Before the advent of electronics, mechanical computers, like the Analytical Engine in 1837, were designed to provide routine mathematical calculation and simple decision-making capabilities.

Information and Communication Technology, computers, computerized machinery, fiber optics, communication satellites, internet, and other ICT tools, became a significant part of the economy. Microcomputers were developed and many businesses and industries were greatly changed by ICT. Nicholas Negroponte captured the essence of these changes in his 1995 book, Going Digital Native.

Moore's law, which was formulated around 1965, calculated that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years. The proliferation of the smaller and less expensive personal computers and improvements in computing power by the early 1980s resulted in a sudden access to and ability to share and store information for increasing numbers of workers.

Military needs during World War I drove development of the first electronic computers, based on vacuum tubes, including the Z3, the Atanasoff—Berry Computer, Colossus computer, and ENIAC.

Library expansion was calculated in 1945 by Fremont Rider to double in capacity every 16 years, if sufficient space were made available.

The invention of the transistor in 1947 enabled the era of mainframe computers (1950s — 1970s), typified by the IBM 360.

The invention of the transistor in 1947 enabled the era of mainframe computers (1950s — 1970s), typified by the IBM 360.

The Information Age (also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age, or New Media Age) is a historic period in the 21st century characterized by the rapid shift from traditional industry that the Industrial Revolution brought through industrialization, to an economy based on information technology.

Workers are being forced to compete in a global job market during the Information Age.

Workers in developing countries have a competitive advantage that translates into increased opportunities and higher wages but still it has downsides.

Computers are being replaced by workers that can do their jobs faster and more effectively