Is Technology a Bringer of Great Promise or Great Peril?

The pace of change continuously astounds and bewilders me. I just about remember horses pulling coal carts as a kid and now we're developing driverless cars. The Internet of Things will be part of our daily life soon and humankind seems to be losing the ability to stand up straight already. How long will it be before we start resembling bananas more than apes with a pronounced curve of the spine and neck from staring down at mobiles?

Mobile Phone Addiction

We're in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

According to the World Economic Forum, we're now in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We've already lived through an immense amount of change and who knows what is round the corner. The ever rising march of Artificial Intelligence (AI) shows great promise in many fields for the future but it is also highly controversial and multi-faceted.

Even Elon Musk, the 'Thomas Edison of the 21st century' has serious doubts about what we are creating for ourselves. The serial entrepreneur who has had a hand in all types of technology from electric cars, rockets, Paypal, Hyperloop, solar power systems, electric jets to digital technology. The man who is famous for his plans to colonise Mars, further DNA sequencing to identify cures for diseases and viable fusion to create energy for us all for ever.

Mars colonisation

A man who is a bringer of great promise. However Musk also predicts that 'robots will be able to do everything better than us' and they will 'take your jobs, and government will have to pay your wage'. He also believes that we should be very concerned and proactively regulate Artificial Intelligence as it is a 'risk to the existence of human civilization' in a way that risks we commonly deal with now are only harmful to a set of individuals in society.

In contrast Mark Zuckerberg, the equally famous entrepreneur of Facebook is more optimistic saying that artificial intelligence will improve life in the future and that naysayers are irresponsible.

Is technology the bringer of great promise?

The positives of AI are certainly immense

"For people with a disability, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will give us super powers"

Birgit Skarstein, Double paralympic athlete and World Rowing Champion, Norway

"Imagine a robot capable of treating Ebola patients or cleaning up nuclear waste."

Dileep George, artificial intelligence and neuroscience researcher

"Any skilled engineer can take control remotely of any connected 'thing'. Society has not yet realized the incredible scenarios this capability creates."

André Kudelski, Chairman and CEO of Kudelski Group

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already playing a massive role in health care and some believe that there is an AI Healthcare 'tsunami coming' that will benefit all. Data currently has the biggest part to play in healthcare providing the chance to revolutionise current healthcare systems.

AI Nurse

Google's Deepmind Health project mines medical records to provide faster and more detailed records.

IBM Watson is working with oncologists to create treatment plans using data from clinical notes and combining that with research, data and clinical expertise. IBM's Medical Sieve algorithm analyses radiology images to detect issues faster and more reliably.

The new Babylon app hopes to decrease doctors waiting times by giving medical AI consultations combining a person's medical history, medical knowledge and a database of diseases using speech recognition. It can also remind patients to take their medication.

Molly is a new virtual nurse which supports patients with chronic diseases in between doctor's visits.

AiCure checks if patients are taking their medicine and helps them manage their conditions.

Deep Genomics looks for mutations and linkages to disease using genetic and medical data and hopes to predict what will happen when DNA is altered.

Human Longevity offers genome sequencing alongside body scans and checkups to spot diseases in their very early stages.

Atomwise use AI to find existing drugs that could be used for other conditions, therefore, speeding up and reducing costs and potentially avoiding future pandemics.

Berg Health mines data to analyse why some people are insusceptible to certain diseases to help current treatments and discover new drugs.

The future certainly looks bright - but have you started to notice the changes in everyday life that are already impacting our lives?

Is technology the bringer of great peril?

"You cannot wait until a house burns down to buy fire insurance on it. We cannot wait until there are massive dislocations in our society to prepare for the Fourth Industrial Revolution."

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Should People in All Countries Have Equal Access to All Technological Developments?

Ever wondered about the above title question? Will it be a yes or no? What do you think? Let's dive into a discussion. Read on to find out.

Well, people who can afford technological developments should be allowed access. Thos who cannot can still do so by managing, budgeting and saving. These technological developments entice both rural and urban people alike and both the categories want to learn and use them.

As a result, the literacy rate rises, so does the economy and the country's outlook gets better.

