With technology evolving faster than ever before, firms and individuals are hardly keeping up with the rate at which technologies are evolving to meet and exceed human expectations. Christen’s theory of disruptive innovation highlights this rapid change by explaining how new entrants can come into an industry being seemingly harmless (with less resources and unique ideas), and introduce new innovations that transform the whole industry and entrenched standards (Larson, 2016). An example of this is the wide-spread adoption of new FinTech advancements, particularly digital banks. Traditional banks, which have physical buildings, have a reputation of being more timely and leaving out parts of the public because they are not profitable enough or there are regional restrictions (Ferreira, 2023). FinTech systems have completely turned traditional banking practices on its head, by eliminating brick-and-mortar service points, allowing consumers to conduct transactions completely remotely. Additionally, online banks also offer customers opportunities for digital asset investments, which younger generations are increasingly interested in. I believe that changes in every industry are necessary as that is what keeps societies moving forward, but the rate at which these changes are happening disregard certain groups of the population, like the elderly, people with weak digital infrastructure, and individuals who rely on wealth management services from traditional banks. Overall, a slower transition into new technologies allows for people to understand what services can be innovated, and which ones should still remain as they were.
One emerging technology that is also rapidly developing to transform the healthcare industry is applications of virtual reality (VR) to train surgeons and doctors. The way of training new surgeons for decades has been to enter surgeries and watch experienced surgeons while asking questions and observing. Immertec is a software company that wants to offer surgeons the opportunity to train remotely using real-time and immersive VR technology, where training surgeons can virtually be in the room where the real surgery would be going on (Low, 2020). This reduces physical barriers of people needing to travel long distances to get access to specific surgeries in person, reduces foot traffic in healthcare facilities where they already face overcrowding related problems, and reduces the usage of surgery gear which in turn creates less wastage and costs. Though ideas like this are extremely novel and still not widely accepted, they present opportunities to connect the healthcare world even more which increases the flow of information and in turn creates new knowledge. I see this as a beneficial and crucial step forward amidst the speed at which everything else is developing, but there needs to be strict guidelines in place to ensure that these opportunities are not abused. With something as important as surgery, trainers and trainees need to be sure that the quality of the experience they are getting is not compromised because of the VR experience. Additionally, integrating technology into anything brings up the concern of data safety and privacy concerns for the surgery patients.
Citations
Ferreira, P. (2023, August 23). Revolut vs. Traditional Banking: Why Fintech is the Future. Finance Magnates. https://www.financemagnates.com/fintech/revolut-vs-traditional-banking-why-fintech-is-the-future/
Larson, C. (2016, November 15). 4 keys to understanding Clayton Christensen’s theory of disruptive innovation. Harvard Business School Online. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/4-keys-to-understanding-clayton-christensens-theory-of-disruptive-innovation
Low, J. J. (2020, July 8). Why the future of surgery training could start with a VR headset. TechHQ. https://techhq.com/news/why-the-future-of-surgery-training-could-start-with-a-vr-headset/
