Tag: Innovation

The New Technology and Human Values

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Digital Innovation, Innovation, TechLeave a comment

Values, personal, national and international are at the core of human societies. They are complex and as individuals we get them from multiple sources: parents, culture, experience and beliefs about what is a good life and what gives life meaning.

When we make a choice, we use our values to come to a decision. And we like to think that we have the freedom to make choices based on our values in every area of our lives. However, this is not quite how it is, and new technology plays a role in determining our values, that then affects our decisions, whether we admit it or not.

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Choices, power and status

In reality our choices are limited and our values change over time in significant ways that are often unpredictable. I was reading an interesting article by Brad Allenby at Slate, who said in relation to new technology and change: “Values that may lead one society to reject a technology are seldom universal, meaning that the technology is simply developed and deployed elsewhere.” The upshot of this is that in a world that overall values technology very highly, those countries which adopt a new technology are seen as having power and status, whereas those that reject it are perceived to be significantly inferior.

We never have the full picture

We would also like to make our choices based on having complete information, but we never get this.  This is true for you and me as individuals as well as for corporate entities and governments. For example, if I made investments based on having the full picture, I’d be very wealthy in a short time. But, like other investors, the whole picture is kept from us. All we have is “the best available information” and we have learnt to make decisions based on ‘best available” because otherwise we wouldn’t take any action.

Change and stability

And, we are used to a rate of change in society that allows us to shift our values and choices in a way that maintains stability. In other words, change is rarely so radical that our values and choices struggle to keep up. Yes, there have been times in history and in specific parts of the world where there have been dramatic shifts that have left people feeling as if the world was collapsing from under them, and we are in a period of rapid change right now, due to new technology, that gives us a feeling of losing balance.

The key areas of technology responsible are: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communication technology, robotics and applied cognitive science. As Brad says: “The cycle time of technology innovations and the rapidity with which they ripple through society have become far faster than the institutions and mechanisms that we’ve traditionally relied on to inform and enforce our choices and values.”

Moving into future values

Right now we are scrambling and trying to keep up with the advance of technology. We haven’t yet grasped how to make meaningful choices, not have we scoped out responsible values regarding the application of all these technologies. Currently, we are trying to use ‘old world’ ideas that are “naïve and superficial” and making choices that don’t quite fit the technology, or at least don’t maximise its potential uses.

I believe we will get there, because history shows us that we have always been able to move our values and choices forward, even if it takes us a little time to catch up with the technology.

 

6 Ways Technology Has Changed The World

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Innovation, TechLeave a comment

We speak about ‘technology’ in almost reverent tones and assign it a special role in the economy. Mostly we think of this as being the provision of electronic products, information and communications services and software in its many forms. However, this is a rather limited way to look at technology and we should broaden its definition to include everything that humans have ever invented, from the Stone Age axe to the self-driving car.

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In many ways, the things we invent are a defining characteristic of being human. In some historic eras, we seem to invent at a faster pace – the Industrial Revolution is a good example of this – and the emergence of the Internet in the 90s appears to have ushered in another period in which we are working at speed to produce products that exploit the connectivity of the web to change society, business and the economy. Here is my selection of the top six ways in which new technology has changed all three sectors and the world.

Mobile communications

By the end of 2015, mobile phone penetration was 97% compared with about 10% in 2000. Internet access grew in parallel with this. These two factors led to the arrival of ecommerce, which has transformed retailing and the music industry to name just two business sectors. It has also radically changed the way humans interact with each other.

Global inequality

It also shows up inequalities in the world, with the developed world having above 80% access to the Internet compared with 34% for developing countries.

Since information is power, it is vital that the developing countries have greater access to connectivity and we are seeing that those places where they have managed to overcome the problems of poor communications networks are progressing faster than those who don’t.

It hasn’t increased productivity

Contrary to what you might expect, mobile phones and the Internet have not made us more productive. If you look at the USA, which is both the world’s largest economy and the leading producer of new technologies, you will notice that although productivity rose slightly after the launch of the web, it has now dropped again to around 1 per cent in the last 10 years. But in the 1960s it was at 3 per cent annually.

This seems surprising, but Robert Gordon of Northwestern University says that electricity, modern sewage, the telephone, radio, internal combustion engine, the car and aeroplane, all had a much bigger effect on productivity and society than the web and your mobile.

It divides the world

In addition to there being inequalities in access to information technology around the world, the new technologies have created other types of inequalities. There are the markets where a handful of people and businesses dominate the world economy – Microsoft and Bill Gates are examples of this. Globalisation is another product of the new technology and there has been a huge growth in financial trading thanks to online access.

Big Brother is watching

Global communications have raised the question of security in cyberspace and the use of ‘big data’ brings the question of our personal privacy to our attention. The amount of data about each one of us that is stored on computers is enormous compared to the pre-computer and Internet era. It has also changed the individual’s relationship with government and corporate entities, and in a way that not everyone is happy about. The sense that Big Brother is watching us has led to all kinds of fears about infringement of our rights.

The Fake News thing

And finally it has created a monster in politics that we are now referring to as ‘fake news’. Whilst our almost instant access to global information has many benefits, it has also spawned an online media presence that spews out hatred, lies and often just plain stupidity.

