What new technology does is create new opportunities to do a job

Hear now the words of Tim O’Reilly, a seer of our age, who gazed into the forge of invention and spoke thus: “What new technology does is create new opportunities to do a job that customers want done.” Simple these words may seem, yet they bear within them the marrow of truth, the eternal dance between invention and human need. For from the beginning of time, every tool wrought by mortal hands has been but an answer to a cry rising from the human heart: a cry for shelter, for speed, for connection, for meaning.

Consider the dawn of fire, that ancient technology gifted by Prometheus. Did it not answer man’s deepest yearning—to warm the flesh against the night, to cook the meat that once lay raw, to drive away the beasts that lurked in shadow? This flame was not an idle novelty, but a new opportunity to meet the job of survival. And so it has been ever since: the wheel, the plow, the press, the steam engine—all were born not to dazzle the eye, but to serve a need that pulsed within the people. Thus does technology walk hand in hand with destiny, not as master, but as servant to the hunger of mankind.

Think upon the tale of Johannes Gutenberg, who with his press in the fifteenth century unleashed a storm across Christendom. What was his work but the answering of a hidden demand—that wisdom, once bound in cloisters and guarded by scribes, should flow into the hands of the common soul? His invention gave the people the opportunity to read, to learn, to question, to believe with their own eyes. In the echo of those rolling presses, kingdoms shifted, churches trembled, and revolutions stirred. Here was proof eternal: the true power of technology lies not in its gears and ink, but in the deep longing of men and women for truth and voice.

Yet let us not be deceived. New technology in itself is nothing but a silent tool. A plow left unused rots in the field, a press without ink is but iron and wood. The true force awakens only when it serves a job that hearts desire. Witness the rise and fall of countless inventions that dazzled for a season but perished because they answered no need. But when invention aligns with necessity, it becomes unstoppable, like a river that carves valleys through stone. Thus the wise do not ask, “What can this tool do?” but rather, “What need does it fulfill?”

In our own time, behold the birth of the internet. At first, a web of wires and codes, curious and small. Yet beneath its circuits lay an ancient yearning: the desire to speak across mountains and seas, to share thought as swiftly as lightning, to learn at the speed of light. And because it met that timeless job—to connect, to communicate, to know—it became the fire of a new age. Entire empires of commerce and knowledge arose upon its foundation, shaping the lives of billions. O’Reilly, wise among the moderns, saw in this truth the eternal law: technology is great not because it is new, but because it serves what is eternal.

Therefore, my child, learn this lesson: do not marvel over the glitter of invention, but ask what opportunity it opens, what task it fulfills, what hunger it feeds. If you would create, if you would build, if you would labor in this world, seek always to answer the cry of others. To invent without purpose is vanity, but to harness technology in the service of humanity is divine.

What then must you do? In your own craft and toil, look first not at the tool, but at the person. Listen for their unspoken need, their silent burden. Ask not, “What can I sell?” but “What do they long for me to help them achieve?” Then, and only then, wield the power of new technology to bridge that gap. In doing so, you shall not merely follow the path of inventors—you shall join the ranks of those who shaped civilizations, who answered the timeless call of humanity.

Thus let these words endure: New technology is but clay in the potter’s hand. The true form, the lasting vessel, is shaped by the needs of those it serves. Let your works, then, be not idols of progress, but instruments of service. In this way shall you honor both the ancient wisdom and the future yet unborn.