Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences 0124095489, 0124095488, 9780124095489

Table of contents :
Book Description
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Technology Is Being Perfected by the Smartest In Every Generation
Positive Opportunities from Technology
Skeptics Against Technology
Innovations Through Technology
Cellphones’ Embedded Technological Benefits
Technology Is Always Evolving
Chapter 2: Machine Learning is Learning Faster Than Humans
Artificial Intelligence
Stigma Associated with AI and Machine Learning
Human Intelligence Versus Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Supervised Versus Unsupervised Learning Approaches
Deep Learning
Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Restaurants
Chapter 3: The Algorithms Know Us Better Than We Know Our Self
The Human Brain & Neuroplasticity
Digital Deluge and Digital Dementia
Human Memory Systems
The Left and Right Brain Functionality
The London Cab Driver Study
Soul Machines’ creation of Baby X
Chapter 4: We Are Physically Dependant on Technology (Implantable)
Neuralink – The Implantable Brain Chip
What is Neuralink
Why Should I Have Neuralink Fitted Into My Skull
Neuralink Trials
Chapter 5: Revelation 13 - The One Claiming to Be God Will Use It as Allegiance and Require It for Life
Being Responsible With Data
Examples of the Surveillance in Shenzhen
Chapter 6: The Importance of Growing in Understanding of Technology (Software and Programming)
Chapter 7: How to Grow Your Understanding of Technology
Technology and Working Remotely
Technology In Business
Riding the Technological Wave in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Technology and Efficiency
Chapter 8: The Value Software Technology Has for Our Future
Technological Adaptation and Psychological Orientation
Technology Re-activeness to COVID-19
Amazon Go - Cashierless Checkout
Utility of Technology in Earth Observation
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Satellites - NASA Aura (Air)
Satellites - NASA Aqua (Water)
Data Collected Imagery
Spatial Resolution
Spectral Resolution
Radiometric Resolution
Light Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), Drones and Photogrammetry
Autonomous Vehicles and Driving Assists
Chapter 9: How to Make Technology Work for You
Technology Breaks
Schedule Short Times to Unplug Regularly
Posture
Long Breaks and Vacations
Regulation of Smart Devices for Internet Browsing and Youtube
Dopamine Detox
Discipline and Detachment From Social Media
Productivity
Agile boards - Jira and Trello
Freedcamp (Tasklists) and Lastpass (Password Management)
Financials and Electronic Learning
Conclusion
References

Citation preview

Book Description Mankind has embarked on a technological journey over the past few decades, with a growing emphasis in recent years towards convenience and efficiency. We’ve made innovative advancements in the fields of science and technology, challenging conventional methods whilst providing new alternatives. This comes partly from the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, and it has provided us with the ability to thrive in our daily lives, both professionally and personally. Technological revolutions have paved the way for the convenience and ease of our modern lifestyle and have been a driving factor in ensuring we all improve the quality of our own lives and enjoy the success and convenience afforded to us through the research of science and technology. Communication is more efficient—we are now able to communicate with somebody on the other side of the world instantaneously. We’ve developed autonomous cars and pieces of technology which have catapulted us into the middle of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Facial recognition, artificial intelligence, machine learning and complex algorithms have shaped the ways in which we live. We’ve promoted the use of online platforms to assist with banking and convenience to protect us, especially in light of the recent pandemic. And we have certainly made the concept of working remotely far more feasible. These advancements in our daily lives aren’t minor. Revolutions such as these have an astounding impact in the way in which we conduct our lives and, over a period of time, change human behavior dramatically. Arguably, there may be some negative impacts of this rapid transformation, however, there’s sufficient evidence to argue that these negative consequences should be carefully assessed. Perhaps, instead we should go through the process of thinking about what our lives would be like if we welcome these technologies and work constructively to try and mitigate any potential negative impacts these technologies introduce. After careful consideration about the negative impacts of a new technology in our lives, we can think about the positives it could introduce and make conscious decisions in favor or against the use of the technology. In hindsight, the positives far outweigh the negatives and, when used effectively, can make our lives more convenient and enjoyable.

These technological transformations resulting from research and development breakthroughs in science and technology have improved the capacity of mankind to think to the future. Instead of being reactive to situations, we are now able to be proactive and plan ahead for the future we want to have. As our global population increases, the need for careful planning and development of cities, distribution of resources, and solving current problems in society becomes our main focus. To solve these complex problems, we can’t rely on the abilities of humanity alone, as we are prone to mistakes, and therefore should embrace new ways of dealing with problems. We should welcome the use of new technology backed by research to aid in solving our problems and allowing us to be more efficient as we journey through life. The means are now available, and it is up to the way in which technology is welcomed and implemented to make the difference.

Machine Learning and AI Programming is Hacking the Human Code Learn the History of Computer Science, Networking and Algorithms

Eugene Giehl

© Copyright 2021 - All rights reserved. The content contained within this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author or the publisher. Under no circumstances will any blame or legal responsibility be held against the publisher, or author, for any damages, reparation, or monetary loss due to the information contained within this book, either directly or indirectly. Legal Notice: This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part, or the content within this book, without the consent of the author or publisher. Disclaimer Notice: Please note the information contained within this document is for educational and entertainment purposes only. All effort has been executed to present accurate, up to date, reliable, complete information. No warranties of any kind are declared or implied. Readers acknowledge that the author is not engaged in the rendering of legal, financial, medical or professional advice. The content within this book has been derived from various sources. Please consult a licensed professional before attempting any techniques outlined in this book. By reading this document, the reader agrees that under no circumstances is the author responsible for any losses, direct or indirect, that are incurred as a result of the use of the information contained within this document, including, but not limited to, errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

Table of Contents Book Description Table of Contents Introduction Chapter 1: Technology Is Being Perfected by the Smartest In Every Generation Positive Opportunities from Technology Skeptics Against Technology Innovations Through Technology Cellphones’ Embedded Technological Benefits Technology Is Always Evolving Chapter 2: Machine Learning is Learning Faster Than Humans Artificial Intelligence Stigma Associated with AI and Machine Learning Human Intelligence Versus Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Supervised Versus Unsupervised Learning Approaches Deep Learning Implementation of Artificial Intelligence in Restaurants Chapter 3: The Algorithms Know Us Better Than We Know Our Self The Human Brain & Neuroplasticity Digital Deluge and Digital Dementia Human Memory Systems The Left and Right Brain Functionality The London Cab Driver Study Soul Machines’ creation of Baby X Chapter 4: We Are Physically Dependant on Technology (Implantable) Neuralink – The Implantable Brain Chip What is Neuralink

Why Should I Have Neuralink Fitted Into My Skull Neuralink Trials Chapter 5: Revelation 13 - The One Claiming to Be God Will Use It as Allegiance and Require It for Life Being Responsible With Data Examples of the Surveillance in Shenzhen Chapter 6: The Importance of Growing in Understanding of Technology (Software and Programming) Chapter 7: How to Grow Your Understanding of Technology Technology and Working Remotely Technology In Business Riding the Technological Wave in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Technology and Efficiency Chapter 8: The Value Software Technology Has for Our Future Technological Adaptation and Psychological Orientation Technology Re-activeness to COVID-19 Amazon Go - Cashierless Checkout Utility of Technology in Earth Observation Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Satellites - NASA Aura (Air) Satellites - NASA Aqua (Water) Data Collected Imagery Spatial Resolution Spectral Resolution Radiometric Resolution Light Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), Drones and Photogrammetry Autonomous Vehicles and Driving Assists Chapter 9: How to Make Technology Work for You Technology Breaks Schedule Short Times to Unplug Regularly

Posture Long Breaks and Vacations Regulation of Smart Devices for Internet Browsing and Youtube Dopamine Detox Discipline and Detachment From Social Media Productivity Agile boards - Jira and Trello Freedcamp (Tasklists) and Lastpass (Password Management) Financials and Electronic Learning Conclusion References

Introduction Since the beginning of time, mankind has been curious in nature and has been, sometimes subconsciously and sometimes intentionally, working on new ways of carrying out tasks. From the advancements of weapons for gathering food, to the advancements made possible in the iron age, to the ushering in of the industrial revolution and the beginning of our era of rapid transformation. The advent of the industrial revolution has had immense changes for civilization in general and shaped the way we operate worldwide. More importantly, it drove a paradigm shift from casual production to meet basic needs, to a rapid increase in production of goods for increased profits. As the notion of supply and demand spread, so did our need to cater for this new change, and it brought about strategic development in workflows to guide these mechanisms. The industrial revolution brought about a change from basic to more complex systems to handle mass production. Thereafter, methods to improve and streamline the workflow process became of paramount importance. These were, in some sense, guided by profits and marketing, however, they can’t only be perceived through the lens of profits, as the industrial revolution had significant impacts in other spheres of daily life too. This transition into the industrial revolution served as a catalyst in enabling the curiosity of humanity, the drive towards research, science, and technology, coupled with the benefits they provide to us as a population. These, with relevant out of the box thinkers, creative personalities and risk takers, all contributed to various changes in the established ways of doing things. Over the years, we began to have more options and, in some sense, were able to choose solutions which we deemed beneficial to us and tailoring approaches to our own needs. Over a period of time, these advancements paved the way for our proclivity to strive for quality, rapid production and effective strategies along the workflow process. This allows for the stabilization of nations, puts us on a trajectory towards technological advancements, a rise in research and innovative new solutions to the problems hindering the growth of humanity on planet Earth. Nations which are able to use this technology to their advantage, and able to benefit immensely in terms of developments, but also in production and exports to

maximize the profits. This also put them on a path toward mass production that enabled their economies to thrive, deploy infrastructure to capitalize on these advancements and build trade relations to meet the needs of other nations, thereby keeping relevant and cementing their influence in the global economy. Drawing lessons from the Industrial Revolution, we can certainly agree that perhaps the driving force behind the success enjoyed by nations was the technological advancements which gave them a great advantage and boosted economic development. Nations which were able to use these technological advancements to their advantage were able to thrive in this space, take full advantage of the opportunities available, become relevant in trade and demonstrate their influence in the global markets, thereby enabling their success over time. If we fast forward many years into the present, we now find ourselves in the middle of a new revolution. This new revolution can be referred to as the Digital Revolution. Using examples from past revolutions, particularly the Industrial Revolution, we can understand the utility which revolutions have and their impact on our economy, society, way of life and our environment. Now, digital revolution is a term used to describe our rapid transformation from hardcopy/analog data to softcopy/digital data. This transformation saw a transition from our conventional way of capturing, storing, and accessing data to a new, innovative and more efficient way. This transition allowed for quick and effective ways of accessing data, maximizing time and efficiency and simultaneously increasing profits. The large datasets acquired, after consent by end users, allowed for more data to be collected, which then allowed for consumer trends and requirements to be met. This tailored approach allowed for customized solutions to be created as a result of the datasets. Data analysis is at the forefront of this new revolution, with organizations requiring a review on their current system processes, customer requirements, operational standards within the industry and methods to increase productivity. New innovative advances from research in science and technology allows for creative solutions to streamline processes in the workplace. The significant benefits of the Digital Revolution have manifested in communications, ease of access, connectivity, and predictive modelling for projected trends. Communication has been one of the most profound benefits from the digital age, with the rise of online platforms such as Facebook,

