Computers will Advise and Dictate Our Every Step, said Gerd Leonhard, World-class Futurologist at ITAPA
Autumn congress ITAPA presented world-class celebrities and discussed interesting and burning topics of today. Progress in technologies brings many benefits that ease our life. Whole industries are changing. In music industry, nowadays it is no longer music that is being sold but access to music. Similarly, in automotive we will soon stop selling cars and will start to sell mobility. It is possible that our children’s children will not know how to drive. Dependency on information is increasing, „we are still more following what computer tells us and what advice it gives,“ said exclusively at renowned congress ITAPA 2017: Technology & HumanITy one of world‘s top speakers and futurologist, Gerd Leonhard.
But technology doesn’t have ethics. What will happen when we entrust it with increasing influence and decision making? „How we will preserve our humanity?,“ asks Gerd in regards to social networks such as Facebook, Google or LinkedIn. What is important in a conversation between two people is not what is said, but what happens during the conversation – how we react, what we feel and we show. In his presentation, he focused on fundamental changes of our society, when it is normal to see your mobile phone as a second brain. „Mobile has contacts, bank, books, music, work, communication. Your whole personal and work life is there. We realize how much we are dependent on mobile in the moment when we lose it or break it,“ says Gerd Leonhard. He doesn’t consider himself a man predicting future but a man who forces people to think about what will their behavior bring in 5 to 7 years. He pointed out that there is no reason to be pessimistic. „It is important to manage and accept technology but not become it. We need to understand the risks, discuss them, solve them and protect what is essential to humans not just on individual level but also as a society.“ concluded world-class futurologist Gerd Leonhard at ITAPA 2017. His presentation at the congress was combined with signing of his book Technology vs. Humanity: The Coming Clash between Man and Machine.
It is true that modern tech giants demolish the old world and build a new one – online world. It is not bad, but we need to be careful. Europe is at present becoming the “third world” continent when it comes to digital development. “Among top global technology leaders there is not even one from Europe and time is not on side of EU,” said at autumn ITAPA Jovan Kurbalija, former diplomat, founding director of DiploFoundation and a man educating countries and diplomats on how modern technologies influence international relations and geopolitics. In his opinion data are becoming as demanded as oil once was. And even though oil prices still influence us today, data are more relevant. Kurbalija uses an analogy – if we don’t have enough money for fuel, we will cease to use the car. „But in data and their use there is different situation. They are part of our private and work life. For us it is a fundamental question how they will be used and protected.“
A special speaker at autumn ITAPA was also a co-founder of world-wide network of internet-of-things Sigfox, Frenchman Christophe Fourtet. He announced start of first nation-wide network of internet-of-things in Slovakia, exclusively at ITAPA Congress. Technology behind the network enables for example exact computer analysis, for it has number of data collected from many detectors. “We can use information also to forecast how forest fires are spreading or for long-distance monitoring of growth of agricultural plants,” said Christophe Fourtet at the congress. He states that advanced data analytics provide new development opportunities to municipalities or factories.
It is true that modern tech giants demolish the old world and build a new one – online world. It is not bad, but we need to be careful. Europe is at present becoming the “third world” continent when it comes to digital development. “Among top global technology leaders there is not even one from Europe and time is not on side of EU,” said at autumn ITAPA Jovan Kurbalija, former diplomat, founding director of DiploFoundation and a man educating countries and diplomats on how modern technologies influence international relations and geopolitics. In his opinion data are becoming as demanded as oil once was. And even though oil prices still influence us today, data are more relevant. Kurbalija uses an analogy – if we don’t have enough money for fuel, we will cease to use the car. „But in data and their use there is different situation. They are part of our private and work life. For us it is a fundamental question how they will be used and protected.“
A special speaker at autumn ITAPA was also a co-founder of world-wide network of internet-of-things Sigfox, Frenchman Christophe Fourtet. He announced start of first nation-wide network of internet-of-things in Slovakia, exclusively at ITAPA Congress. Technology behind the network enables for example exact computer analysis, for it has number of data collected from many detectors. “We can use information also to forecast how forest fires are spreading or for long-distance monitoring of growth of agricultural plants,” said Christophe Fourtet at the congress. He states that advanced data analytics provide new development opportunities to municipalities or factories.
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