We need regulation fit for the 21st century. Governments, where are you?
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Tech can be awesome, but it is but a tool that can lead to terrible consequences. What are we going to do about it?
Technology can be an amazing tool. It can unlock opportunities: through the power of the Internet I ended up applying for an internship at a Seoul-based startup I had never heard of in 2016. And it can bring efficiency and productivity gains. Plenty of enterprise software products promise to help you keep track of your accounts, optimise your marketing spend and fill in your vacancies by putting your job posts in front of eyeballs aplenty.
Tech can be a force for good. This is clear as day during this pandemic whereby AI is being used to help identify existing medicines that could treat Covid-19. But let’s remember that there are always two sides to every story. Tech is a tool that can be used to make the world a better place or to make our lives a nightmare. For every win that tech brings to the table, there are risks and dangers lurking in the background. Trust me, I would know as I spent most of my time during my Masters analysing the good as well as the bad side of tech.
Do we have the right tools in place to benefit from all the gains tech can bring and mitigate its risks? Meh. This is why we need regulation fit for the 21st century.
How did we get here? Golden Age meets Techlash
In the past 20 years or so technology has radically changed how we go about our lives. I am part of the last generation that remember cassettes. We went from going around with our Walkmans and CD players and floppy disks to having computers in our pockets that we use to buy things, entertain ourselves and keep in touch with our fam.
Although I might not subscribe to a linear view of history that is all about progress, we’ve come a long way. And so have the companies that have helped usher in this Information Age, this 4th industrial revolution everyone keeps blabbing about. We’ve got GAFAM…