Youtube, LinkedIn, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram amongst others. This communication has allowed for increased marketing allowing organizations to extend their reach and customer base, in doing so opening up the possibility for consumers to interact with these companies and voice their feedback. This feedback is then generally welcomed and allows organizations to tailor products to suit consumers or provide different packages and options to cover everyone in the service area. This ease of access then pioneered the marketing of products, online catalogs, online purchases, allowed for new innovative payment methods which then required new secure encrypted payment options for online purchases. In some ways these new ways of thinking, solutions combined with technology and data paved the way for a multitude of development trends to cater to different consumers, providing holistic solutions whilst extending the outreach into new domains. It forced development and enabled mankind to create solutions to meet these needs in pursuit of growth, innovation and profits, ultimately and simultaneously contributing to better quality of life and higher standard of living. The ease of access also allows for an ‘on-the-go solution’ where end users can easily perform complex tasks through their mobile smartphones or tablets, with data connection and data synchronization present. Cloud infrastructure hosted by giants in the industry allows for storage of personal data, documents, photos and contact details to be made readily available to the end user irrespective of location and depending on network data. This, paired with wireless technology, then makes it possible to perform these operations whilst in transit and no longer constrains users to a specific location, thereby fast-tracking operations. Speech-to text-operations, mobile reminders, calendar synchronization and innovative predictive text makes life easier to the end user, offers an array of solutions and when used effectively can certainly benefit us in being more productive. The increase of data collected certainly comes with a fair amount of scrutiny and skepticism, which may be justified in some sense. However we cannot disregard the overall benefits this technology offers just because of uses we don’t always agree with. It would be foolish to discredit the utility of data collection in society, especially if we don’t understand it fully. To be successful and adaptable to change we must be able to entertain ideas beyond our cognitive ability and voice these through dialog. Cookies, shared information, and feedback surveys are some of the ways in which browsing

options are flagged to the custodians and then helps those organizations provide more meaningful results and options to the end user. Algorithms are created to cater to these operations and provide meaningful outputs to users, but requires data to be acquired with a fair understanding of the user’s behavior. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are terms which are near synonymous with the digital revolution and certainly allow a strong case of optimism for humanity where the pursuit of convenience and customized solutions is concerned. With that said, the dominant tendency of humanity was to be skeptical about new technology whenever it was first introduced. However, over time, people begin to accept and embrace the new technology. We should therefore look to the innovations being pursued on a daily basis globally to help solve problems which we experience on a daily basis. There are problems which technology can solve in our lives while making parts of our lives more convenient and comfortable. This need for convenience and comfort introduces us to a new technological age, the fourth Industrial Revolution, where big data and analytics are essential to all sectors of business and have a direct impact in our daily lives. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are pioneering a new way forward, with algorithms leading the way to major breakthroughs in all spheres of business and changing the way we perceive the world. From facial recognition and surveillance, to machine learning and deep learning effortlessly predicting outcomes better than humans, to autonomous vehicles, humanity has come a long way in incorporating and accepting technology of this extent into our daily lives. We must be grateful for the goods and services generated through innovative out of the box thinking and acceptance of new ways of doing things. Smart devices offer us a new way of life to suit our convenience and perhaps increase our likelihood of happiness, as perceived by our own internal definition of the term. Futuristic thinking and developing with our future in mind is an essential part of evolution and cannot be ignored. We can’t always understand trends in the present, as we live through them, and sometimes need to be detached from situations to be constructive, to think and act objectively. That’s why we are now relying on complex and robust algorithms, deep learning methods to help us create solutions efficiently to challenging situations. Contemporary solutions are manifesting at a rapid rate, with many new innovations pioneering an exciting future ahead.

Chapter 1: Technology Is Being Perfected by the Smartest In Every Generation We find ourselves in a world with a multitude of problems that have been inherited from generations past, some of which are socially constructed challenges. Such challenges include poverty, diseases and war. We have also exacerbated some existing problems which threaten the future of humanity such as over-population, cybersecurity, hacking and climate change as a result of mass production to cater to a growing population. Many of these problems which we face in society today are complex problems which require deep analytical thinking and creative solutions. To solve these complex problems in the fast-paced global landscape we face today requires new and innovative technologies coupled with research and experience from the past. Methodical solutions requiring a careful approach are warranted to ensure we face these challenges and develop viable solutions to address these problems. These solutions are developed with an emphasis centered around convenience, ease of deployment, automation and affordability.

Positive Opportunities from Technology There are many challenges which we find ourselves immersed in today, on a societal level to a national level. There are also problems we face on a larger scale, as a global population, which are incredibly complex. Considering all factors involved thus requires a reliance on technology to assist us in solving them. Problems pertaining to the environment, like heavy reliance on mining of oil and coal (fossil fuels) now advocating for fracking for shale gas and carbon monoxide fumes from exhausts of motor vehicles to be reduced. Desire to alleviate carbon monoxide emissions from motor vehicle exhaust fumes resulted in the development of the electric car (eg. Tesla created by Elon Musk). Other factors needing technological intervention include disease alleviation strategies (requiring rapid research on vaccine development for COVID-19 and treatment for HIV/AIDS). Other problems include overpopulation and fear of Earth’s crust being displaced due to the

unproportionate amount of people distributed in continents around the world. The unequal distribution means some parts of the world are sparsely populated and others extremely densely populated, and this was one of the factors advocating for space/Mars exploration by private companies like Blue Origin (Jeff Bazoz owned) and SpaceX (Elon Musk owned) (Hern, 2021). More emphasis placed on health and biological challenges requiring technologically intervention were aided with amputated limbs (3D prosthetic limbs) and the early identification of impaired brain functions (through brain scanning imagery). New technologies, besides requiring extensive research, resources and funding, are fundamentally predicated on data and the acquisition of data. Data collected informs technology giants and developers what is needed and what is realistic to improve the human experience. Over the course of history there have been several innovative technological advancements in many subdisciplines which have laid the foundations for a more successful future which many of us unknowingly enjoy today. Sacrifices of past out-of-the-box critical thinkers have contributed to these revolutionary devices which are available for us today and make daily tasks more accessible, affordable and provide a level of convenience in our lives. To better understand the impact of technology from an historical perspective and the way it shaped our evolution, we can look at the role it played in the facilitation in economic development and globalization post World War Two. Technology played a profound role in driving economic globalization and stability by facilitating effective trade and establishing a medium for new relations. Technology allowed for effective correspondence, quicker response times, consolidation of information and easier travel mediums to ensure networking and growth could boost economies. Other factors, such as the production of goods from raw materials, rapid industrialization and mass production allowed for more exports which were met with a rise in the logistics sector. It was during this period that the rise of several transnational corporations began and the prominence of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) became evident to nations worldwide. In an attempt to catapult the economy to success, these nations developed new infrastructure to facilitate streamlined production, lower operational costs and boost exports, which became great assets to the host nation in the long term and aided development.

Skeptics Against Technology Fully realizing the possibilities created as a result of the development and adoption of technology requires that the technology be accepted by society. Although there may be a fair bit of skepticism around the security of the technological item, we should not discard something of value to our lives because of a minor fault. We tend to sometimes accept the assumption made by the broader society instead of making our own moral judgements. It’s sometimes easy to be judgmental and discard technologies when they don’t suit our needs, an example is when someone requires 3D prosthetics; only when someone requires this technology will that person welcome the use of it, while the broader society may continue to question the technology and be skeptical of it. As members of an ever-changing world, predicated on convenience and luxury, we need to stop being so critical about those advancements that are made available. In a modern context, we sometimes use technology irresponsibly, creating a problem then blaming the technology instead of taking responsibility for our actions. An example would be signing up to a dodgy third party application on our mobile phones or using social media which gathers data about our actions, then being concerned about how the collection of data could be used in the future and what other personal information is being shared. Technology helps us reach a higher standard of living, and improves the quality of our lives for our parents and guardians in the past, us in the present, and our children and grandchildren in the future. In our current day and age, we find ourselves at a crossroads in which we can only consolidate, accept and understand situations that are backed by empirical evidence. We place a tremendous emphasis on sticking within the confines of what we know, and simultaneously discredit the introduction of new technologies. So, our moral reality is shaped around being cynical of new technological advancements, especially when these innovations are being introduced rapidly. This leaves us in a paradox of being skeptical with regards to the progression of technology when it falls out of our domain of expertise, yet welcoming technology which suits our convenience. An example is if we were told that scientists are researching a way to clone humans or backup our memories to implant into a different biological entity, that would seem strange to us, and is immediately discredited. Conversely

when we’re told that a mobile phone is developed with an artificial intelligence technology that unlocks the device by scanning our face or by a voice command, it’s highly praised. Acceptance of technology can vary between generations and age groups over time, where some older citizens may remain more conventional in their approach to the world while younger citizens tend to be more open to new innovations on the presupposition that it makes life easier. That being said, certain elements of technology and the convenience it offers, impacts people of various age groups differently such as Generation X (ages 39-54), Millennials (ages 23-38), Generation Z (ages 7-22) (Dimock, 2019).

Innovations Through Technology Technology has not only expanded our economies worldwide but has assisted in ensuring affordability for the average person and low-income earners to own electronic devices such as mobile phones, Android tablets, Apple iPads, PC’s and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). It has allowed for ease of access with developments in Bluetooth technology, wireless internet and wireless infrastructure such as wireless keyboards, mouse and headsets. Platforms such as Kindle, Audible and the rise of popularity of e-books have certainly played a huge role in our learning development and allowed for us to become involved with more complex ideas and understanding of the world around us. It has facilitated a widespread knowledge and great ideas and allowed us to become exposed to thoughts which we would not easily have stumbled across which helps us function better as individuals and then holistically as a society and nation. It has influenced younger generations to become leaders within their own communities and has certainly allowed for the end user to be engaged in material electronically thereby more accessible. The introduction of Podcasts allowed us to be immersed in long form dialog and necessary debates globally and discuss ideas. The exchange of ideas is certainly beneficial where key players have the greatest of interests at hand, striving to unite humanity under a certain ethos, that humanity is a divine entity and should pursue the greatest possible existence we can conceptualize. In doing so, taking on responsibility and making the work a better place to improve the standard of living across

borders and barriers and ensure that we have the ease of conveniences and a host of ideas available for our usage. Podcasts cater to the necessity for dialog and conversation around complex issues in the world, particularly in the United States of America with open, fair discussions. These discussions are usually on controversial issues to help us move forward positively as nations. Such topics include the equality of outcome versus equality of opportunity, gender neutral pronouns, cancel culture and manipulation of speech to suit the ideologies of people who want to dictate linguistic control in society. These contemporary matters discussed certainly have great utility and bring these conversations to the attention of those concerned or affected by them so they can be dealt with in a civil manner and prevent unnecessary turmoil from breaking out. Throughout history, advancement has tended to streamline things. Take the earliest computers. When they were first developed, computers were very large compared to what they are today. Today, a large percentage of functions that can be run in the computer are now available and can be run on mobile devices. The first mobile device was created by Motorola many years ago, and it proved to be a great revolution in communication technology at the time. The innovation of the CD-ROM in computers pioneered the way for digital technology and digital data to be saved. Within households, the advancements of the CD-ROM led to the creation of DVD drives, which led to the USB memory sticks and SD cards which are now available and widely used by the broader society. Digital cameras enable us to take better quality pictures and high-resolution videos instantaneously. Digital technology has also paved the way for image analysis and image rectification that helps to solve complex crimes. It also helps monitor surveillance in sensitive areas for crime and vulnerability assessments within certain districts. Environmental data collection has pioneered the way for disaster relief strategies and preparing for forecasted environmental disasters due to satellites and sensors which acquire data. Arguably one of the largest and most effective technological advancements of our time has to be the development and deployment of the World Wide Web —the internet. It has had perhaps one of the greatest impacts on humanity of all technological advancements, shaping the way we live and the values which we predicate our lifestyle on. In the present day, the internet has a tremendous influence in our lives, which we use for research, reading,

watching videos, catching up on the news and informing our actions. Irrespective of the reasons we browse the internet, through Google Analytics and Google Ads, information about our activity is captured and useful suggestions are made to us. Over time these suggestions subliminally reshape the way we think and, in many cases, put us on a new trajectory. The advent of the internet allows for a vast amount of information to be at our disposal and enables us to get data rapidly and access forms of primary and secondary data depending on our needs. Together with the internet, speed began to be a relatively big issue and the capacity to handle these speeds was provided by telecommunication companies and networks throughout the world. It was accessible to older members of society, as well as the younger generation, to help guide and pioneer effective decision-making, making us competent in the process.

