Technological Change

Extracted Attributes

• Core Components

  Invention, Innovation, and Diffusion

• Primary Drivers

  Research and Development (R&D), commercialization, and open-source release

• Economic Effects

  Disruption of existing industries and convergence of technologies

• Societal Impacts

  Poverty reduction, increased life expectancy, labor force disruption, and societal stress

• Adoption Speed (Internet)

  7 years to reach 50 million users

• Adoption Speed (Telephone)

  50 years to reach 50 million users

• Current Scale (Generative AI)

  800 million weekly users, approximately 10% of the global population

• Adoption Speed (Generative AI)

  2 months to reach 100 million users

Timeline

• Invention of the telephone, which took 50 years to reach 50 million users. (Source: Tech Trends 2026 | Deloitte Insights)

  1876-03-10

• Commercialization of the Internet begins, taking 7 years to reach 50 million users. (Source: Tech Trends 2026 | Deloitte Insights)

  1990-12-25

• Launch of ChatGPT, a generative AI tool that reached 100 million users in two months. (Source: Tech Trends 2026 | Deloitte Insights)

  2022-11-30

• Our World in Data publishes comprehensive research on the historical impact of technological change on global development. (Source: Technological Change - Our World in Data)

  2023-01-01

• Sam Altman is fired from OpenAI, reportedly due to concerns over AI safety and rapid technological breakthroughs like Q*. (Source: Document 53b39af3-c6ec-4159-8c45-2bf389908316)

  2023-11-17

• Sam Altman is rehired at OpenAI following employee and investor pressure. (Source: Document 53b39af3-c6ec-4159-8c45-2bf389908316)

  2023-11-22

• McKinsey identifies AI as a foundational amplifier of all other technology trends. (Source: McKinsey technology trends outlook 2025)

  2025-01-01

Technological change

Technological change or technological development is the overall process of invention, innovation and diffusion of technology or processes. In essence, technological change includes the invention of technologies (including processes) and their commercialization or release as open source via research and development (producing emerging technologies), the continual improvement of technologies (in which they often become less expensive), and the diffusion of technologies throughout industry or society (which sometimes involves disruption and convergence). In short, technological change is based on both better and more technology.

Web Search Results

• Technological change - Wikipedia

  Technological change or technological development is the overall process of invention, innovation and diffusion of technology or processes. In essence, technological change includes the invention of technologies (including processes) and their commercialization or release as open source via research and development (producing emerging technologies), the continual improvement of technologies (in which they often become less expensive), and the diffusion of technologies throughout industry or [...] society (which sometimes involves disruption and convergence). In short, technological change is based on both better and more technology. [...] In its earlier days, technological change was illustrated with a linear model of innovation, which has now been largely discarded for a model of technological change that involves innovation at all stages of research, development, diffusion, and use. When speaking about "modeling technological change", this often means the process of innovation. This process of continuous improvement is often modeled as a curve depicting decreasing costs over time (for instance fuel cell which have become

• Technological Change - Our World in Data

  Our World in Data Donate Gdoc/Admin # Technological Change Technological change underpins many of the developments we've seen in health, agriculture, energy, and global development. By Max Roser, Hannah Ritchie, and Edouard Mathieu Cite this workReuse this work Almost every development we cover on Our World in Data is underpinned by technological change. [...] ``` @article{owid-technological-change, author = {Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie and Edouard Mathieu}, title = {Technological Change}, journal = {Our World in Data}, year = {2023}, note = { } ``` ### Reuse this work freely All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under theCreative Commons BY license. You have the permission to use, distribute, and reproduce these in any medium, provided the source and authors are credited. [...] Medical innovations contributed to the decline in child mortality and the improvement in life expectancy. Thanks to the advances in agricultural technologies, higher crop yields and less undernourishment became possible. The long-term decline of global poverty was primarily driven by increased productivity from technological change. Access to energy, electricity, sanitation, and clean water has transformed the lives of billions. Transport, telephones, and the Internet have allowed us to

• The Impact of Digital Technologies | United Nations

  Throughout history, technological revolutions have changed the labour force: creating new forms and patterns of work, making others obsolete, and leading to wider societal changes. This current wave of change is likely to have profound impacts. For example, the International Labour Organization estimates that the shift to a greener economy could create 24 million new jobs globally by 2030 through the adoption of sustainable practices in the energy sector, the use of electric vehicles and [...] In the health sector, for instance, AI-enabled frontier technologies are helping to save lives, diagnose diseases and extend life expectancy. In education, virtual learning environments and distance learning have opened up programmes to students who would otherwise be excluded. Public services are also becoming more accessible and accountable through blockchain-powered systems, and less bureaucratically burdensome as a result of AI assistance.Big data can also support more responsive and

• Tech Trends 2026 | Deloitte Insights

  I’ve tracked technology evolution long enough to recognize the patterns. The internet changed everything. Mobile reshaped consumer behavior. Cloud computing was transformative. But this moment is different. It’s not just that AI is powerful. It’s that the S-curves are compressing. The distance between emerging and mainstream is collapsing. [...] Throughout this year’s report, you’ll meet technology leaders successfully navigating this sea change. They don’t have all the answers, but there are noticeable patterns as they light the way forward. [...] . The telephone took 50 years to reach 50 million users. The internet took seven years. A leading generative AI tool reached about twice that many in two months.1 As of this writing, that tool has over 800 million weekly users—roughly 10% of the planet’s population.2 Image 12 linkedin twitter facebook ### Or copy link Copy Show More told me, “The time it takes us to study a new technology now exceeds that technology’s relevance window.”

• McKinsey technology trends outlook 2025

  The global technology landscape is undergoing significant shifts, propelled by fast-moving innovations in technologies. These are exponentially increasing demand for computing power, capturing the attention of management teams and the public, and accelerating experimentation. These developments are occurring against a backdrop of rising global competition as countries and corporations race to secure leadership in producing and applying these strategic technologies. [...] This outlook highlights transformative trends that are driving innovation and addressing critical challenges across sectors. Artificial intelligence stands out not only as a powerful technology wave on its own but also as a foundational amplifier of the other trends. Its impact increasingly occurs via a combination with other trends, as AI both accelerates progress within individual domains and unlocks new possibilities at the intersections—accelerating the training of robots, advancing