Array
(
    [content] => 
    [params] => Array
        (
            [0] => /forum/index.php?threads/semi-nanotech-changing-economics.12058/
        )

    [addOns] => Array
        (
            [DL6/MLTP] => 13
            [Hampel/TimeZoneDebug] => 1000070
            [SV/ChangePostDate] => 2010200
            [SemiWiki/Newsletter] => 1000010
            [SemiWiki/WPMenu] => 1000010
            [SemiWiki/XPressExtend] => 1000010
            [ThemeHouse/XLink] => 1000970
            [ThemeHouse/XPress] => 1010570
            [XF] => 2021370
            [XFI] => 1050270
        )

    [wordpress] => /var/www/html
)

Semi/Nanotech Changing Economics

Arthur Hanson

Well-known member
The semi/nanotech ecosystem is radically changing even the basic economics by delivering more with less even with physical objects. The smart phone is but one example of dramatically lowering the amount of materials and even cost by replacing many objects and tasks by reducing the cost, time and materials involved and even now continuing to leverage resources of all types in ever more new and creative ways. Currently even a typical smart phone is comprised of a basic phone, video phone, camera, alarm clock(one of my favorite functions since it's always with me), photo album, copy machine, file cabinet, multiple interface for medical devices, remote control, ID of several types, payment system, calculator, calendar, video recorder, answering machine, GPS, music player, video streamer among others. This has lowered inflation through the more efficient use of materials, storage space needed, time, materials, learning time, total cost of ownership, energy consumption in such a dramatic way compared to the many devices it replaces. This is but a few of the ways the technology sector has lowered inflation dramatically in ways many haven't even really contemplated.

We are seeing this applied to many areas where the application of semi/nanotech is having a dramatic effect on economics to the point of changing all the rules and this is now spreading into supporting advanced 3D printing to the point we are now even starting to print body parts and organs among many other objects, opening an entirely new frontiers. Reading genetics has gone from over a billion for the first full read of our genetic imprint by Craig Venter that is now headed to maybe as low as one hundred dollars projected in a few years. These and many other changes have already upended many industries and our daily lives and we are still in the early stages. With AI/ML coming on at a rapid rate, changes in our society and economic system are going to accelerate that has been missed by even in the Fed announcement today. The only things standing in our way of even faster progress are special interests in maintaining the current inefficiencies and waste. The largest current example of this is US medical that delivers 37th in quality at the world's highest cost, while Canada delivers 9th in quality at about forty percent of cost of US medical. Another area ripe for improvement in cost and performance is education where the US ranks very high in cost and low in quality in many areas.

This is just a very small glimpse of how the semi/nanotech sector is already changing economics and is giving us low and negative inflation rates in many areas. If we could overcome special interests, this same trend could be applied in numerous areas especially with the semi/nanotech propelling automation, AI/ML and manufacturing cost downward at a rate previously unimagined. Overcoming special interests will be our biggest obstacle to moving forward. Being able to put many massively time consuming functions of all types into interactive platforms made possible by the semi sector are also rapidly changing the economics of the world around us.

This also has the potential to upend economic cycles we are used to and at the very least will compress the time between ups and downs just as it is compressing the time between generations of improvement of many the things and services we touch. When an individual or organization takes advantage of the power of compounding and fully understands it, this greatly increases the impact and compresses any timeline even further. IP management and collaboration could bring even greater results for everyone and will be desperately needed for the challenges/threats before us most don't even realize or comprehend. I will cover this in future posts.

Any thoughts, comments or extrapolations on these thoughts solicited and welcome.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top