Cellphones’ Embedded Technological Benefits Browsing the internet, data connections, data synchronization and wireless networks are very accessible on smartphone devices. Smartphones also contain the most innovative features incorporated today which would have seemed practically impossible years ago. With data analysis and security comes the issue of privacy and the need to protect oneself from being hacked, hence cybersecurity has also been a discipline gaining decent traction in recent years. The deployment of facial recognition technology to unlock smartphones is easily accessible and provides the user with an alternative method of using their device as opposed to conventional practices. Biometric sensors on smartphones also assist in the scanning of fingerprints to perform certain functions and are linked with unlocking a smartphone. Again, this is another technological advancement which was not always present and revolutionized the platform for smartphones since its deployment years ago. The rise of artificial intelligence has pioneered functionality on smartphones that allowed for camera artificial intelligence and Bixby Routines (on Samsung devices) that customize your phone to operate within a certain manner. Bixby Routines customize notifications and manage your connectivity, such as allowing for Wi-Fi to be turned on or off by default when in a certain

environment (work/home) and regulate sound and display. They have built-in functionality that takes care of your health and well-being through applications whilst regulating your phone's activities depending on the situation, like battery life available, limiting browsing time on social media or Youtube or study/focus modes. Focus modes are similar, intended to give the end user control over their smartphone experience and the control of automations based on user preferences. There are other features that smartphones have nowadays for use by people with disabilities such as visual impairments and hearing loss. Such visibility improvements include high contrast fonts and colors, as well as color inversions, color filters and magnifications amongst other aspects. Hearing enhancements include the amplification of sound and built-in live transcribe which converts spoken word to text. These are just some of the innovations that are available today, which allow technology to be used by everyone in society including toddlers, teenagers, parents, grandparents and people with disabilities. It also ensures that everyone, including those who are disadvantaged, has an equal opportunity to thrive in the digital age. We might find ourselves asking fundamental but necessary questions as to how these technological advancements would benefit us as people and members of society today. Although there’s no clear and set answer, our perception of reality makes a fundamental difference as to how we conceptualize the necessity for these technological revolutions and advancements together with how they could benefit our lives. They have great utility in propelling us into the future like the element of exploration.

Technology Is Always Evolving Understanding exploration helps us to build the devices necessary to make exploration possible, whether this is space exploration, land exploration or even ocean exploration. Technology is always being upgraded and modified as a result of ambition and comprehensive research done backed with scientific knowledge to allow us to explore new territory. The need for exploration is sometimes backed by curiosity and, more importantly, to investigate the potential for the extraction of natural resources and, in the case of Mars exploration, possibly to investigate the ability of humanity to

colonize other planets one day. Essentially, research into science and technology improves our quality of life and sometimes drives us to explore the likelihood of other places or planets on which to sustain human life. If we look at ourselves in our daily lives, from the automobile, to our smartphone devices, to television access and internet data connectivity, to smart watches, all of these things and devices can’t be looked at individually. These should be looked at from a holistic perspective, under the banner of technology which has not always been prevalent. These should be conceptualized as technology which needs to be created at some point and when integrated adds to the convenience we enjoy in our daily lives. These devices often are synchronized together, to provide us with a solution irrespective if we are at our place of residence or if we are out, synching information through wireless networks are all around us in cafes, malls, eating outlets and theatres. Many of the mainstream technological devices are affordable and available to members of society, and as competition increases, the cost of owning some devices radically decreases and in doing so makes it easier for variability of ownership across socio-economic households. We can choose something that suits our pricing. We can select something that's affordable to all of us. In doing so, ensuring that not only 1% of the world have access to these thriving new solutions instead, can now be available to the wider public where everyone can benefit from these advancements. These technologies are made available not only to the technologically adept members of society but also extends to all members in society. The adaptability of electronic devices and technological revolutions apply from toddlers, to the youth, to teenagers, parents and grandparents. Provisions for people with disabilities or impaired vision have also been made. Gone are the days where full-stack developers are needed for basic operations like website design.Instead, through plugins such as Elementor for Wordpress, web design can now be managed by dragging and dropping items, only requiring basic computer literacy and a skill for style. Now, this does not render full-stack developers obsolete, because they are still heavily valued for complex tasks and to grapple with code in the manner which is required is no trivial task. It just illustrates the extension of tasks to regular members of society today, which were almost reserved for more skilled individuals previously.

Chapter 2: Machine Learning is Learning Faster Than Humans Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence embodies the intelligence of a machine to solve complex problems and usually offers many alternatives to the problem at hand. Artificial intelligence embedded within machines is initially programmed by humans, usually with humans’ goals in mind. Now, the goals may vary and the fact that the technology is now possible doesn’t justify the fact that it can be manipulated for negative actions. Technology can be adopted in whichever way the user sees fit, such as the utility of brain scanning imagery machines for the greater good or to hack and manipulate classified data of a country. The justification and liability fall upon humanity for the creation of such technology. So, AI is technology created by humanity with a certain purpose in mind and ranges from technological software and hardware to benefit us in our daily lives; space exploration; biometric devices; medical usage; aiding with prediction models in the financial sector; warfare and helping us make more informed decisions in general. AI has been getting enormous popularity, especially within the last decade, with many scientists and researchers understanding the significance of AI and the benefits it has in our daily lives within the disciplines mentioned above. AI reinforces the narrative that humans are limited in their ability to expand on patterns, understand trends and process large amounts of information without errors. AI aims to create smart machines to try and replicate the ability that humans have to think, in some sense making the machines autonomous—to be able to function independent of human intervention.

Stigma Associated with AI and Machine Learning

We often hear about the similarities and differences of AI and human intelligence, as we adopt the presupposition that AI is negative and will threaten humanity. Firstly, there is no guarantee that AI is negative. It depends on the user of the technology, the same as a cellphone and a teenager. A cell phone isn’t a negative bit of technology as it can benefit the teenager with research, communication with parents and stay updated on latest news globally and locally. However, if the teenager decides to use ageinappropriate websites and sensitive content then it’s irresponsible usage on the part of the teenager, requiring appropriate intervention from the parents. It doesn’t make sense to critique technology, which has given us the means to do bad things, more than critiquing the individuals. Technology can and must be used for better things. Another stigma associated with AI is that it can threaten humanity, and is similarly absurd, but is more hypocritical, as the claims are made by people who enjoy other benefits of AI without their realizing that it is AI, like algorithms for their internet browsing suggestions on Google and social media based on their patterns, which they perceive as “convenient” and welcome. Through research, science, technology and statistical modelling, complex developing world challenges such as poverty, food security, essential services and healthcare are being addressed. AI and machine learning make it possible to run complex algorithms which improve over time to solve problems from a perspective based on the data it acquires, as opposed to solely through the lens of humanity. In hindsight, multivariate solutions are provided by these technologies and the best, most suitable solutions pertaining to the context are made available.

Human Intelligence Versus Artificial Intelligence AI varies from the traditional understanding of human intelligence, as it is embedded within machines and technology so is not associated with an actual human being. Another fundamental distinction worth noting is that AI has previously not been associated with experiencing any empathy and any consciousness, however that is changing rapidly, with new research being done in the field of science to change that. Projects like Baby X are progressing very quickly in teaching AI technology to experience the proclivity of the end user and understand their emotions after algorithms run over time. Such innovations, pioneered by machine learning and deep

learning methods, will be covered later on in this book. Perhaps a convincing case for optimism of technology over human intelligence can be found by discussing the game of Go, which was revolutionized through machine learning technologies. Go, a game that in some way resembles chess in complexity, is even more difficult to play due to the wide variety of moves available. It’s a game predicated around conquering more territory by the end of the game than your opponent. An example of AI in action can be drawn from DeepMind Technologies, which was later bought by Google, and their breakthrough in the field of machine learning. AlphaGo is a program which plays Go, and therefore has to navigate the endless combinations which make it a challenging game to play. The DeepMind Technologies team used machine learning and artificial intelligence to create AlphaGo, a game which is simulated by the computer and runs on algorithms to play. It played against many humans to learn the game and understand their moves and was then able to make better moves after a certain number of games played. Thereafter, AlphaGo played thousands of games against itself, to learn how to play the game, and was thereafter able to make better moves. As the algorithm learned and gained input through playing with others and itself, the system improved overall. AlphaGo proved its strength and gained popularity when it played against a professional Go player of ninth dan ranking, Lee Sedol (Chen, 2016). When it beat the world champion Lee Sedol, the game was televised, and the broadcast made clear the capabilities of AI. It showed us how AI can shape our future and the way we live our daily lives. The basis on which this technology was formulated could certainly be a step forward, influencing the way algorithms run and learn our behavior over time. This algorithm was then improved again, after beating the world champion, to learn the game from scratch and progress at a much more rapid rate. It was able to rapidly reduce the duration in which it was able to surpass the skill level of Lee Sedol, and thus developed a much improved algorithm. It found new moves based on its previous knowledge through machine learning (Chen, 2016). Generally, other board games such as checkers and chess can be solved by using a minimax algorithm. Go has many more outcomes than a game of chess has, for each state there are another 300 actions which are possible in the game of Go. In games such as Go using the minimax method, a comparatively simpler algorithm, wouldn’t be sufficient to predict an

opponent's moves. A more complex algorithm is required. AlphaGo predominantly uses a Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) algorithm where a search tree is created, many possibilities are considered along with the consequences of each move, and then a move is made. A new board position is then created and the search tree is expanded. It’s a more complex algorithm that allows for endless possibilities (Hui, 2020). What this experiment of creating AlphaGo and beating the current world Go champion demonstrated, was the power that AI has when compared against humans. At this point in time, the computer program AlphaGo wasn ‘t capable of feeling emotion and empathy and was therefore accepted as being unbiased. However, examples later in the book discuss the innovations in AI emotion and reacting to their environment. There are some situations that exhibit better results when AI is not capable of being influenced by emotions that may result in biased decisions being made. Objective results can be derived from the use of AI and eliminating emotions. It also holds the possibility of unlocking new challenges in the future, predicated on the algorithms that we created in this machine learning technology called AlphaGo. It demonstrates the ability and potential of AI, together with the power which can manifest from the algorithms which learn to mimic our moves. It also helps maintain consistency, efficiency and provide better methods to complete challenging tasks.

