An online Magna Carta

The web has been referred to the largest unregulated social experiment of all time. This is both a positive and a negative thing. One of the great things about the web is the simple fact that nobody owns it. But this is also its greatest challenge. Although the web has brought great transparency to our society, many people feel that it is too intrusive and invasive of privacy. Other people feel that the web protects criminals via the dark web. Some people have called for an online Magna Carta that would protect and enshrine the independence of the web and its users. One of the godfathers of the web, Tim Berners-Lee, has been an advocate of an online Magna Carta. In this short TED talk below, he addresses some of the most important reasons why a Magna Carta, or Bill of Rights is needed for the web. We may think the web is vast right now. But current prognostications by digital experts indicated that it will grow at a mind-boggling rate in the coming years as we enter the age of the Internet of Things. As digital technology marches forward, there is a need for certain rules and regulations to ensure that basic human rights and safety are protected.

Self-driving Tesla cars

Self-driving cars are becoming more and more part of our lives. Elon Musk has just announced that every new Tesla car will drive itself. The video below illustrates how the cars will have a 360 degree as they drive along. Although this represents a terrific advancement in automobile technology, caution must be exercised as these cars are developed. Cars that run on software will be vulnerable to hackers. As this blog as previously stated, cybersecurity is critically important for the coming digital age. But one thing is for sure, driving as we now understand it is about to change radically!

Roboethics

The topic of Roboethics has become increasingly important as we enter the age of Artificial Intelligence. AI and robots are about to become crucial components of mainstream society. With the rise in automation in every industry, many ethical challenges are posed. For instance, if a self-driving car is responsible for an accident, who exactly is responsible? The car or its manufacturer? If a robot hurts or kills someone, who is responsible? The robot or its maker? Every advance in AI and robots raises important ethical challenges. 

The book "The glass cage" by Nicholas Carr addresses these issues very powefully. One challenge we must contend with is the fact that the rise in automation is making us overly reliant on technology, to our detriment. Because automation is becoming so advanced and sophisticated, many people spend less time developing important skills that our forefathers would have developed. One good example of this is GPS technology. Many people now rely upon GPS whenever they travel anywhere. However, if the GPS fails for some reason, people can become severely disoriented. Another example is the issue of memory. Because people can now find important information about almost anything online, they make less of an effort to memorise it than people did in the pre-internet era. This means that we are developing our memories less effectively than we did in the past. This can not be a good thing.

At the heart of much of the controversy surrounding the future of AI is a very simple yet poignant question. What exactly does it mean to be human? This question is much more difficult to answer than it may seem. As AI becomes ever more advanced, many of the tasks that were thought to be only achievable by humans, are being done by AI. One specific example of this is the aviation industry. Many of the tasks involved in flying a plane are now fully automated. This was inconceivable twenty years ago. The downside is that pilots are now becoming to reliant on automation in planes. If something goes wrong with the automation program, the results can be disastrous.

Many of the jobs that are done by highly trained human beings could soon be accomplished by robots or AI. We could soon have robotic doctors, dentists or pharmacists. But if a robotic medical professional misdiagnoses somebody by mistake, who will be responsible? There is no easy answer to questions like these. But we must work out answers to these questions before the AI revolution really takes off. If we don't address these issues now, they will raise very serious problems in the future.

Future Military Robots

What will future robots look like? This illustrative video about military robots, gives us an indicator of what's coming down the line. The U.S, Chinese and Russian militaries have harnessed robotics to enhance their warfare tactics. According to the video, Google could become the next major defence contractor. Will the military of the future require any ground soldiers? 

Green vehicles

Last week, the German government announced that it wants all German cars to be emissions-free by the year 2030. This ambitious goal has set a precedent for other countries to follow. As this blog has noted previously, the renewable energy revolution will play a catalytic role in the advancement of the internet. The internet is a already mammoth consumer of electricity. As we enter the age of the Internet of Things and Big Data becomes Colossal Data, the internet will require significantly greater energy supplies to power the needs of the world. Traditional sources of energy will be insufficient to meet this need. Renewable energy will become crucially important as a means of digitalising the whole world and also protecting our environment.
Already, one third of all amphibians and many species of fish are under threat of extinction due to anthropogenic climate damage. Human industry has done irrevocable damage to the Ozone layer, leaving us with no option but to invest heavily in Green energy. Cars are an obvious culprit in this particular domain, with diesel emissions largely responsible for much of the damage to the environment. Germany has long been extremely environmentally friendly and ahead of the curve in regard to renewable energy. Germany also happens to be a major producer of the world's finest cars with BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen firmly established as globally recognised brands.
This latest initiative by the German government demonstrates tremendous forward-thinking and prudence, qualities that are sadly lacking in many governments around the world. Hopefully, other governments will follow Germany's example and aspire to leave future generations with a healthy environment and functional digital economy. Wouldn't that be something worth striving for?