Government authorities can take the measures to censor obscene scenes, pictures and sites so that the little and adolescents are not spoiled at an early age. It is equally good to maintain peace, harmony and balance among young dating people.

What are some of the technological developments? In fact these include but are not limited to IOT (internet of things), smart phone, TAB, iPad, iPod, laptops, notebooks etc and applications such as Instagram, Google map, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the lot.

All of these are fun to use for both the old and young as well as the urban and rural. The old can keep in touch with their children and grandchildren while the rural can connect to more modern and urban relatives. Everyone benefits and everyone is happy having access to the technological developments.

On the overall, I don't see any reason why people of a nation, especially a developing one should lack the privilege of using technological developments because they too form the media of education and learning and hence literacy. If a nation gets encouraged to develop themselves through these means, why not? Give them access and rights and they will not only love it but also benefit as well.

Talking of benefits, what are some of them? The people in rural and urban areas get familiarized with numerals and words in the English language and also their native language. They are able to understand many signs and icons which are helpful in the new age. They learn to use applications via digital gadgets, which is a plus in career and work niches.

Learning the English and native languages along with signs and symbols, it is easy for rural people to transition to the cities and for city people to move to developed countries and therefore, upgrade their status, outlook and be financially free.

Therefore, this is the modern era. So as I mentioned earlier, with censoring being active country-wide, the people of any nation should be allowed to access all the technological developments, especially the benign and beneficial ones.

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Artificial Intelligence: The Next Tech Bubble or the Changing Face of Technology

Did you know that five of the biggest tech giants viz. IBM, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and Amazon have recently formed a partnership for the research and development of Artificial Intelligence?

And these market leaders form just the top of the cream. Thousands of startups like Kwiziq, JamieAI, and Verv are blooming across the globe, investing in the development of upcoming AI era. So what is it that all these businesses have found in the potential of this technology that is driving them to hustle? And more importantly, why is it important for your business to participate and adapt to this futuristic technology?

More efficient digital assistance

Machines have since the beginning set themselves as important because of their ability to enhance human efficiency. Let's just assume what change in efficiency can be brought upon when these machines become actually intelligent; when they can make best possible decisions on their own, without being affected by the limiting constraints of human beings? There will be fewer errors, less unpredictable problems, and fewer delays, all of which will have a cumulative effect on the overall efficiency of any system.

Digital marketing at its best

Many companies are already in the process of garnering the potential power of artificial intelligence and are working with intelligent chatbots to enhance their marketing efforts. It is no wonder they have taken this route. Chatbots and other similar AI marketing solutions can take digital marketing to its extreme, where you can solve the queries of your potential customers, create interactive marketing campaigns, and resolve many repetitive and monotonous tasks without having to invest in multiple resources.

Limitless exploration

When it comes to exploration, biological boundaries of humans have always been considered as the biggest limitation. And it is not just the biological needs that have kept us from exploring inhospitable environments of space or underwater. These limitations are also in the form of our sensory perceptions. There are many wave patterns and frequencies that humans are simply unable to detect, this is why machines like the thermal camera that detects infrared waves have become so important for the seamless exploration even of our immediate environment. Machines with artificial intelligence can remove all these problems with a single stroke.

Wide application scope and new opportunities

As opposed to the most recent technological developments, AI becomes more desirable because of its far-fledging application. Since most of the present technological advances are limited to the technological ground only, the field was losing its significance in other spheres of life. But with AI, such is not the case. Its potential has made it a most sought-after invention in the areas of medical science, financial systems, air transport, heavy mechanical industries, and even art.

Transitional Shift

Unlike social media, AI is not a booming phase. It is the development of a completely new ecosystem that will change the technology as we know it today. There is no limit to what the future may hold when we come to the peak of AI development when intelligent machines will be working without the biological constraints of human bodies. It will continue to evolve at an exponential rate, solving perhaps, some of the most profound mysteries of the universe.

At present, even with all its advancements, AI can still be considered in its newborn stage, and for all those businesses that aspire to survive and thrive through this transitional shift, it is extremely important for them to adapt.