Machine Learning Within the field of AI there are many sub-disciplines very closely related which specialize in achieving a desired result. For example, under the category of AI there’s a concept called machine learning (ML). ML is the capability of machines to run algorithms over time, and understand patterns, trends of users to provide better results and meaningful insight. An algorithm is usually a mathematical expression used to define a set of actions in response to the variables of a given situation. AI algorithms relate to search engines, where algorithms are run to provide the closest results, together with suggestions based on pre-existing data. The same can be said for shopping online; the platforms usually identify the user who is logged in and when a purchase is about to be made in the check-out basket, then a suggestion is

made to pair with the item purchased based on the user’s past shopping history or frequently globally paired items on the site. Machine learning essentially extracts information from data, especially large datasets, and then makes predictions. In doing so, it understands the patterns of the information it analyzes and makes new predictions based on it. Some examples include Google’s search predictions and suggestions based on user account information or Facebook friend suggestions based on mutual friends.

Supervised Versus Unsupervised Learning Approaches Under the umbrella of machine learning there are two major approaches widely adopted by the scientific community, called supervised and unsupervised learning. Supervised learning usually entails specific algorithms to be developed which learn from both test data and input from users for the desired result. As the algorithm runs over time, using test data to categorize the data based on the user's preferences, the algorithms become more accurate and useful in our daily lives. Some of the algorithms associated with supervised learning are active learning, classification and regression. The algorithms learn to understand all the different scenarios which they have experienced. They learn to also predict future outcomes and act autonomously (independently, without the influence of humans) in a given situation. On the other hand, unsupervised learning makes use of unclassified data samples, without any input from the end user, and relies on trends and patterns to make informed decisions. The underlying basis is derived from the patterns of the vector data already existing in the system, therefore the grouping is a response which the algorithm is familiar with.

Deep Learning Under the classification of machine learning (including supervised and unsupervised learning approaches) is a concept called deep learning. Deep learning is a type of learning approach of machine learning which falls under the larger concept of AI. It essentially interprets data irrespective of it being

supervised, semi-supervised or unsupervised. Deep learning also disseminates that data, and classifies the data into various categories, and,whilst doing so, runs algorithms to create multiple different combinations and form new networks of data. This process is referred to as artificial neural networks (ANN). Artificial neural networks are predicated on the human brain and the way in which we are capable of learning new activities, and are then applied through deep learning methods. To better understand how artificial neural networks function, we need to have a very basic understanding of the human brain and how we learn. An example of AI implemented in restaurants will follow, thereafter the next chapter will open with discussions on the human brain and neuroplasticity (the process which artificial neural networks aim to replicate). That will provide us with a comprehensive overall understanding of the concepts discussed here.

Implementation

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Artificial

Intelligence

in

Restaurants When we think about restaurants all we think about is tasty food, good company, busy dining experience, customer service and hopefully an understanding waiter who can make good food suggestions. That is the conventional understanding of dining. However, that has changed, like other things, with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. From machines which prepare soft drinks and ice-creams, to fully automated machines that prepare tantalizingly delicious meals and have goods delivered in restaurants, it’s clear that machinery is fundamentally changing our conventional norms from eating to food preparation and food deliveries. These make for a high-tech experience, which minimizes human contact, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and a future where unnecessary human contact will be limited. Many of these automated robotic systems entail programming in the initial steps to allow the robot to perform certain functions in restaurants. Some are semi-automated and some are fully automated. In semi-automated places customers are usually directed to a table of preference or, where the restaurants are fully automated, the customers secure a table using a QR code

through a mobile smartphone application. There are things like robotic arms at the bar area that prepare drinks for customers. These restaurants may contain very limited staff just to oversee the general functionality of the restaurants. Customers usually scan a QR code to order food and the food will then be charged electronically, or sometimes come directly off customers bank account or through a third party application approved by the restaurants. Robotic arms are generally involved with the preparation of food in these new, innovative restaurants with everything like, for example, a burger. From gathering the buns to squirting sauce on the buns, using suction cups to perform certain features, frying the burger patty and placing it within the bun. It also includes the assembling and packaging of the burger, at which points, customers would scan a QR code, get their meal and go back to the table in which they received it at ease. Some technologies for delivering food rely on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chips that locate the customers seating location in the restaurant, and an array of sensors. This system avoids human contact (Agbai, 2020). Upon ordering, customers also have an indication as to how much of each item is left, to know if it would be enough for them to place the order. This also helps with stock taking and supply chain management for the store to replenish stock. However, as convenient as these technologies are, there are many problems which can arise from having automated restaurants apart from the fear of job loss within the restaurants sector. The machinery itself can prove to be a problem. If customers accidentally have items added on to the burger which they did not initially request, or if the machine squirts too much or too little sauce, it could leave a customer dissatisfied. Some of the machinery could actually squash some of the food items, which would impact the presentation of the food and also lead to unhappy customers. Scanning QR codes can also be problematic at times, with people fearing for the security of their information. You have to be wary of the possibility of hackers getting control of the QR system. Machines which bring the food to your table can also be suspended from the ceiling and may be dirty; they could then fall within the food. So, these machines have to be cleaned regularly to prevent this from happening (Agbai, 2020). So, with this, we see many examples of AI and machine learning employed at restaurants. From the robotic arms to having a robot manually make its way to your table to deliver food items before navigating its way back into the

kitchen, which has its routes programmed. Many coffee shops worldwide now use machines to make coffee which cashiers hand over to customers and streamlines efficiency to the manufacturer.

Chapter 3: The Algorithms Know Us Better Than We Know Our Self The Human Brain & Neuroplasticity In the past, it was a common misconception that, when we are small, we have a tremendous ability to learn but, as time progresses and we age, this ability to learn new concepts is compromised. This is just not true. In fact, it cannot be further from the truth. Our ability to learn is not compromised as we age. The use of brain scanning imagery was fundamental in clearing this misconception. However, other factors limiting the expansion of our knowledge are the vast consumption of data through the internet and social media. Technology should serve as a metaphorical emissary to our existing knowledge. It should only serve as an extension of our current skill set and it would be unwise to solely and purely rely on technology to serve us as we travel through life.

Digital Deluge and Digital Dementia Mr. Jim Kwik refers to a term called Digital Deluge which basically means that in the modern day, we’re exposed to lots of information (Kwik 2020). We’re unable to grasp everything. We try to rapidly learn new concepts and master them within a short period of time to be productive, however, in trying to take in so much information, we actually take in nothing. And so, an essential part of real learning takes place when we have some sort of down time, when we’re not immersed in any activity, and we give ourselves time to understand the task. Kwik also talks about Digital Dementia, a concept which means that, in our contemporary society, we’re exposed to too much information. This is especially common over social media, where we briefly see a post online and feel as if we know the concept. We feel as if we know this information, but we don't. A good test would be if we were asked to speak extemporaneously about a subject matter that we learned online or

heard about, we would struggle to convey our understanding of the concept easily. Although we may feel as if we know it, when it comes time to write or speak about it, we struggle. That's partly due to the rapid availability of information and big data reinforces the narrative.

Human Memory Systems We have two types of memory systems. We have recognition memory and recall memory. Recall memory is a much deeper form of memory, and when we understand a concept and are exposed to it, we are then able to convey the concept stored in our memory. We’re able to recall it whenever we need to. Now, when we are exposed to a new idea or new activity, it enters the short circuit memories in our brain and stays there. If we leave this there and do nothing with it, over a period of time, it will dissipate and be lost again, and we won’t know the concept we had been immersed in, when we were in the moment. However, if we continue to expose ourselves to an idea or activity over a period of time, from our short-term memory, it makes its way into the long-term memory circuits of our brain. When it is in our long-term memory circuits of the brain, it’s at a point where we are able to act out the new activity whenever we need to.

The Left and Right Brain Functionality Now, we know that, within the brain, we have two hemispheres: a left hemisphere and a right. In between those two hemispheres we have something called a Corpus Callosum, which are essentially telephone-like wires between both our hemispheres of the brain, that transmit messages to each other. Now, the left hemisphere of the brain is partly associated with the known. It entails everything that we know about, it optimizes our functions for the day. It automates our day, it learns daily routines, it's associated with logic and with reasoning. We try to draw patterns using our left hemisphere; it focuses on speech. Our right hemisphere is associated with chaos or the unknown; what's not known to us. This part of our brain is primarily activated during times when we are exposed to great danger. When we’re immersed in our fight or flight response, our right hemisphere becomes more dominant. The right hemisphere deals with nonverbal cues and empathy.

Now that we know our brain is divided into a left and right hemisphere, we can look at the circuitry of the brain, particularly at something called neurons. You have approximately 86 billion neurons firing as you read a piece of text (Kwik, 2020). Now, the firing of neurons basically transmits information to different parts of your brain. You have these receptors and neurons in your brain, and when neurons are fired, it forms a new neural network and establishes a connection where there was no connection previously. Now, as you keep learning new activities, for example, as a child learns to tie their shoelaces by practicing over a period of time, the knowledge moves from short-term memory to long-term memory. And once it’s known, the child is able to recall this action. As that happens, a neural network forms from one neuron to another. You can imagine it as nodes which represent the neurons in your brain and the neural networks are strings connecting them. You can look at it as connecting two different nodes in a network, which form new connections when newly learned activities or tasks are done repeatedly over a period of time. So that's a quick discussion of what neural networks and neurons are; there's a term for it as well. It's called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is the ability for our brain to change its shape by an action and in its surrounding environments over a prolonged period of time (Kwik, 2020).

The London Cab Driver Study Perhaps a practical example of neuroplasticity in action may help us understand the concept easily. There was a study done on London cab drivers where drivers were asked to drive around the city, navigating through certain routes and attractions. Cab drivers who had their brains scanned later proved to have more gray matter in the hippocampus, and this demonstrated that their brains had been altered over time. They'd adapted to the routes around the city and the attractions and, as a result, formed new neural networks. This was caused because of a change in the environment, for example by a change in route, different landmarks which shifted and all of these over a period of time led to more grey matter in their hippocampuses. This also demonstrated that taxi drivers had better memory centers in their brain than others who did not drive taxis (Kwik, 2020). And so that basically proves that our brain is malleable, and it has the ability to change in response to our environment over time. So now we have a clear understanding of the consequences of

being exposed to new tasks and the phenomenon of neuroplasticity in our brain together. We can now understand how it affects the way in which we operate in the world. As far as changes are concerned, we can now clearly understand deep learning, machine learning and artificial intelligence in that regard. AI essentially tries to replicate the neuroplasticity of the human brain.

