Era Of Tecnhology

 As we go through the 21st century, some common questions arise from the development of technology: who will be responsible for its negative effects? if there is a possibility of future changes that might affect society or even change our way of life? and when will they happen? as it has been said earlier “Technology is the new black swan” because in my opinion technologies have many hidden meanings and can create lots of opportunities in terms of education, research, entertainment…etc. In addition to these good and bad things, it can also help people to gain knowledge and skills like communication, health care, farming, etc. The Internet alone only creates opportunities to communicate with those around us but also creates threats if we do not take care of our privacy and security, so we must protect our data from online threats, misuse, abuse, or threats by others. To do this, we need to think about what can be used and what cannot, and how can be easily detected and prevented. To solve these problems we should make sure that we are using the right amount of information (data) to help us better understand the world we live in.

In Europe, there is an EU budget that invests nearly 1 trillion euros (1,010 billion dollars) on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. It includes funding to support open and public research in AI, big data, machine learning, robotics, autonomous vehicles, self-driving cars, virtual assistants, voice-enabled devices, connected cities, smart buildings, autonomous vehicles, digital transformation of the economy, smart transport, smart mobility systems, intelligent cities, digital public services and other Smart IoT solutions including physical sensors, advanced telecommunication, data analytics platforms, and cybersecurity. To achieve all this, we need access to reliable, fast, accurate datasets. One of the largest sources of data has been collected from Social Media. According to a PwC survey this year, 73% of users say that Facebook is their main source of news. Nearly 65% of respondents agree that Instagram is very important for them to stay informed with their peers. However, the vast majority of young users are concerned about the information they read on social media, rather than giving it much attention and making decisions based on it, according to studies conducted by IBM Europe over the last few years, where participants aged from 14 to 29 were surveyed. 

This highlights that as technology continues to evolve and become more mainstream, young people continue to value their personal lives more than they do in the past and therefore are not necessarily aware of the risks stemming from such use of technology.

First, in today’s interconnected world we all share similar experiences like social networking. If someone wants to improve their job chances by getting more information on your company, he/she needs to know what you work on and how you develop your products, not just the facts that describe that someone is employed at the company. Without knowing all this, it would be difficult to improve your job prospects and develop the necessary skill sets to get a promotion. For example, one reason people turn to Facebook to learn more about current affairs is that they simply cannot seem to find out anything else. But in reality, there are tons of companies today which provide similar information to people and these companies often pay well or attract talent. This kind of behavior could be because they have a clear understanding of what motivates others when they choose to focus on the positive aspects of their jobs rather than on the negatives and vice versa. Another thing that makes Facebook popular among young people is due to its ability to connect them to the most relevant content. Because by sharing information (and maybe receiving links to useful resources) they help each other to identify with more reliable resources.

Harms Of Technology

There are different types of threats ranging from hackers and cybercriminals, government agencies, trolls and predators (to name a few), viruses and Trojan horses, malware and phishing attacks, scams, bots, ad frauds, etc., although there are dozens of other threats from various angles. Even though it is hard to keep track of everything, there are some general categories you have to remember about. Hacking is one of the major problems. Cyber attackers steal computers, access files, send emails containing spyware, download pirated software (like Flash Player), send spam messages via emails to infect machines. They do this to steal information or install ransomware on individual computers. When the computer system detects that the computer is infected, the attacker sends commands that make the system shut down, until no one uses the computer anymore. Although hacking happens when you are working on an account, the attack comes after the victim starts to invest time and money into the account you have been using, because he knows that it will pay off in the long run when his investment pays off too.

Cybercrime is another type of crime. As mentioned above, criminals hijack websites and hide behind fake accounts to steal data and money or perform illegal activities such as prostitution, stealing from banks, cheating insurance policies, running credit card scams, or stealing money by selling forged contracts.

The third threat to the integrity of information is terrorism. Since 2009, there has been a series of terrorist attacks in the United States. On September 11th, 2001, two terrorists entered the World Trade Center and killed thousands of people. On November 7th, 2015, twin suicide bombers attacked the American embassies in Nashville, Tennessee, and Boston, Massachusetts.

Making Technology a Great Tool

However, we also have to note that these three cases were carried out by groups of individuals who wanted revenge for the tragedies they caused. If our goal is now to improve the quality of the data in a secure environment, then these attackers and groups won’t be able to carry out such attacks again. Therefore, to avoid further consequences such as the ones discussed above, we need to ensure that technology helps us to improve the efficiency of information sharing. We need to think about how to make sure that information sharing helps with improving the quality of data we can collect and how effectively we can use such data.

That is how technology can be a great tool for the improvement of our ways of thinking and solving problems. As we look forward to further advances in AI and machine learning we will find that it is not just about helping us to see what is happening around the globe, but also in helping us to do our job better. The speed and accuracy of insights gained from Big Data will never cease to grow, and yet the same tools that helped revolutionize the Industrial Revolution — steam, coal…etc. — continue to hold their value in many fields, including education and healthcare. As technology advances, our focus on improving human knowledge and abilities and increasing human productivity will increase, along with the pace of economic growth. A lot of work remains to be done in the coming years to deliver effective, efficient, and transparent solutions to the challenges faced by businesses seeking real advantage from emerging technologies.