Future of Big Data

We hear about Big Data all the time. But what exactly will be the future of Big Data? Here are ten things we can expect to see happen in the coming years.

1. The volume of data will continue to grow significantly. With the advent of the Internet of Things, this is an indisputable fact.

2. We will develop better and more efficient ways to analyse data. Tools like SQL will become better and more sophisticated in accomplishing this.

3. Business analytics software will focus more and more on prescriptive analytics.

4. Real-time streaming insights into data will become very popular.

5. Privacy will continue to present a huge challenge to Big Data. One of the most contentious issues right now in regard to the internet, is the conflict between privacy and transparency.

6. More and more companies will appoint Chief Data Officers and Chief Information Officers. Data management and governance will be of paramount importance to many companies.

7. Automation will continue to be a huge trend, particularly in regard to AI and robotics.

8. Big Data staffing shortages will emerge as companies urgently require data analysts and scientists.

9. Cognitive technology will become hugely popular as the link between cognitive computing and analytics strengthens. 

10. Big Data will be replaced by "Fast Data" and "Actionable data". Data in and of itself is not useful. What are useful are the insights and applications that can be derived from it. With regard to data, big is not necessarily better. But the way data can be used is hugely beneficial to many companies.

The future of the Internet

What exactly will the internet look like in the future? Some of its characteristics will be:

(a) Ubiquity

(b) Invisibility

(c) Large scale implementation of AI 

The web will radically transform the very look and feel of our planet as we know it. This sort video gives a vivid overview of what to expect in the coming years.

Google's Pixel

For almost eight years, Google has been playing an adversarial role to Apple within the Smartphone marketplace. Google has always sought to match, if not outdo, everything Apple does with its latest iPhone offering. With its latest release, the Pixel, Google has raised the bar and produced a phone that has garnered considerable attention from the media. Why? Because the Pixel is the first phone produced entirely by Google, inside and out. Google did not partner with any manufacturers to produce the Pixel.

The big question on everyone's lips is, could the Pixel surpass the iPhone? Some say yes, others say no. This article on Forbes provides an interesting angle on the topic. What is certain is that the Pixel will pose a formidable threat to Apple's market position. The video below illustrates some of the features of the Pixel. Let's wait and see what happens. It could become enormously successful, or it may just be a fad. Time will tell. 


 

Humans of the future

Israelis have always been world leaders at cutting edge research, and Israeli scholar Yuval Noah Harari is no exception to this rule. His previous book "Sapiens" gave a detailed, thoroughly researched history of the human species from Stone Age times right up to the twenty first century. Harari's most recent book "Homo Deus" carries on where "Sapiens" left off, this time trying to predict what our species will look like in the future. The principal motif of "Homo Deus" is that technology will make humans god-like in the coming century. That is not to say that we will become omnipotent, but rather that we will develop superhuman abilities never seen before in history. Although we will still be human, we will have the ability to do amazing things rather like the ancient Greek gods could, to use the author's analogy. Algorithms and bionic technology will enable us to accomplish things our forefathers could never have dreamed of. We may be able to completely eradicate war and famine, though it would be foolish to assume that this will definitely happen. Search engines like Google will develop a terrifying knowledge of each and every one of their users. But is this necessarily a good thing? What challenges will the age of heightened connectivity bring? Harari adroitly addresses all of these concerns. All in all, "Homo Deus" is a fascinating and stimulating read. Anyone seeking a better understanding of how future technology is likely to unfold should read this book. Below is a video of the author discussing his latest book.

The Cyber effect

We are living in the Cyber age, no doubt about that. But what exactly are the effects of this upon us as a society? That is the subject of Dr. Mary Aiken's book "The Cyber effect", just recently published. The author does an outstanding job of addressing the harms and threats posed by living in the Cyber age. Specifically, the author addresses cyber-bullying, cyberchondria (i.e. healthcare Sherlocks), child porn, the Dark net and the online disinhibition effect (i.e. people are more inclined to say and do things online than they would in real life).

The web has been referred to as "the largest unregulated social experiment of all time". This has very serious implications for our future. Although the web has brought a staggering number of positive things to the world, it has also brought a number of harms. The principal problem is that it is largely unregulated. There is no authority figure on the internet. Nobody owns it. Altough this is not necessarily a bad thing, there is definitely a need for greater regulation. The author calls for a Magna Carter for the web, to make our society a safer one, especially for our children. The author also makes a very salient point. The internet was largely designed and developed by men. This is one particular reason why things like porn and dangerous weapons are so easily accessible online. If the internet had been designed by women it would probably look very different. As great as the web is, there is certainly a need for more restrictions and regulations for what people can search for. This is particularly true for young children. We must as a society stand firm and ensure that the web does not endanger children above all else. The author gives a brief but informative introduction to Cyberpsychology below.