Soul Machines’ creation of Baby X Online HTML5 responsive websites, online help, FAQs and chatbots. What if we could take the wealth of knowledge in the backend and display a humanlike face to improve the user’s experience? What if an autonomous digital person could be used as a customer service representative to deal with customer queries as chatbots do? This could undoubtedly free up the capacity of employees to work on other, more challenging tasks that could add value to our daily lives as opposed to carrying out ad hoc monotonous queries per client. With the project called Baby X together with IBM Watson, we don’t have to imagine this. It has already been done. Baby X essentially relies on Object Recognition through viewing data and so, after seeing datasets multiple times, it can understand the feature and associate it with an emotion (Vance, 2017). The teammates of Soul Machines have been involved in a project called Baby X. They’ve done extensive work in movies like Avatar and King Kong in simulating AI in characters. Baby X is a project which aims to understand embodied consciousness, digital consciousness, and their creation in a digital real-like person. So this would require basic functionality and usage of the brain, looking at the brain stem, the cerebellum and the cerebral parts of your brain, their functionality, and how they work. The team at Soul Machines would have to understand artificial nervous systems, and create them using mathematical equations, creating facial muscles and understanding how the facial muscles link back to the brain. The team also attempted to gain an understanding of how the brain controls the face and limbs. The fundamental concept used in Baby X is deep learning and neural networks. In continuing to learn based on interactions from others, Baby X also makes use of reinforcement learning technologies, which indicate when

to replicate an action and when to avoid doing an action. Baby X is sensitive to voice and tone, so if the user shouts at Baby X, then the baby feels like crying, and you have to speak to the baby in a calming tone. There are also physiological factors that are taken into consideration, where Baby X feels when the baby is stressed. Then a response is given and produces digital cortisol at which point Baby X feels stressed. There is also digital dopamine which can be pumped up in Baby X. Baby X also has the ability to imitate expressions, read and say words out loud. The fundamental distinction is that Baby X isn’t just there to respond to what you say, but can actively learn from your behavior. Baby X is able to link associations between sound and activity. So if there's a loud noise Baby X can feel stressed, can react emotionally, can see you through your webcam and hear you through the microphone (Vance, 2017). The creators at Soul Machines want to understand how to make embodied consciousness in an autonomous digital being. They want to understand what makes us react the way we do, and what influences our ability to learn. As Baby X is complimented for doing certain actions, the user can see in real time as virtual neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin are released and light up relevant centers of the brain in the baby. It’s a cost effective, and captivating, way to deliver information and make the process of learning about the brain, embodied cognition and digital consciousness fun through animation. Now integrated with IBM Watson these autonomous beings are able to view you through a webcam and recognize emotions together with understanding your emotions based on tone and voice through your microphone. Baby X can also help us improve our interactions with babies and perhaps serve as a test run before actually having children. It can help with removing unnecessary anxiety in becoming parents. However, the fundamental aim is to create algorithms to better understand how our brain works, understand the link between chemicals, the brain and movements. Baby X can view an action like a facial expression, learn from it, and then copy certain reactions over time. Researchers hope to get to a point where the Baby X project can evolve in the direction of having the baby learn completely autonomously without intervention or with minimal intervention from humans. So, this ability to create provides an unlimited realm of possibilities for humanity and to get Baby X to actively work at research and developments in itself. This is

the aim: to get Baby X to be an autonomous individual in its own right and make its own decisions. Soul Machines also hope to have Baby X work at some point as customer service representatives and virtual assistants like the Google Home device and Amazon Echo products. Perhaps we could have digital employees in the future, who knows? The team at Soul Machines are at the forefront of revolutionizing a digital person and are improving their process and scripting to allow for a userfriendly Graphical User Interface (GUI) which saves time in creating characters. Creators can easily streamline the process of transforming the details pertaining to the character to suit their needs based on the application for the autonomous digital individual to be used within. Soul Machines are now paying actors to record their voices and commands, which can be used for characters in the future. Developers have been able to simulate the feeling of discovery which triggers the learning curve and adds to the characters ability to learn new functions (Vance, 2017).

Chapter 4: We Are Physically Dependent on Technology (Implantable) Neuralink – The Implantable Brain Chip When we think of artificial intelligence, we sometimes think of a technological apocalypse where machines take over. We’ve created a misconception where we assume we cannot live in harmony with technology or use the benefits of technology to improve the quality of our lives. There are numerous benefits of having AI-developed technology to improve the quality of our lives, especially from a physical health perspective. Before associating the stigma of change or imagining technology as being counterproductive, we should remember to take into account the benefits to our health that technology has produced. Such technologies like a synthetically created ventilator, which helps people breathe, watches which monitor your vitals and heart rate and brain scanning imagery all have an astounding positive impact in our daily lives (Anjana, 2018). Now, imagine being told there’s an implantable brain chip which can help gather information about the host it’s embedded within. A chip which not only gathers data but can be used to cure many disabilities within the host. An implantable chip which can actively regulate the way in which certain activities take place in the body and can re-code some functions which have deteriorated over time. When we entertain discussions about the Neuralink brain chip created by electronic car creator (Tesla) and private space exploration investor (SpaceX), Elon Musk. Neuralink is a company founded by billionaire Elon Musk to design an implantable chip with the goal of solving complex spine and brain related problems whilst improving other body/organ functions. As outlined earlier in this book, neuroplasticity is the adaptability of the brain related to the learning of a new skill or function performed over a period of time. When this happens, new neural networks form and connect to neurons to facilitate

the coding of this new activity within the brain. Neuralink essentially was tested by tracing the electric fields created when neurons fire and establishing the maximum distance that the Neuralink chip could be placed. The initial plan was to have the chip placed externally, ie. on the head of humans, however, since the distance was too great, that was not an option. The chip is implanted by drilling a tiny hole in the skull of a human, roughly the size of a coin, and attaching the wire-like fibers onto carefully selected neurons. The human skull is strong enough and can easily withstand this procedure (Anjana, 2018).

What is Neuralink Neuralink is at the forefront of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) integration connecting our minds with that of a revolutionary piece of technology. Now, as with every new technology, an elaboration of the installation method is crucial, especially when a device is going to be embedded onto your brain. Any surgery has its own set of risks and the potential for something to go wrong is not completely ruled out. However, it can be reduced significantly compared to similar surgeries in the past. The company hopes to completely automate the process of implanting the Neuralink chip.. A robot will be created which is automated together with a live real-time scan of the skull of the recipient, whilst having the chip fitted. The team have also indicated that the chip can be fitted without the host having to take a general anesthetic, to indicate how painless the procedure would be. Although it hasn’t been rolled out yet, its time is soon approaching Hence much of the process is conceptual at this time, but there has been a prototype in action. Testing has been done in pigs, monkeys and we could see the start of human trials in the later part of 2021. The team at Neuralink believes this contemporary technology creates a harmony with AI and finds it to benefit us in current times, as opposed to being in contest with reality (Anjana, 2018).

Why Should I Have Neuralink Fitted Into My Skull In life, accidents happen, things go wrong and sometimes these things have

enormous consequences to the health of human beings. When things go wrong, when our health has deteriorated, and we have physical ailments, it can affect our quality of life and limit us. Now, again, this new technology may be easily rejected from the beginning by many people, but when someone suffers from a severe stroke and cannot move their limbs, and there is a possibility to help, that person would jump at the opportunity. The restoration of limb functionality in victims suffering from a stroke is believed to be possible after having the Neuralink chip fitted. Some of the other benefits include aiding people with disabilities to use their mind to change television channels by sending signals as a remote controller will do. This chip can help cure people who have existing conditions like Alzheimer’s, Depression, Parkinsons, Dementia, and spinal cord injuries. The chip has also been said to have the ability to restore the eyesight of an individual who has lost their optic nerve. If an individual suffers from epilepsy the chip can intercept the signal and prevent epileptic seizures from occurring by emitting counter pulses. Further claims made by the team include restoring parts of the brain circuitry when damage has been done (depending on the state of the brain). We may have the opportunity to save our memories into the Neuralink chip and perhaps back that information up into another biological entity. In some weird way this means perhaps our memories can remain behind, our memories could live on forever (Anjana, 2018).

Neuralink Trials The team have also demonstrated how a chip was fitted in pigs in an experiment called 3 little pigs. One pig had no chip implanted, one had a chip and one had a chip and had it removed. Another pig in the experiment had multiple chips inserted. The pig with a chip inserted demonstrated the neural spikes being emitted when she sniffed around the place where the demonstration was happening. Apart from pigs, another trial was done by implanting a Neuralink into a monkey. A monkey was hooked up and connected to play video games with its mind. Those trials were extremely positive in demonstrating the positive impacts the implantable chip has in a living organism, and can severely improve in disabilities associated with brain/spine issues and neural activity.

Chapter 5: Revelation 13 - The One Claiming to Be God Will Use It as Allegiance and Require It for Life With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which brings data and connectivity to our fingertips, we have a wealth of information at our disposal, whether it be for productive or counterproductive purposes. The policing of these technologies is a daunting task which cannot be fully achieved, however, we can establish frameworks for people to abide by. Now, with the accessibility of hackers to personal data, derived through spam emails, via unverified SMS and fraudulent banking activity, data security and governance becomes a real concern. Cyber-security is threatened as a consequence of the rapid development of technology and its adoption by malevolent individuals. This is made possible by the realization of big data and the online presence of personal information and company details. Many companies are now establishing their online presence and integrating services across desktop, mobile and cloud infrastructure. This usually contains sensitive data, that customers have to allow permissions or sign clauses to allow organizations to use the data for research purposes and, in some cases, inherit the data from their customers. An example is how mobile apps request access to your data or content on your phone and collect the information for their own purposes. Confidentiality gives consumers peace of mind in trusting businesses with their information, however, there’s no guarantee against risks such as hackers gaining access to the information. Bank databases can sometimes get hacked and customer information is leaked to hackers. These hackers can then try to use the information for scams, spam messages or to hack the customer’s finances. When this information falls into the wrong hands, it becomes a huge concern for the customer who trusted the business with the data. Integrity maintains that data is consistent and does not change many times through its life cycle, thereby posing problems for the relevant parties

involved. Poor data integrity also leads to making inaccurate predictions about data and impacting the business. It can also result in loss of funds invested in a financial sector or incorrect geospatial predictions made prior to developments. So ensuring integrity is of paramount importance that ties back with confidentiality and trust by the consumer to the business. The business therefore has a responsibility to customers to protect the data as best they can and use secure platforms in their daily operations. However, as much as data is a threat to the public as far as hacking or cyberbullying goes, our societies are predicated on these systems, for better or worse. We cannot discard the positives that emerge as a result of our reliance on these technologies afforded to us. With the good there are certainly shortfalls which will never realistically be eradicated, only alleviated, unless we view the world from a utopian perspective. We still rely on banking institutions to store our funds, we still invest in portfolios, we still purchase smartphones which continuously emit data over cell towers, and we still allow permissions to third party software and mobile applications. The sometimes-useful suggestions from Google Analytics and Ads make our lives easier and are convenient to us. However, we should still exercise caution and trust reputable infrastructure and related technologies. We must make informed decisions and perhaps avoid the unnecessary consumption of technological products which are available.

Being Responsible With Data Some of the issues around data in professional environments and business include avoiding sending passwords via social media platforms to peers, and avoiding clicking on unreliable spam-like emails. Hacking is a real possibility, hence secure malware and anti-virus software should be installed on machines and if there are virtual machines (VMs) used then a .bat file can be used to call a script to shut down and start the instance from another secure machine within the same domain. This protects the central repository of business data outside of working hours. Using secure password software extensions such as Lastpass and two-factor authentication to store and access passwords pertaining to the organization can be stored here. Two-factor authorization requires input from a secondary device, usually a smartphone,

from the user to accept and approve the request within a limited time allowance. Utilization of secure and recognized virtual private networks (VPN) such as Citrix or Cisco can assist in connecting to secure business server machines when outside of the public network. Regularly doing system health checks and scans can also aid in recognizing malicious files embedded within the system as a result of downloading content or through emails traded.