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Laptop Rental Makes Its Prominence As The Most Advantageous Gadget

The laptops have been deemed as the most advantageous gadget for the businesses that are predominantly on their transit, since they are completely portable, embedded with the most upgraded docking stations in them which could enable the business owner to execute multitude of program executions in their ways of conducting business.

The paramount limitation of the high configuration laptops

One of the limitation that most of the high configuration laptops in the recent times is that, when most of the users are specifically looking out for high configuration laptops which could house some of the attributable features in them to carry out the business at ease.

These high configuration laptops comes with high price range and comparatively more expensive than the conventional desktop computers. In this particular situation, the laptop rental becomes the viable option for the business owners to opt for these gadgets for their specific accomplishment.

The rental company have their own stake on laptop rentals

In the recent years, the rental companies have become the popular destinations and a one-stop solution for the many of the peripheral rentals for the business owners to carry on with their business task.

These companies often rent out the laptops for:

· The trade fairs or seminars

· The companies who wish to carry out the employee training on a regular basis.

The rental companies get involved in the finer customizations

The customizations in a laptop has been seen as one of the most prolific parameter for most of the rental companies who deal with numerous users who wants to use the laptop rentals for the finest customizations that they get from the rental companies.

· Moving further, the rental companies often takes care of the entire setup of the laptop in accordance to the specifications that are laid by the business owner.

· The setup could possibly include the installation of certain specific software that is required for certain businesses which makes them to execute some of the applications with ease.

· The setup along with the required technical support is very well carried by the rental companies along with the Laptop Rental to the user.

The tenure of the rental laptops by the rental companies

· In general, the tenure of the rental laptops by the rental companies do last long and in adherence to the requirements of the potential user.

· In fact, the rental companies have no inclusive binding on the duration of the laptops hire in specific.

Some of the most ardent reasons why laptop rentals are considered beneficial for the users

· The users who are quite often technology geeks who want to explore the newest technology in place.

· For start-up companies who want to instantly start off with an interim software project which requires volume based laptops for the developers, programmers to work upon.

· In the recent years, the rental companies have housed in professional laptop experts who would profoundly test for the various compatibilities in the laptop rentals before dispensing it for the rental tenure; this exercise often makes the users completely relieved from any sort of anomalies at the trade conferences or a convention.

· The laptops which are generally considered for renting comes out with more docking facilities where it can be docked to multiple third parties peripheral devise such as the multi-functional printer, overhead LCD projectors in place.

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Protecting Your Digital Footprint

We all have a Digital Footprint regardless of how much you spend on-line. Even if you have never been on-line, don't have email or use social media, you still have a Digital Footprint. Yes, the more you are on-line the greater your exposure to some sort of identity theft.

Here is something to think about. Is it safer to go to a store and use your credit/debit card in person, or is it safer to shop on-line with your credit/debit card? The answer and explanation will be at the end of this article.

So how do we protect ourselves while on-line?

• Have a different password for each on-line account you have
• Use a non-dictionary password, using caps, numbers, symbols at least 12 characters
• Use a password manager to keep track of all your passwords
• Be careful of what you put on social media
• Keep all your devices OS up to date (do the updates)
• Use Internet Security software for you PC's
• Use security software for your phones and tablets

When you are banking or investing on-line it would be wise to use what is called "Two factor Authorization". This means that after you put in your User Name and Password, you will get a text with an authorization number that you must input to gain access.

Soon finger prints, eye scans or other biometrics will be used as a login. These are getting better and more reliable, expect to see them soon in wide scale use.

Most infections or hacks come in through email or infected apps that are downloaded. Be very careful when clicking an embedded link in an email. If possible don't do this, instead go to that web site directly. For example, you may get an email from your bank that says your statements are ready, do not click the link, instead go to the bank site directly from your browser.

Now the answer from above. Generally, it's safer to shop on-line. The reason, when you put in your credit card numbers they are encrypted all the way to the credit card clearing center. When you use your card at a store you hand it to a store employee, in some cases you lose sight of that card. On-line the only human hands that your card touches are yours.

You should always use a credit card when shopping on-line, never a debit card. You have more protection with a credit card.

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