C for Communication, C for Caution - Rajat Singhania

Having ever improving technologies is advantageous but the security risks and the ethical challenges still need to be solved.

By Rajat Singhania

In 1999, Bill Gates wrote ’Business at the Speed of Thought’. He predicted that the world would be a very fast place, and it would belong to those that have the information and the ability to process the information quickly. Success would become a function of data, information, inference, speed of action and agility to intervene. The pace of information and communication technology (ICT) has already proved his prophecy correct, as we have progressed way beyond the ringing landlines, letters, pagers and post offices.

The modern communication post – box has evolved from emails into instant messaging platforms that can deal with live streaming, videos and pictures – much beyond the mundane text messages. And the speed at which information is getting transmitted around the world is mind-boggling. The challenge at hand is how to process this huge amount of data, keep it safe while also making it accessible.

If we look at what is the expected future of communication, it would seem like a Sci-Fi movie – you think of someone and immediately, the other person gets a buzz that he is required, and sets up the antenna to catch the thoughts. Technology may actually enable us to network directly into someone else’s brain, and communicate without a barrier.

We’re decades away from such technology, but scientists have already been working on creating brain-computer interfaces that allow people to transmit thoughts directly to a computer. As Futurologist Dr. Ian Pearson, whose job is all about forecasting the future said, “By 2050, we’ll be communicating through a form of telepathy from thought recognition technology.” However, till then we will have to take care of our data and build safe technology for communication. The tech experts have been talking about Wi-Fi 6 and 5G, designed to deliver faster data-transfer speeds and simultaneously support more devices. While Wi-Fi 6 is a better way to connect to the internet indoors, enabling the gadgets inside the home to communicate with each other, 5G is a better way to connect to cellular networks while on the move.

Technology has been called many things – lazy solutions, decreasing face time, losing human touch, addictive – but the reality remains that this will remain the preferred way of communication due to instant, fast, immediately sent reminders, automated programmed mailers etc. As better technology empowers the communication strategy, slowly ‘geography is becoming history’. Physical distances are becoming less important. People are even able to partake in social customs and festivities through technologies. In fact, in some way, digital enablers and technology has helped the differently challenged to communicate better.

However, with anything that has such a lot to offer, there comes a downside. Security and ethical challenges will remain an issue with digital communication. Safety of the channel used, and ethics of the service provider along with security of the data need to be addressed first hand. We need users’ awareness and communication hygiene to make the best use of the digital onslaught we are going to witness.

Singhania is Founder, SocioRAC – HyLyt

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