Examples of the Surveillance in Shenzhen In a city called Shenzhen in China, new technology and artificial intelligence has been pioneered beyond the limits that we could possibly imagine. AIbased facial recognition has grown extensively in the city, and in China as a whole. China has been fitted with over 200 million security smart cameras that now have systems in place that work with facial recognition and can spot criminals in real time. Criminals in an airport terminal, or a subway, any public space, get flagged with a red box around their face, in which officials can easily identify. Officials can then apprehend criminals with existing demerits against their name (Gan, 2020). Cameras are able to find people crossing the road at intersections when it isn’t officially time to cross. They then flag a picture of their face on a monitor near the intersection along the side of the road in an attempt to shame them for this act of defiance. That’s an example of AI and facial recognition in action and the level of detail in which the authorities can detect with the aid of technology. China also has a social security credit system where citizens are ranked on their activities, so regular offenders are flagged on the official database and face consequences over time. If they break rules, they lose points, and when they lose points, they lose privileges and they cannot travel. They cannot go see their families, they don’t get access to the best schools among other restrictions as a result of breaking rules, illegal acts of data interception and hacking (Gan, 2020). To further demonstrate the level of security and usage of technology for safety, we will look at another example. Some government complexes in China have a facial recognition system in place that allows access into the residential areas. A screen is displayed with a dashboard. The dashboard

displays information such as the frequency of residents in and out of the complex, the times, and amount of visitors who visit during a particular month. It’s live data and updated on the fly, which then is captured with relevant systems and synchronized with the necessary department for storage on a database. We’ve seen examples of how artificial intelligence and smart technology has been advancing surveillance and security for China. It may make its way to the rest of the world at some point and certainly has great utility in reducing crime. The fact that it works in real time further enhances the narrative of clamping down on criminals as crimes are being carried out since it’s real time data. It prevents criminals the luxury of time to escape and maximizes the amount of arrests made, to maintain security and safety. It also helps with decision-making and management of buildings. It helps identify potential risks before they happen. However, this could be seen as an invasion of privacy in some cases. The technology and the infrastructure are certainly available, it just depends on how humanity chooses to use them to its advantage within the limits of the law.

Chapter 6: The Importance of Growing in Understanding

of

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(Software

and

Programming) Throughout our lives, we have seen the introduction of new technology and have experienced the adoption of this technology in action. We have noticed the positive benefits this technology has in our lives and how it makes things more convenient for us. It helps us do certain tasks much quicker. Stuff that required a lot of effort now can be done in a few minutes. We have this notion of mass production; everything's become an automated process to reduce downtime while ensuring productivity and efficiency. The running of algorithms on machinery and computers now requires much less user input, which has freed us to look at other critical issues. Technology is shaping the way our future is going to be perceived and the way that broader society will conduct themselves in the world. Future generations will be able to pursue and complete much more challenging tasks in a quicker turn-around time, requiring much less input. Irrespective if we choose to accept it or not, the premise that we are in a fourth Industrial Revolution, centered on Big Data data, analytics, and technology, must be accepted. It's happening all around us and at a much larger scale than before. Complex tasks which we had to complete on our computers previously, we can now complete on our smartphones. From bluetooth technology to bluetooth headsets, to Chrome casting, screen mirroring technology and Smart TVs, the amalgamation of new technology is astonishing. It appears that all our luxurious devices have this capability to be connected and be manipulated in our own world. That's only the starting point of our technologies beginning to advance. The revolution that it's caused with regards to the medical industry such as 3D printing Prosthetics, artificial limbs, brain scanning imagery, all of it, has been innovative and fundamental in shaping our lives. It provides us with the technology to develop solutions against physical disabilities, viruses and to diagnose illnesses much quicker. Just look at the COVID-19 health pandemic. When all nations were

scrambling to develop a vaccine, mankind was able to work in unison to find a cure and develop a vaccine in record time. So, we’ve outlined some of the important aspects of why technology is important. It can be adapted into our lives. What we should understand is that we should all embrace this technology. We should try and update ourselves on this new information. We need to immerse ourselves in it and ride this digital wave. It's here to stay, so we might as well take full advantage of it. So, we might find ourselves asking what the benefits are of keeping up to date with technology? Well, it has a multitude of effects. It can benefit you in terms of your communication skills. It can allow for the effortless automation of your life. You can become more efficient. It could help boost your career. It can also boost your business. There are many elements and aspects of your life that you can implement technology within, over the next few paragraphs. We're going to look at some of the positive impacts that technology can have in aspects of your life.

Chapter 7: How to Grow Your Understanding of Technology Technology and Working Remotely Perhaps the most relevant example of technology in action from a contemporary point of view, would be looking at the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the influence technology has had in shaping this difficult period of time. A difficult period of time because, apart from the high death rate, many people’s financial stability was uncertain and many were working shorter hours. From a social point of view, technology played a pivotal role during a point in time when governments globally imposed nation-wide lockdowns. These lockdowns imposed by governments deemed it only necessary to be out of the comfort of our homes for essential items. Many families found themselves at home together all the time, which was uncommon in many households. Due to the nature of our perceptions of happiness, many worked very demanding jobs to align with their demanding debt to maintain a costly lifestyle indicating success. Doing so meant not spending enough time at home for leisure or not having enough of an overlap with other family members of the household, as the chaos of coming into and departing the house became a norm. So now that many people were working from home, instead of offices, they found themselves having more family time, whether they wished for it or not. It was the decision of many businesses to close down offices to save costs and implement indefinite work-from-home policies. This rendered many employees more efficient and complacent about the benefit that comes with working from home and convenience. However, it did mean limited interactions with people, and left many feeling isolated. Technology platforms sprouted up and came to the rescue as software such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Cloud infrastructure allowed us to communicate with our colleagues from the convenience of our homes and be able to make video calls. We were able to share our screen with colleagues and communicate our work progress whilst having important

board meetings online from home. This would prove to be an innovative solution that would shape the future, post-COVID-19, as organizations deemed it unnecessary to have offices. Also, during this pandemic social media platforms have been pivotal in maintaining the sanity of people in lockdown and ensuring some sort of communication with the outside world. Keeping up to date with friends and family, who brought some sort of nostalgic feeling back to them by seeing their faces after having a video call, during a time at which the news circulating was near universally bad, news such as rising infection rates, to death rates, disasters plaguing hospitals, the lack of medical equipment and the tears of frontline workers. A familiar friend or family member was out of reach, but we were able to communicate with them, not only hear their voice but also see their face through the benefits of technology. WhatsApp video calls, FaceTime, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, among others, all allowed us to speak to our friends and family. While doing so it also allowed us to keep up to date with jokes and funny videos. It also kept us up to date with news other than the catastrophic effects of the virus unfolding at a rapid rate and gave us some reassurance that we were not isolated, we still had our friends and family.

Technology In Business The landscape has suddenly changed, forcing us to change our old way of doing business and adapt to the circumstances with which we are faced today. The ways in which we operate are carried out with environmentally friendly and sustainable practices in mind. New measures to protect the environment, new technologies and new products are being developed at a rapid rate. Those, together with effective marketing to get the word out and advertising on behalf of a business, have had great benefits. From a business perspective, digital marketing has been one of the big new techniques adopted in recent times, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. And after COVID, it will certainly remain popular and revolutionize the way marketing and sales works. Marketing on social media platforms, like Tik-Tok, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, Twitter, has certainly been profitable in boosting

sales. The role of promoting technology in business has gained popularity through creating channels on YouTube and blogs. Organizations are able to market their skills and newly developed concepts effortlessly and easily. Running new software in beta version allows customers to use a piece of software before the official release and, in doing so, provide valuable feedback on changes which can influence the development of the final product. Advertising online allows for placement of paid advertisements, which gains popularity on search engines utilizing keywords and search engine optimization (SEO). Now, this has been revolutionary in gaining popularity, getting companies to pop-up as suggestions over a period of time, influencing their sales model and profitability. Digital marketing with search engine optimization, as we discussed, acts together with algorithms that run in the background of servers and search engines. This, together with browsers caching the way in which we search, certainly understands the way in which we browse the internet and allows for personalized and tailored suggestions based on our activity. This is something often adopted with integrations of Google and Facebook, like finding a searched item on Google within our Facebook application. Google Analytics and Google AdWords promote businesses and drive businesses to adopt a method which entails informed decision making based on the results found by Google Analytics. These technologies allow the business to understand the needs of the visitors on their website, they’re able to understand how many people visit the website, see the active users and their spatial distribution. Businesses are able to see what pages of the website customers actually look at, and what the bounce rates are (exiting the site after only seeing the landing page). Businesses are able to make decisions based on this and, in the case of a high bounce rate, may inform the business that their customers or potential customers are exiting too frequently after seeing the landing page. That could either mean that the website is considered outdated or of no value (could even be boring). Businesses are also able to enjoy the benefits of many analytical features, and standardized visualizations generated to help them understand and interpret the data much quicker than they could by reading lengthy reports. This also guides them along decision making, especially if they’re service providers like Fiber. The business can understand customer trends in a certain area, or a certain age category, and see which packages are most viewed, which packages are not so popular, and compare the sales per month between different Fiber packages and existing LTE bundles. It gives the

business more insight, when used effectively. They can easily gain far more customer data and business insights than in the past, when they would have been limited to field surveys or telephone contact. Besides, how many of us enjoy being called by every company we purchased something from, or dealt with to find out about our experience? It also helps inform the business which areas they should reduce work on, and which areas to allocate more resources to, in an attempt to grow laterally. By using Google AdWords, organizations are able to advertise products on their website by popping up within the first few links of a Google search, and each time their link is clicked, the business pays for that service. This brings in advertising in the hope of reaching more audiences and becoming a household name in their sector. How often a customer who clicks on their ad then actually purchases an item or uses the service is known as conversion rate. It indicates to the business that they’ve gotten a return on their investment for that particular ad. We've also seen the radical rise of online shopping during the pandemic. Not only did people purchase books, but daily goods, convenience items, and groceries all got a fair amount of attention. Services like UberEats became ever more popular, as people preferred to order food instead of having to go out and purchase them, which led to the businesses procuring more drivers and vehicles to cater for this service. From ordering online, this was both convenient for the buyer and also boosted sales for the seller. It was a win-win situation for both parties coupled with innovative secure online payment technologies like PayPal. These internationally recognized secure payment services gave consumers more trust in purchasing online, which businesses exploited to maintain their credibility and maximize on the experience and convenience element.

