Semiconductors are far more than mere electronic components — they are a technology that has fundamentally reshaped how humanity lives, works, and thinks.

A world measured in mere tens of nanometers has come to drive economies, move politics, and give rise to culture.

If the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries was an era defined by the mastery of energy, then the 20th and 21st centuries are defined by the mastery of information.

・Steam → Electricity → Information

・Machines → Computers → AI

At the center of this Fourth Industrial Revolution lies the semiconductor. All information is processed, judged, and executed on semiconductors.

Modern life simply could not exist without semiconductors.

・Smartphones → the democratization of information (anyone can now be a broadcaster)

・Cameras and home appliances → automatic control and energy efficiency

・Automobiles → driver-assistance systems, electrification, and the path toward full autonomous driving

・Medicine → advances in CT, MRI, and wearable devices

・Finance → cashless payments, cryptocurrency, AI-driven credit assessment

In short, semiconductors have redesigned human behavior, thought, and the very structure of society.

Semiconductors form a strategic industry at the core of the global economy.

・1970s: An era centered on manufacturing

・1990s: A shift toward IT-centered industry

・2020s: The age of the data industry, AI, autonomous driving, and smart cities

Everything from GDP growth and employment to national security now shows a growing divide between countries that possess semiconductor capability and those that do not.

Semiconductor technology has also reshaped the structure of business itself.

・The separation of design and manufacturing (the fabless / foundry model)

・Global collaboration built on horizontal division of labor

・The “weaponization” of data and computing power

Companies such as Google, Apple, NVIDIA, and TSMC are, in every case, companies that control semiconductors.

Information has shifted from being likened to “oil” to being, quite literally, current flowing across semiconductors.

Semiconductors can now be described as “the blood vessels of society.”

・Communication networks (5G, optical communications)

・Transportation systems (autonomous driving, drones, railway control)

・Energy (solar power, batteries, power semiconductors)

・Defense and aerospace (radar, missile guidance, satellite communications)

If semiconductors stop, society stops. In this sense, they are themselves modern social infrastructure.

Semiconductors have also influenced human creative activity.

・The digitization of film and music

・AI art, computer graphics, and filmmaking technology

・The expansion of intellectual creativity through generative AI and tools like ChatGPT

・The move toward online education and personalized, optimized learning

An era in which human sensibility and technology merge together has begun.

The advancement of semiconductors has brought great convenience, but it has also given rise to new challenges.

Positive

・Greater efficiency and comfort in daily life

・The sharing and democratization of knowledge and information

・Improvements in healthcare and welfare

Negative

・Growing dependence on data and loss of privacy

・Widening technological divides and shifts in labor structures

・Rising geopolitical tension

The evolution of technology always demands human choices about what kind of future we want.

The role of semiconductors in the society of the future is shifting toward becoming a tool for extending human intelligence and sensibility.

・A society in which humans think alongside AI and humanoid robots

・A society that pursues the utmost in energy efficiency

・A society where the digital and physical worlds merge (digital twins, smart cities)

The semiconductor industry is transforming from a purely technological industry into an industry of shared human creation.

・Semiconductors are a technology that has reshaped the very form of society.

・They influence virtually every field — the economy, culture, education, politics, and medicine.

・Alongside convenience, they have also given rise to new ethical and philosophical questions.

・Going forward, the semiconductor industry will be judged by its sense of purpose: enriching human life.

1.Why are semiconductors described as “the blood vessels of society”?

2.What are the defining characteristics of the business model that semiconductors have brought about?

3.How would you describe the future role of semiconductors in a single phrase?

 

Column Supervisor: Koji Kakumoto (Otis Group Co., Ltd.)

After studying abroad and working in planning and development at a trading company, he joined Otis Group Co., Ltd. in 2011. While primarily working in the Corporate Planning Department, he has also served concurrently in manufacturing and technical divisions, and since 2018 has served as Representative Director, working to drive business growth and strengthen the organization.

 

This article is a general technical explanation intended for educational purposes and does not refer to any specific company, product, or technology.