PS: This blog is inspired by a discussion with one of my colleagues who views technology as a primary impediment to human intelligence.
I’m a disruption analyst and have been studying the implications of the convergence of exponential technologies at a time when it is most relevant. My research for over ten years has made me trust that technological advances are the most determining factor in human evolution.
The world has transformed significantly in the last one-two decade. We are all hyperconnected to the world in a never-before way. We are innovating novel solutions to the world’s most significant challenges, such as water scarcity, climate change, and many others. We are not only improving the products we use every day and bringing down the cost but are stretching the limits of imagination and possibilities.
The pace of the disruption is entering a genuinely exponential phase. Innovations are resulting in new business models and disrupting old ones. In just a few years, in a country like India, where still two-thirds of people live in villages without access to proper amenities, the digitization rate is outperforming the developed countries.
Picture this: a tea vendor in front of a business park or a cart selling vegetables and fruits in a residential complex only accepts digital payments. They reason that it takes time to collect the payment, provide change and keep track of physical money.
Technology is pervasive and touching every aspect and every corner of the world. Massive socio-economic development is happening not only in technologically advanced countries, but innovations are enabling the global south to leapfrog the wealthy world at an unprecedented pace.
Technology is a tool. We use tools when needed and put them aside when the job is done. We should also view technology as a tool to connect with friends and family, use the internet to learn about new things and entertainment, and connect with others. We use artificial intelligence as a tool to get through the enormous data, which is humanly impossible, and provide insights.
My colleague is concerned that children in school are so dependent on technology that they are not using their intelligence and becoming less analytical. The common concern these days is that we are constantly glued to our phones, and social interaction has moved from the physical to the virtual world.
I don’t think so. In short, this is not a technological problem but our compulsive nature and consciousness issue. Think about using technology as a tool consciously and efficiently, meaning knowing when to use it and when to put it aside.
When I was growing up, I could do all my math and could remember several phone numbers. Now, I can’t. However, I think I’m better off with a smartphone to do all this because the volume of material I must calculate now and remember is beyond human capacity. So, using a smartphone is like using a tool.
Technology is profoundly transforming education. You can learn whatever you want whenever you want. That’s the way it should be. We need our children to understand life and not just the set curriculum, which in many cases has not changed for ages, while the world they live in has completely transformed.
Similarly, problems of our compulsiveness to look at our phone is not a technological problem. We need to decide when we use it, how much we use it, and when to put it down.
Historically, technology led to human development and continues to expand our horizons. Not to forget, harmful elements have also used technology to cause destruction. The products in information technology are also being used by cybercriminals for hacking and stealing information and money. Similarly, the weapons designed for national security are used by terrorists against the countries.
The right and the wrong people are using technology as a tool to meet their objectives; it is just that their consciousness is of a different kind. It will always be like this. But do you think we should not make technological progress to improve our lives? Or, more importantly, we decide which side we are.
For the first time, advancing innovations are freeing up our time to think creatively and do tasks that require perception — which is the only faculty of our mind that is not available to data-based algorithms.
We live in a world with immense possibilities that every person can contribute to the development of society. Unlike previous generations, when only a handful of capitalists and national leaders could move the needle for collective action, technology provides us with tools to contribute.
I have chosen to “consciously” and creatively use technology to reach as many of you as possible and share my learnings on how we can use incredible innovations to realize our true potential.
