Google and Alphabet CEO and one of the most influential people in global tech, Sundar Pichai recently reflected on the first time he received an email from his father.
Pichai shared the story in his note written to kick off Google’s 25-year celebrations. Yes, it’s been 25 years since Google entered people’s lives, fundamentally changing our behaviour as Google became a verb over the years.
Looking back on all those years and reflecting on how technological advances have shaped people’s lives and human progress, Pichai started with a delightful anecdote about his dad.
He wrote: “I’ve been thinking a lot about how far technology has come over the last 25 years and how people adapt to it. Years ago, when I was studying in the U.S., my dad — who was back in India — got his first email address. I was really excited to have a faster (and cheaper) way to communicate with him, so I sent a message.
And then I waited…and waited. It was two full days before I got this reply:
“Dear Mr. Pichai, email received. All is well.”
Perplexed by the delay and the formality, I called him up to see what happened. He told me that someone at his work had to bring up the email on their office computer, print it out, and then deliver it to him. My dad dictated a response, which the guy wrote down and eventually typed up to send back to me.”
Pichai mentioned his teenage son and how he communicates with his friends. A super fast exchange of media and messages.
“How I communicated with my dad all those years ago compared with how my son communicates today shows just how much change can happen across generations. Technology that takes us years to adapt to is second nature for our kids. Ideas my dad marveled at as science fiction — taking a call from your watch, or telling your car to play your favorite song — make my children shrug,” Pichai wrote in the blog.
He added, “Those shrugs give me great hope for the future. They set a high bar for what the next generation will build and invent…and I can’t wait to see what will make their children shrug, too.”