Technology was meant to make our lives easier, and while it has in large parts, it has also created fresh problems. For better or worse, a combination of these factors has resulted in the online landscape transforming dramatically in what is such a short period of time.
The Rise Of The Socials
Look at some of the social media sites and how they have transformed over the last decade. Facebook has gone from a quirky place where we’d upload photos of a night out to a desolate message board where Boomers shout at each other.
Twitter or X, or whatever it’s called these days, seems to be following a similar fate, with a violent shift from a cool, message board for underground writers sending quick messages to a toxic wasteland of spam and conspiracy theories, and bizarre eulogies from people who need to go outside more.
Obviously, if we’re looking at those two examples, then technology is not changing the American landscape for the better. I’ve thrown in a bit of hyperbole here for comic impact, and it would be reductive to suggest that all of America’s technological enhancements are being channeled through the unparalleled genius of Elon Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg as a collective Lernaean Hydra-headed corporate vessel.
Casino Gaming Technology
Online gambling has been the beneficiary of this technological golden age. Online casinos in America might be lagging behind the curve of those in the UK or mainland Europe, but recent changes to a raft of sports betting legislation has resulted in renewed hope for those who direct the ship at some of these colossal gambling juggernauts.
Due to the size of the American economy and the potential market that remains untapped, it’s in the best interests of game designers and casinos to try and gain a footing in the vast American market.
As it stands, there are just over half a dozen US states that actually allow the presence of online casinos within their state lines. It seems that there are millions of people who still access other types of casinos on black markets, but from a legal standpoint, there are seven states that allow online casino gaming, and 30 that permit sports betting.
Technology is increasing the number of gambling legislators looking to permit the activity within their state lines. Prior to the internet, when it was much easier to police and manage, state legislators had minimal issues implementing this law. However, in a world where every American owns a smartphone, it becomes more challenging to grasp, and gambling has become a thriving underground market – over half of the bets on last year’s Super Bowl were placed on sites that do not have the legislation or license to operate.
So, technology hasn’t just made betting much more manageable. It could force the hand of legislators to legalize and tax a market so they can at least turn it into a regulated tax base rather than a shady, unregulated economy.
The Rise Of Ai
Artificial intelligence is causing quite a stir at the moment; 1% of people understand it and are ambivalent about its innovation, and the other 99% – including me – don’t know how it works. The latest Apple commercial leans right into the capabilities of AI, crafting long, well-structured emails. Yeah, because who needs to know how to write correctly these days?
Apple, Meta and Alphabet – all of the tech overlords that dominate our lives – seem pretty set on pouring unfathomable sums of money and investment into AI. So, besides the smartphone, and more recently, cryptocurrency, which we will get to in a moment, AI is next in line for the tech throne.
American tech companies are sweating at the recent arrival of DeepSeek, which has shown that cutting-edge, innovative, generative AI models can be constructed at relatively low cost. While some are downplaying the capabilities of this technology, the stock price of multiple AI companies went through the floor upon the unveiling of this tech.
We’re still in the early days of AI, and while it slowly starts to chip away at my job security, at least you won’t have to think too hard about which restaurant to go to when you’re on holiday. Who cares about figuring it out or reading vacation reviews when you can get ChatGPT to do everything for you?
The Death Of Tv?!
Yeah, sorry. I’ve added an exclamation mark there for maximum impact! But, in truth, TV isn’t dying. Perhaps its dated form is why it’s hemorrhaging money in advertising costs, but these channels have been around too long and have built up far too much power and money to cower in the background as Netflix and Disney+ take over the airwaves.
Streaming technology is one of the most noticeable changes in American media since the early 2010s, but it continues to shape TV and film. For example, instead of TV shows having weekly new episodes, complete with the obligatory cliffhanger, we now, for better or worse, get hit with an entire new series all at once.
It has changed the way writers and directors approach shows. I must admit I am not a fan of Netflix shows; it’s an embarrassment of riches, and they either completely overdo it or pick up old shows that are best left to history – and ruin them. But when you dominate the entire TV and film market, what else is there to do?
Streaming has enabled us to watch whatever TV or film we want, whenever we want. Gone are the days of huddling around a TV set at a specific time and running to make coffee during the ad breaks – nope, it’s all hyper-convenient now.
Crypto And Blockchain
Another innovative technology that millions of Americans still do not fully trust or understand is Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. Despite being underpinned by some of the most cutting-edge cryptography ever constructed by a human mind, and proving to be the most profitable asset of this century, plenty of people aren’t convinced by this “magic internet money.”
I’m not here to convince you otherwise. Apple, Tesla and BlackRock all have Bitcoin on their balance sheets, so I’ll be sure to follow what they’re doing a lot more closely rather than what someone shouts into their echo chamber to their seven followers on X.
Bitcoin has entered the American technological mainstream in the last six months. There are talks of a Bitcoin strategic reserve, and multiple traditional institutions are betting on implementing cryptocurrency and blockchain into the American financial system.
While this might not have come into full effect yet, it’s likely to change the online landscape of how people invest and send money to each other, and have a broader impact on reshaping digital innovation within the field of fintech.
Final Thoughts
Global technological changes are happening so rapidly that tracking how they’re shaping the new world economy can be tricky. It helps that the US, despite some economic turbulence, is still considered the chief superpower – and given that technology companies within the US can operate from this standpoint, any significant changes in the US are likely to be spread across an international market.
While China and DeepSeek have definitely thrown a spanner in the works, and it’ll be fascinating to see how the US AI market and broader tech community respond, just like in the last two decades, technology is going to dictate the direction in which our society is heading.
