, I think if the size of cities increases it's going to call for software psychosocial aides to mitigate killer ape territorial scripts.
When travel is restricted you can think of many other scenarios where IT solutions will be needed.
