Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#11

Post by mediaman » Tue, Oct 20, 2009, 11:39 PM UTC

Agriculture. I'm studying an agricultural products distributor, and as much as automation has helped reduce the reliance on labor in the agricultural sector, there are still many areas hugely reliant on inefficient labor -- and many business owners are facing increasing financial difficulty because of a resistance toward automation.

I predict that as the industry consolidates, the more tech-savvy, bigger players with more capital will squeeze the small guys out. And there is an interesting opportunity for tech-savvy people there.

I am thinking specifically about some of the ag sectors which have not already massively consolidated, such as greenhouse-based ag.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#12

Post by _bfhp » Tue, Oct 20, 2009, 11:53 PM UTC

Environmental improvement (not necessarily environmentally-friendly, just human environment)

ie http://www.project10tothe100.com/ideas.html "Create real-world issue reporting system"

Google's Project 10 to the 100 has a lot of good ideas related to technological innovation.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#13

Post by pg » Tue, Oct 20, 2009, 11:53 PM UTC

Presumably the fields that need innovation most are those that have some artificial constraint suppressing it. E.g. the music business, because anything good is ipso facto sued out of existence. Or the nuclear power industry, because the level of regulation becomes a barrier to entry to all but companies so bureaucratic they fit the government like a mold.

So oddly enough, you're most likely to be able to achieve innovation where other people are.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#14

Post by vilya » Tue, Oct 20, 2009, 11:56 PM UTC

simon_ wrote: post #8

How about law? Obviously there are non-technical problems there as well, but it seems like there is still a lot that could be done technologically to improve transparency and (maybe more interestingly) reduce expense.

There's already been quite a bit of work on applying technology to contract law relating to contracts (primarily, but not exclusively, financial contracts). There was a discussion about this on Lambda the Ultimate a while ago, if you're interested: http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/node/2973

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#15

Post by sorrow » Tue, Oct 20, 2009, 11:58 PM UTC

SamAtt wrote: post #9

As someone who works as an IT person in the Mental Health industry I'd nominate that industry. Mental Health has all the problems of regular health care times 10. To give the most basic example, there is no formalized charting system in the Mental Health Industry. You have standardized notes that are turned into the county but that's about it. The industry I work in (treatment of abused children who have been removed…

The medical industry needs (good) software that helps with diagnosis. This covers mental health also.

You have symptoms of problem and it helps narrow down. Need a massive database of all known diseases as well as symptoms / remedies. Chart location data for origin of specific disease, (less likely to be rabies if Australia etc) and probability from all factors.

Would require huge amounts of data as well as many man hours to create but a system that does this task would be one of most beneficial medical breakthrough possible right now in my eyes.

Especially in mental health where there are symptoms of many things over many separate disorder, or rare one. It would be a bonus if you could let this information to be fully public, especially if one could direct users to relevant places.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#16

Post by nategraves » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 12:01 AM UTC

simon_ wrote: post #8

How about law? Obviously there are non-technical problems there as well, but it seems like there is still a lot that could be done technologically to improve transparency and (maybe more interestingly) reduce expense.

I've actually been thinking about law recently. It seems that, because it is a field that is based on rules, it would lend itself well to a more programmatic solution. Obviously not all law could be serviced programmatically, but there are certainly areas that could be.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#17

Post by nategraves » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 12:03 AM UTC

pg wrote: post #13

Presumably the fields that need innovation most are those that have some artificial constraint suppressing it. E.g. the music business, because anything good is ipso facto sued out of existence. Or the nuclear power industry, because the level of regulation becomes a barrier to entry to all but companies so bureaucratic they fit the government like a mold. So oddly enough, you're most likely to be able to achieve inn…

Definitely. Technical innovation threatens their long-term positions at the top of the food chain. Innovation seems to means typically come through increased competition and a general opening of the market.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#18

Post by jacquesm » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 12:21 AM UTC

Software development. And no, that's not a joke. We really are roughly where we were in the 70's, we have not been able to make good use of the increase in machine power.

It would be nice to see something really fresh. I'm holding out for 'fleet', or something like it. A radical departure from what we think is 'best practice' and the ways to do things. Something that will turn software development into a true engineering discipline, without the house of cards feeling that we have today.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#19

Post by dangoldin » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 12:25 AM UTC

sorrow wrote: post #15

SamAtt wrote: post #9

As someone who works as an IT person in the Mental Health industry I'd nominate that industry. Mental Health has all the problems of regular health care times 10. To give the most basic example, there is no formalized charting system in the Mental Health Industry. You have standardized notes that are turned into the county but that's about it. The industry I work in (treatment of abused children who have been removed…

The medical industry needs (good) software that helps with diagnosis. This covers mental health also. You have symptoms of problem and it helps narrow down. Need a massive database of all known diseases as well as symptoms / remedies. Chart location data for origin of specific disease, (less likely to be rabies if Australia etc) and probability from all factors. Would require huge amounts of data as well as many man…

You also need doctors to be willing to accept the software. They may not since they may feel that it makes their job look "easy" and will therefore cut into their incomes.

Re: Ask HN: What industry needs technical innovation?

#20

Post by joeld42 » Wed, Oct 21, 2009, 12:31 AM UTC

jacquesm wrote: post #18

Software development. And no, that's not a joke. We really are roughly where we were in the 70's, we have not been able to make good use of the increase in machine power. It would be nice to see something really fresh. I'm holding out for 'fleet', or something like it. A radical departure from what we think is 'best practice' and the ways to do things. Something that will turn software development into a true enginee…

but that's a culture problem and not a technology one.

(I don't know what this 'fleet' you speak of is, however)