The Smartphone is Dead. What Will Come Next?

5

October

2017

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Well, it’s happening now. Tech giants like Apple, Google, and Facebook are busy at work developing new, advanced technology to finally merge human and machine. Their tests and research is focusing (non-exclusively of course) on the smartphone now being part of you. Imagine instead of staring at the small screen of your smartphone, you instead just look straight forward, as the images are beamed directly onto your eyes, like a projector in a lecture room. Sound a bit like the matrix?

This all seems fascinating, but my question/concern is the same one that pops up when we discuss cognitive computing and artificial intelligence: How far is too far?

Sure, it seems super cool and makes us feel like we’re in a movie, getting computer readouts beamed directly onto our eyeballs like we’re Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 10. But what does this mean for our freedom and independence from technology? We’re already addicted to our mobile devices, with the average adult spending over 4 hours a day on phone/social media (millennials can expect to be nearly double that). If they’re physically wired into us, how much worse will it get? How will people maintain focus on anything that is in front of them, when they have the entire world being beamed onto their eyes? How will it affect our friendships/relationships? How will we protect our privacy?

What data will the device collect on you? Your health? Your movements? Your conversations? And who will have access to this data? Our smartphones are already guilty of this. If you have “Hey Siri” activated on your iPhone, have a conversation with a friend one day and see an advertisement for a related product on Facebook the next day.

So again, how far is too far? You can’t stop progress. No one, not even the government can prevent new technologies from being invented, despite whether they’re good or bad. People and organizations will march on. So when this new technology is available, how will the public react? Who will adopt it?

I’ll end with a question: would you implant a chip or device into your brain, that would allow you to be connected to your smartphone (or computer) 24/7? Why or why not?

 

Source: https://www.businessinsider.nl/death-of-the-smartphone-and-what-comes-after-2017-3/?international=true&r=US

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Is it time to break up Google?

26

September

2017

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Over the past decade, the most valuable companies in the world have gravitated towards tech firms. What used to be dominated primarily by oil and banking is now dominated by the likes of Facebook, Google, and (still) Microsoft. In fact, today’s five largest firms by market capitalization on the planet are Apple, Alphabet (parent of Google), Amazon, and Facebook.

We all know them very well, as they each dominate their industry. Google has 88% market share of search advertising, Facebook controls 77% of mobile traffic, and Amazon owns a 74% share of the e-book market. In other words, each has become a monopoly.

Antitrust laws have been around for over 100 years, and they seek to prevent large companies from becoming too big and too powerful, and to prevent collusive practices that can be harmful to consumers as well as restrict competition. However, these laws have not yet been adapted to the modern age of tech firms. The question is: what can and should we do about it?

Take Google, for example. While many love and admire the colorful search engine (and its subsidiaries), we often fail to recognize that Google holds essentially a monopoly on the internet. Anytime you want to find something on the internet, it’s a fair bet you Google it. Ask Siri a question? She’ll show you some Google search results to help get you an answer. This is just one example. Take into account the other companies from the aforementioned top 5, and they own virtually everything.

When these companies become so enormous and powerful, who is left to regulate them? We know too well that in our modern democracies, private companies hold a lot of influence. As U.S. President Wilson once said, “If monopoly persists, monopoly will always sit at the helm of government.” We’ve watched it happen in the oil industry, and as a result we’ve sat idly by as we polluted our world.

What will we do about the next generation of monopolies: the tech monopoly?
Should we break them up? Should we regulate them lightly or heavily? Or should we let them roam freely and uninhibited? Post your thoughts in the comments!

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/opinion/sunday/is-it-time-to-break-up-google.html

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