Tech Advancement and Digital Privacy

I arrived at the airport at 10:00 am to catch my flight that was scheduled to take off at 12:00 pm. Yet, at check-in, I was informed that my flight was delayed due to a technical malfunction, so I chose to sit in a quiet area away from the noise and read the book "The World on the Threshold of Change".

A strange-looking man began to stare at me, and then approached and asked for my name! I responded with surprise, "Why do you want to know my name?" He laughed and said, "Are you worried about your privacy? Or do you not trust strangers?"

No place for privacy

I began to ponder as this stranger approached me, and I was lost in my thoughts. The reality is that all my personal information is stored somewhere. My health information is stored in hospital systems and health insurance company, and my credit card information and all my banking transactions are stored in the bank's systems. My imagination wandered to a number of systems that can know a lot about me: the electronic wallet system on my mobile phone, the ride-sharing application I use for transportation, the mapping system, and social media applications; all of them have personal information about me and I started losing track of them. Will there be any place for privacy if artificial intelligence is integrated with these systems to analyze my data and know my future movements? Perhaps there will be a system that knows that I will leave by plane at two o'clock and that the delay will affect my flight, so it suggests a restaurant where I can have my favorite meal in this airport lounge!

Great Integration

The stranger at the airport raised another question: "Do you know about the Internet of Things?" I replied, "Of course, who doesn't know about it? I heard that things like machines in factories, engines in cars, medical devices in hospitals, household appliances, and even what we wear like smartwatches and others are now connected to the internet."

Something strange occurred to me, and I remembered that I missed my morning coffee. I decided to invite my new friend to a nice café in the airport. As we walked, the following conversation took place between us. He asked me, "Have you heard about the integration of technology with biology?" I replied, "How is that possible?" He said, "By reading data from our bodies through devices connected to the internet and with the help of artificial intelligence, it will help us get the best version of ourselves."

I asked him in surprise to explain further. He said, "A device connected to your body can tell you when your body needs a cup of coffee or its effect on your mood and the biological changes in your body. Your personal doctor can track your health remotely, and even artificial intelligence can predict the types of diseases that may affect you in the future and suggest a specific method for prevention. This integration improves our health, prolongs our lives, and enhances our lives for the better.

Cars and airplanes and all means of transportation can quickly become highly responsive automated systems with the speed of communication currently achieved in their fifth and sixth generations and others." I asked how this could be possible. He told me that their data analysis and the speed of making the right decisions surpass human capability. For example, a self-driving car knows the roads, sees the surrounding cars, analyzes everything with great accuracy and high speed more efficiently than humans.

A decentralized world

As I finished my coffee, I felt great happiness from the amount of information my new friend had shared with me. I ended our brief meeting and continued reading the book I had in hand in the travelers' waiting lounge.

The book talks about a major transformation in the new generation of the internet. It is moving towards decentralization that ensures greater security and privacy. Currently, users have to take many measures to keep their data confidential and secure, and relying on user intelligence causes many users to fall victim to hacking and social manipulation. The new world ensures confidentiality through the parties of the users themselves. Technology will be much simpler, and data will be encrypted and stored in several decentralized entities, thus forming a chain of encrypted data.

I closed the book and headed to the departure gate where I heard the final call to board the plane.