Riding the Technological Wave in the Fourth Industrial Revolution Sometimes in life, when an unforeseen circumstance takes place, we can either choose to make excuses or bemoan the situation itself. We can also hope that in time the situation will resolve itself and do nothing about our current predicament. Alternatively, we can embrace the situation and use the

resources at our disposal to thrive and simultaneously ensure we are not disadvantaged. The same options can be adopted for the fourth Industrial Revolution, big data, and data analytics. This revolution revolves around the notion of information, large amounts of data and technological advances. We can certainly make a case that it will be much better, and more beneficial to us in our daily lives, if we can get to grips with the latest technology and embrace it. To adopt it in our daily lives and make elements of it work for us in aspects of our lives for careers, communication, relationships or to thrive in our professional business. Whichever way we personalize it, and make it suit our availability, make it suit our convenience, in doing so it makes us more efficient. It also helps make us competent through studies, googling information and learning new trends in relation to our local community but also worldwide news through informative applications. Information is readily available through websites like Wikipedia, published journals which can be found online, questions answered on platforms like Quora and many other free sources of .pdf files that can be accessed online, as opposed to many years ago consulting hardcopy encyclopedias purely for research purposes. Programming languages such as Structured Query Language, abbreviated as SQL, PostSQL, Python and Java, have innovated the landscape and allowed for endless possibilities. It enables us to integrate these languages with other software to achieve our business needs, tasks usually undertaken by data architects, data scientists and analysts. These data driven roles are generally tasked with setting up the infrastructure to accommodate large volumes of data, ensuring speed, accessibility and safety are taken into consideration when these environments are set up. Data is then captured and converted into information, which allows data analysts to provide meaningful insight including dashboards (which will be mentioned shortly) to business analysts. These business analysts are responsible for using this extracted meaningful data together with the dashboard and interactive visualizations to incorporate it into reports and make predictions and assumptions. This is then presented to key stakeholders and personnel for large scale business decisions like opening a new branch, assessing the cost of operations in relation to the profit margin, identifying new opportunities and mitigating incidents at the workplace aligned with their Health and Safety protocols. Data visualization tools such as Power BI and Tableau have been at the forefront of visualization and dashboards. Power BI, for example, works with a multitude of different data sources and is easily integratable with an array of different

data sources simultaneously. Data can then be captured in real time through database tables, and updated on the cloud which can be accessed remotely by anyone with permission. Data can be captured by someone at the office through the desktop application and workers on the field which can all be synchronized (as long as there’s a data connection) and displayed immediately. This prevents the usage of static data and working on older datasets or models. The above-mentioned technological programming languages and data visualization tools have many benefits when used correctly and adopted to the correct application. If one were attempting to extend one’s own career and become more knowledgeable in a given domain, one should gain a basic understanding about these technologies and software packages, along with how to make it work for them. Without basic coding and visualisations, an organization would be fairly limited in exhibiting cutting-edge solutions in a contemporary and ever changing world. They would be doing themselves a tremendous disservice should they not embrace change and the new tools which are available at their disposal. Data needs to be stored somewhere, therefore knowledge and implementation about the major databases is highly encouraged to keep in the loop of technological possibilities. Databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, internationally renowned databases known for their capabilities and strengths, have easy integration with other third-party software, which allows for the storage of large data sets together with the easy query out of data sets. For those not too familiar with databases, basic software such as Microsoft Excel is also able to carry out and conduct complex analytical tasks. Microsoft Excel is capable of understanding distribution, conducting analysis of variance (ANOVA) and other complex statistical queries. Functions such as a vertical lookup (VLOOKUP) and horizontal lookup (HLOOKUP) help business sector operators easily link and call results from large data sets which they require. Excel is also able to generate interactive and powerful pivot tables and pivot charts. Microsoft Excel is an all-in-one package for data analysis and can be used as a flat file system by anybody. Now, many of these terminologies may sound difficult or confusing, especially if you’ve never been in the technology sector, however many publications like “Excel for Dummies” are available for purchase, which articulate core concepts easily to the reader. Also, thanks to online platforms and mobile applications,

these can now be easily learned from the convenience of your home, at your own pace. There are many institutions that offer short courses that teach this stuff that can be paid for, alternatively there are many platforms that offer these services for free. Some of these free courses you may not be given a certificate for, however, they demonstrate competence, especially at interviews, but you can upgrade to a certified option by paying a fee on some platforms. It also prevents you from falling out of the relevant domain made possible by online courses, such as LinkedIn Learning, edX and Udemy. Some universities are offering more short courses these days, taking into consideration the working class and those who do not have the luxury of attending full time. Google also has many free online courses that an individual could learn, together with geospatial sites such ESRI and Open Spatial. There’s excessive geospatial software available for basic cartographic mapping or building online GIS viewers which have GIS layers created and authored based on database tables. The layers are then displayed on the online viewer to make spatial assumptions and aids in development and decision making processes. These will certainly boost your knowledge and ensure that you're not disadvantaged and are kept up-to-date with the latest technology. Websites such as GitHub ensure that we’re up to date with the latest advice from specialists in the field and are able to assist us. For troubleshooting, we may require us to watch YouTube videos or a simple Google search on “how to” may provide relevant results in an instant. So it’s recommended to ride the technological wave, since it’s here in the present, and use it to our full advantage. We have endless possibilities available through cutting edge technologies and have the ability to effortlessly solve complex problems, which adds to the convenience element we can all enjoy. It’s recommended that we at least have some basic coding knowledge. We should try hard to gain some insight into at least one data visualization tool. We should have a fair bit of understanding about how databases work and integrate with the programs mentioned above to ensure that we are able to speak extemporaneously at interviews and demonstrate our knowledge. We should at least make use of Microsoft Excel in a way that allows us to conduct daily tasks without hindering our performance in any other sector. A simple yet effective technological software such as Excel doesn’t require specialists to operate it and can be learned by anyone. There are many online courses that we can learn. Some are free, some are paid for and will certainly boost our

knowledge over time. Website design is also a good skill to work hard at perfecting in our free time and can serve as an additional revenue stream for an individual who can work as a freelance consultant. Gone are the days when a specialist is required to know and understand code to build a website, with plugins such as Elementor for Wordpress, all that is required is basic computer literacy and design intuition.

Technology and Efficiency Technology also helps us to maintain efficiency, or to gain efficiency, whether it's in our daily lives or from a business-led perspective. Free software such as Trello boards and Freedcamp help us keep track of to-do lists or manage projects within a team. These are free, open source software which don’t require monthly fee subscriptions and can work essentially the same as proprietary software does, however a toned down version with limitations. If we’re dealing with a startup company then this is a perfect, cost-effective alternative compared to proprietary software. A proprietary version of Trello boards is JIRA, developed by Atlassian, which provides for more detailed operations to be managed by a larger team. It also ensures that you can manage your projects effectively and efficiently and be able to collaborate on teams and to invite people to see your progress. We're also able to assign tasks and keep up to date with what we need to pursue. We can have a glance at a board and understand what projects are outstanding, and which stage of project delivery is blocking the project from progressing. Software such as Grammarly helps us write an email, academic essay or any notes with punctuation and grammar in mind. It assesses the written content and provides proper suggestions which work better in the context in which it is written. We're able to have applications such as Alexa and Google Home, at our disposal to give us information as and when required. These systems require a data connection and allow us to stream music, ask questions, play music and a host of other new innovative features which before existed only in our imaginations. The innovation of e-books has certainly spiked during the lockdowns that we've experienced. Ebooks have allowed us to read books online, on Kindles or locally without having to buy physical hardback copies

of books and go out of the comfort of your home. Audiobooks have invited a new audience into the realm of reading and expanding one's knowledge, whether the individual chooses to read for pleasure or for information. An audiobook can be as effective as an actual hardcopy book, depending on the user's attention to detail, ability to multitask or on the other simultaneous activities the user is involved with. An audiobook can be thought of as a snapshot or picture of what you read, which is then stored in your memory with the right amount of attention, however reading a physical book can be described as a layered paining which involved many coatings and layers, thus approximating in depth knowledge around the event or phenomenon being described. Platforms such as Audible, Spotify and YouTube Music have enabled us to listen to audiobooks online or purchase them. They allow us to listen to more books than we would have, if we hadn’t had these diversified platforms. Many of us would choose to listen to audiobooks as opposed to reading books. It requires a bit less discipline in some regard, yet it still has the same overall effect as a book. It can be powerful as you can multitask; you can do many tasks at one time when listening to audiobooks. You don't need to be watching a video to understand it or pay attention to non-verbal cues and facial expressions. You can be traveling to or from work, you could be washing dishes or you could be mainly walking around the house or conducting some other task while listening to an audiobook. It's that simple yet exciting. The same principle can be applied to podcasts. Podcasts have entertained the idea of a long form debate and discussion which wasn’t very prevalent in society. Long form debates and discussions allow us to investigate complex issues which can’t be solved or grappled effectively within a 30 minute period for example. Podcasts also became popular as well by featuring great intellectuals who had admiration by audiences around the world with a passion for interesting dialog. Topics such as gerrymandering, politics, idealogs, cancel culture, controversies, new technologies or emerging trends in society are being discussed. Challenging discussions around ancient religious texts and the psychological influence of those teachings in modern society are also hosted online with a large audience tuning in. Podcasts hosted by the likes of Joe Rogan, Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, Brett Weinstein and Russel Brand have all played a fundamental role in engaging young people in the world with complex discussions and aiding in the

sometimes unintentional positive orientation of their lives. Being able to take better care of ourselves has also become important to us recently, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Things like reading apps or meditation apps have gained popularity. Breathing exercises have been downloaded from the app stores of our devices to help people suffering with anxiety and stress. These technological advancements are by no means minor, as they have helped paved the way for a new generation. It has gotten us convenience at our fingertips whilst stimulating our minds and keeping us feeling calm in stressful situations. We are able to gain some insight as to how to live a more productive and healthy life. We have all of this wealth of knowledge at our disposal, easy to find. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. It's all about the user’s preferences and a tailored search to suit each individual. From all these platforms, the user can take in information from applications, exercises, health tips, listen to audiobooks or podcasts, to better inform themselves and act that out in the world in the manner they find productive. Mindsets can be made up on best practices of using these facilities to get order in our lives and improve the quality of our own lives whilst becoming wise. Technology is here to help us solve complex problems, whether in business or our personal lives. It helps us with marketing, it helps us with customer relations, we are able to take better care of ourselves and are able to ensure that we keep up to date with the latest technologies. We should ride the technological wave the fourth Industrial Revolution has provided us with.

Chapter 8: The Value Software Technology Has for Our Future Technological

Adaptation

and

Psychological

Orientation To ensure our relevance as human beings and to ensure that we create a world in which everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive, lead a successful life with a high quality standard of living then we need to start from the bottom-up. We need to ensure first that people are well orientated and have good psychological grounding through whatever belief system which they choose to act out. This is fundamentally important to ensure that the intentions behind the creation of the technology that has to be developed as a result of our thought pattern is sincere and is limited or reduced in its malevolent proclivities. Imagine powerful technology falling into the hands of a renowned dictator, a tyrant. There are many examples of such a thing occurring in the 20th century, which we will not dive into too much further for the purposes of this book. However, the point stands that, in order to develop new technology which makes our lives easier, then it’s usage is dependent on the person operating, purchasing and selling such technologies. We need to ensure that we create the best circumstances possible for people to thrive in the future. We must ensure that the circumstances limiting our capability and ability to thrive in the world are reduced, such impairments could be physical disabilities, some could be mental disabilities. It could be our lack of discipline or social hierarchical systems. Therefore, we will need intervention from smart technology and, in some sense, autonomous beings or creations, to remain relevant as a species. We would need to ensure that we not only choose to focus on our existing situation in the present, but also forecast the future, predicting using models and data collected to inform our decision-making. This informed decision-making will prepare us to understand the trends needed in the future to live a fulfilling life, and to look

at obstacles in our way for further developments as a nation and contributions for the betterment of humanity in general. We cannot always preempt natural disasters which may arise, such as tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, in a given area by simply looking at the area, and that’s part of the emphasis on the capabilities of technology in our lives. Now, it’s impossible to predict every single outcome, but we can create the resources and the foundational structure to assist us. When these things begin to unfold in the future, we certainly don’t know what to expect, so having technologies widely available and at our disposal can have great utility if used correctly and honestly.

Technology Re-activeness to COVID-19 Another example could be our reaction to the outbreak of the recent COVID19 pandemic. Many nations didn’t have the infrastructure available to cope with a disaster of such a high magnitude, and instead of being proactive, were reactive. We reacted as the situation was unfolding. Governments worldwide looked around for funding to acquire technological devices to keep people alive such as ventilators. There wasn't a huge drive for the facilitation of funds toward science and technology in many countries, particularly the developing world, to begin working on vaccinations to reduce the catastrophic effects that were unfolding in the form of daily deaths. Some nations were able to thrive and contain the virus, many others were unable to deal with it completely. Technological devices needed were items like ventilators to help people breathe as their respiratory systems began to collapse from the infection. Besides the direct impact of the virus on the human body, for the survivors who were able to fight off the infection, we still have yet to understand the consequences and effects that COVID-19 has on the human body in the aftermath of the infection. We aren't sure what long term consequences it has in terms of our neurological and physical functions and so, as we begin to deal with these complicated situations, its important to bear in mind our reliance on technology to help us solve these challenges and provide us with solutions.

