According to a statement of Rav Katina cited in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 97a), this world lasts for six thousand years, corresponding to the six days of creation, and then the seventh millennium corresponds to Shabbat. Near the end of the sixth millennium the world prepares for Shabbat and there is therefore an explosion of scientific knowledge and technological development.

In the six-hundredth year of the sixth millennium the gates of wisdom will open above and the springs of wisdom below. The world will prepare to enter the seventh [millennium], like a person who prepares for Shabbat on Friday afternoon. (Zohar 1:117a)

The development of science and technology greatly aids the service of God. An example is the invention of the telephone, radio, and satellites, which enable a person to see what is happening on the other side of the world. This serves as a vivid image that fosters appreciation of how God observes everything man does and constantly judges his actions.

The telephone, radio, and satellite serve as an illustration of the fact that God sees our every action:

The real purpose of any item in creation is for it to be used by the Jewish people in the service of God…. For example: One of the forces of “nature” that was revealed and developed in recent years is the ability for a human voice speaking in a particular place to be immediately heard in another place, on the other side of the world or on the moon, through a telephone or radio. Additionally, it has recently become possible to see this person and all his movements [somewhere else in the world]. This worldly innovation, the ability to hear each and every sound that comes out of a person’s mouth, at that exact moment, all over the world, and to see him, gives a vivid illustration to the concept of “an eye sees and an ear hears” (Mishna Avot 2:1)…. With regard to everything that a person does, even in the innermost chambers, at that precise moment, “an eye sees, an ear hears, and all of your actions are written in a book.”

This thought is accessible and inspiring:

Once a person has a vivid illustration of this matter, his comprehension of the fact that “God stands over him… and He scrutinizes him, examining [the thoughts of his] innards and [the emotions] of his heart to determine whether he serves Him properly” (Tanya, Likutei Amarim 41), will not be a merely intellectual understanding, but it will be more visceral. It will naturally have more impact on his character, such [that it will be expressed in his] thought, speech, and action. (Rabbi Menaĥem Mendel Schneerson, Likutei Siĥot, Part 15, 58b)

Further reading: For more on meditating on God examining all of our actions, see pp. 173, 192; A Concise Guide to the Sages, p. 367.