We can see that new technology has brought us many benefits, but we must always remain aware of its dangers as well. If we use it thoughtfully it will advance us; if we don’t pay attention to its adverse effects, it can potentially destroy us.

Future World Governments

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Governments, Innovation, TechLeave a comment

Political systems go through change, as history shows us, and as technology and society advances and changes, we are certain to see some alterations in the style of government around the world. There are a few ways that our governments may look dramatically different in the future and some of them are potentially terrifying. Here are five possible scenarios.

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A Noocracy

This is a political system based on the “priority of the human mind.” The concept comes from the Jesuit mystic Teilhard de Chardin, who saw this as a possible evolution of democracy that would create “a flexible and adaptable system comprised of conscious, systematic, and institutionalized elements which will operate in decentralized autonomous subsystems.” The upshot of a system like this is the development of a hive-like civilisation brain that integrates all individual minds, both human and AI, through information networks.

A Cyberocracy

In this system, governments would rule by the effective use of information. This could take two forms: one that supplants bureaucracy and technocracy as we know it, and or one that redefines the relationship between the state and society. It will be driven by decisions based on information, which means a government will seek to obtain as much information as possible about everyone and every entity. It is likely to result in a bureaucratic system run by administrative AIs.

A democratic global government

A global liberal democracy will be one capable of “ending nuclear proliferation, ensuring global security, intervening to end genocide, defending human rights, and putting a stop to human-caused climate change,” says George Dvorsky. We are already on the way to this in terms of culture and economics, but we have yet to reach the political stage. The European Union is an example of this type of government on a small scale.

A Futarchy

This system is the creation of economist George Mason and futurist Robin Hanson. They say that under a futarchy we would “vot on values, but bet on beliefs.” How does that work? Hanson says: “Elected representatives would formally define and manage an after-the-fact numerical measure of national welfare. Market speculators would set prices that estimate national welfare conditional on adopting proposed policies. When the market estimate of welfare conditional on adopting a policy is higher than the estimate conditional on non-adoption, that proposal becomes law.”

Post Apocalypse Hunter-Gatherers

Finally, there is the possibility that we will experience a catastrophic event – natural or man made– that forces us back into a paleolithic political system in which we will return to living in small tribal groups, existing by hunting and gathering for our existence.

Which type of futuristic government would you prefer if you had a choice? I look forward to hearing your views.

I hope you enjoyed this and found it useful. Please subscribe to my blog if you’d like to receive an alert when I post new content.

The Internet of Value: What It Means and How It Benefits Everyone

On By mehranmuslimiblogIn Digital Innovation, Innovation, TechLeave a comment

Blockchain has been called the “second significant overlay on the Internet” with the web being the first layer when it appeared back in 1990. That’s how important blockchain is. I know that when I mention blockchain to a lot of people, the first thing that comes into their minds is “Bitcoin.” That’s fair enough, because Bitcoin cryptocurrency has made blockchain famous. You’re probably aware that there is now a whole bunch of cryptocurrencies in addition to Bitcoin and although it remains the coin with the highest value, others like Ethereum are taking hold in the markets. But, there are many more exciting things that can be done with this technology beyond financial transactions using digital currencies and it is called “The Internet of Value’.

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Instant transactions

What is it? It is when Internet technology makes it possible to exchange ‘value’ as quickly as information. The banking system is one place where the Internet of Value can really make a big difference. For example, although information moves around the world instantly, a single payment from one country to another is slow, expensive and unreliable. According to Ripple, a blockchain transaction solution, in the US, a typical international payment takes 3-5 days to settle, has an error rate of at least 5% and an average cost of $42. Worldwide, there are $180 trillion worth of cross-border payments made every year, with a combined cost of more than $1.7 trillion a year.

But, with the technology from the Internet of Value, a value transaction, like a foreign currency payment, can happen instantly.  And it doesn’t have to be limited to money, although currently that is the primary use of this aspect of blockchain – the Internet of Value will enable the exchange of any asset, including stocks, votes, frequent flyer points, securities, intellectual property and more.

Blockchain and Value exchanges

The most common way of exchanging assets is using a bank, credit card or a booking service, but blockchain technology is changing all that. It allows these assets to be transferred directly from me to you without any other entity in the middle. The transfer is validated, permanent, and completed instantly – just like sharing information on the web. It has huge potential to change the world as we know it. It will decentralise every transaction, empower the individual and it will disrupt the financial markets as well as consumer ones.

This is not something that is a futuristic dream. It is already happening. Exchanges like NASDAQ are using blockchain technolog, Estonia, which is becoming the Silicon Valley of Europe, stores its citizens’ health records on blockchain and some airlines are accepting cryptocurrency payments for flights.

Very soon we will see the adoption of industry standards using an Interledger Protocol (ILP) that will set the standards for the settlement of transactions across different networks. ILP can be thought of much like the protocol HTTP used in web address that became the global standard for online information exchange.

With the use of this protocol there will be one, frictionless experience to send money globally using the power of blockchain. It will connect billions of people globally and give rise to new businesses and it will also liberate the millions of people who don’t have access to banking. The Internet of Value is bringing us into a bold, new world where the individual has more power. The Internet revolution is taking another step forward – we must embrace it.

I hope you enjoyed this and found it useful. Please subscribe to my blog if you’d like to receive an alert when I post new content.