Amazon Go - Cashierless Checkout

Perhaps one of the most convenient retail concepts in action is the Amazon Go stores. As the name suggests, Amazon Go is owned by Amazon, which is an innovative technology company that gained popularity over the years. This is especially relevant in light of the global COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were afraid to be in large crowds and go out shopping with the looming possibility of contracting the virus through exchanging cash, swiping cards, entering pins into speed points and contact with cashiers. To create a temporary technology during this period would be beneficial, however, it should be created with longevity in mind to last long after the pandemic. Although Amazon Go was created long before the pandemic, the creators identified a niche area to suit the needs of customers whilst minimizing contact with physical cashiers and, in doing so, paving the future of contactless shopping. Amazon Go becomes relevant as it reinforces the notion of using technology to suit our convenience while allowing for a new, exciting way of shopping. The store concept makes use of computer vision, deep learning (neural networks) and sensor fusion technology. When customers enter the store, they have to have the Amazon application installed on their smartphone and should be signed into their Amazon account. As they enter the store, they should scan the Quick Response (QR) code at the entrance of the store. By doing this, the system identifies who the customer is and is able to have the bill charged to their account. The system carefully observes the customer’s shopping behavior, every item which is picked up and left back is updated and behavior is noted. The store is fitted with many scanners and sensors on the ceiling of the store that allows the store to have a detailed view of customers actions. As they finish shopping, the customers are able to exit the store without needing to stand in a line or have any exchanges with a cashier. Upon leaving the store, the customers get an invoice sent to their application, together with the list of items which were purchased. The prices are relatively similar to other stores and do not embed the convenience factor for customers into the general pricing. The store has a walk-in, walk-out concept, which allows customers to grab their items and leave the store without having to stand in lines. Amazon Go ensures that customers don’t have to stand in lines, exchange cash or cards, touch speed points or speak with cashiers. There are no cashiers in the store. There are no registers. When items are added incorrectly to the bill, they can

dispute the item on their invoice through the mobile application and their bill can be updated and refunded to the customer effortlessly. There’s also a helpline customers can call if they have any questions about their shopping experience.

Utility of Technology in Earth Observation Earth observation is a procedure which monitors the Earth, as well as its physical, biological and chemical components, to detect changes or possible threats such as intensified desertification or extreme weather forecasts. This procedure is primarily carried out through a process called remote sensing. Remote sensing is the art/science of collecting data about material objects by means of measuring over a distance without physical contact with the object. Data is collected, analyzed and displayed through the remote sensing process, which allows for efficiency in Earth observation. The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) is an integration of multiple countries throughout the world, with the sole purpose to contribute to Earth observation. There are several public and private organizations that make a significant contribution to Earth Observation, however the major ones are National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the European Space Agency (ESA), the Russian Federal Space Agency (ROSCOSMOS), SpaceX and DigitalGlobe.

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is a computer-based technology and methodology for collecting, managing, analyzing, modeling and presenting geographic data for a wide range of applications. Within the field of Earth observation, there are a multitude of tools and equipment used to reach the end goal, part of which involve GIS, remote sensing, satellites and the sensors designed by engineers to capture, store and transmit data back to Earth. In doing so we need to understand the value of the work being laid out, the goals of the operation, the functionality required, the spectral bands and the resolution to be outputted from the devices. Then, the hardware needs to be examined, to understand the degree of hardware equipment required, the storage space (hard disk drive), if this should be a solid stated Drive (SSD)

which reads and processes information quicker, how much random access memory (RAM) and image resolution is to be transmitted, amongst other variables. GIS certainly has been one of the fundamental tools in driving informed decision-making over the years, and has gained fundamental importance amongst governments around the world and private organizations. What distinguishes GIS from other systems is that it is a realistic spatial and attribute system, which encompasses live data and an array of datasets which can drive decision-making at the highest level. This system can also be adapted to many different categories extending from environmental to civil to city planning to developments, conservation and also inform location-based systems. With regards to environmental planning, GIS allows for better information regarding sensitive environments within the site and identifies if there are any critical biodiversity areas within close proximity to a given construction site. By overlaying threatened ecosystem datasets, specialists are able to explicitly mention which areas are endangered, are vulnerable or threatened and of high-risk. Geology datasets help specialists identify underlying geology in a particular area, which aids planning purposes if drilling and logging of boreholes are required, and necessary plans of action to proceed with caution in a given project. It also assists with large scale water reticulation projects which governments may need to carry out to serve communities in need. By acquiring, overlaying, and analyzing this information, specialists are able to also keep costs relatively low, which saves developers, sales consultants, and ultimately everybody on the project, and reduce the likelihood of mistakes which could occur due to inadequate preplanning. It also helps expedite processes and decision making to prevent time being lost. This planning, through careful inferences from desktop analysis and cartographic illustrations, can be conducted for a wide array of projects ranging from air quality assessments, wetland delineation, land registration, and visual impact assessments. GIS data can then be made live by being hosted on cloud infrastructure and captured within databases, which can be synced via an application to field workers on-site, thereby preventing the loss of time on a project and allowing for effective and efficient planning on a municipal and governmental level. In an environmental context, it certainly aids environmentally responsible behavior and can also be used as a powerful tool in embarking on

environmental awareness campaigns and open space cleanups at a societal level. The information captured within a GIS also allows for data analysis to occur at a given point in time. By analyzing the information which has been captured from field workers on-site, analysts can find flaws within a particular project, users of the system can identify trends of work conducted to inform future projects and help plan better, understanding requirements to reduce limitations and for more accurate inferences from being made. GIS is very widely accepted and promoted for its complex spatial analysis functionality in determining real life features within a particular hotspot area and drawing conclusions. An example would be application in the health sector to aid with vaccination rollout programs aiding the government to identify centralized locations for the citizens to get their dose of the vaccination. It provides for a solid project management plan in regards to location-based activities and generates graphic spatial distributions with a list of properties or features nearby. Planning can also adapt these functionalities for different sectors of business depending on the availability of data, otherwise it would require data to be captured through hardcopy plans or site surveys and maintained from the beginning, which is the core function of GIS from a municipal and governmental level. Activities which would have taken a long time to complete on-site can now be done digitally by digitizing features based on the raster images provided. These raster images are generally captured by drones or satellite imagery. Certain graphic representations can also be made to assist field workers on-site to boost support and planning, to display the visual representation of features together with some attribute information. These features, which can be used as points of orientation, can then be projected onto a map via map projections which cater to distortions in an effective and accurate manner and, in some cases, allow for the georectification of imagery to collect other key locations in relation to the earth's surface, which did not display due to outdated imagery. Much of this data captured from GIS can also be integrated with CAD software and developers at all levels of an organizational structure and shared with the analytics department of organizations for thorough reporting. Thereafter, this data and visualizations are given to business analysts to make business decisions to boost productivity and profits within the business. As with the above, great detail can be captured with respect to asset management or, as some businesses refer to it, utility management. GIS can then aid with city planning and development, which can extend from utilities

such as roads, stormwater, drainage, water, electricity, cadastre, fiber data and telecommunications information. These core essential systems can help guide us in terms of location and areas for development to occur and also prevent further cost and degradation of pristine areas. It also prevents unnecessary drilling and catastrophic circumstances based on poor location planning. So, there are a multitude of ways in which GIS can be beneficial to the environment and to decision makers for planning departments for government officials for health pandemics and roll-outs of vaccinations, along with crime and vulnerability assessments throughout and, therefore, it is an effective and efficient tool.

Satellites - NASA Aura (Air) NASA has multiple satellites contributing significantly to the Earth Observation process, however the most commonly referred to are Aura and Aqua. Aura is the Latin word for “Air” and is a scientific research satellite in orbit around the earth. This satellite is the third major component of the Earth Observation System (EOS). Aura flows in a sun-synchronous orbit in formation with the “A Train”, a constellation of several other satellites. Aura is involved with the study of the earth’s ozone layer, air quality and climate. The satellite Aura carries four instruments that allow for the gathering of information. The first instrument is “HIRDLS”, or High Resolution Dynamics Limb Sounder, which measures infrared radiation from the ozone layer, water vapour and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). However, this instrument was shut down in 2008 and therefore has not made any contributions since. The second instrument is “MLS”, Microwave Limb Sounder, and measures emissions of ozone, chlorine and other trace gases, and clarifies the role of water vapor in global warming. The third instrument is “OMI”, Ozone Monitoring Instrument, which uses ultraviolet radiation to produce high resolution maps. The fourth instrument is “TES”, a Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer and measures tropospheric ozone in infrared wavelengths.

Satellites - NASA Aqua (Water) Aqua is the Latin word for “Water” and is a research satellite in orbit around

the earth which studies precipitation, evaporation and the water cycle. Aqua carries six major instruments which allows for studies of the water on the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. These components are AMSR-E, MODIS, AMSU-A, AIRS, HSB and CERES. AMSR-E is “Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer- EOS” (Mather and Koch, 2011). This instrument measures cloud properties, sea surface temperature, wind speed and surface water. MODIS, or “Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer,” measures cloud properties, land cover, land-use change, fires and volcanoes. AMSU-A is an “Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit” and measures temperature and humidity in the atmosphere. AIRS is “Atmospheric Infrared Sounder” and measures temperature and humidity in the atmosphere and land and sea surface temperatures. HSB is “Humidity Sounder for Brazil” and measures atmospheric humidity. The sixth sensor is CERES which is “Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy Spectrum”, and measures solar-reflected radiation as well as earth emitted radiation. Furthermore cloud properties are established through this instrument.

Data Collected Imagery There are three frequently used resolutions: spatial, spectral and radiometric resolutions. Resolutions play a significant role in the manner in which these maps or images are displayed, as well as the quality of these produced maps and images. These resolutions determine the zoom, or area which is to be administered and analyzed, the amount of detail that is present as well as the features which are to be monitored. Therefore, careful consideration has to be given to the output resolution which is selected by the national and private space agencies to get their desired information. Spatial Resolution Spatial resolution specifically, can be measured in several different ways depending on the purpose of the user. Mather and Koch identified four separate criteria to define spatial resolution, the first being geometrical properties such as shape, size and location of the object. The second is the ability to differentiate between point targets. The third criteria in establishing the spatial resolution is the ability to measure repetitive targets and its frequency and the fourth criteria is the ability to measure small targets (Mather and Koch, 2011).

Spatial resolution specifies the pixel size of the satellite images covering the earth, thus is simply known as the area the user wants to view. A high spatial resolution is associated with a low spectral resolution and is considered to be a compromise when selecting from a resolution, however, it ultimately depends on the user's objectives. In terms of observing complex systems, such as the oceans or the atmosphere, a high temporal resolution is needed, however, it is viewed on a larger scale, ie. global and continental, therefore a spatial resolution is required. Spectral Resolution Spectral resolutions are another critical type when dealing with the output map and images that are produced from the satellite sensors. Spectral resolution refers to the number and location of spectral bands viewed by the sensor, and should be specifically selected for the observation of a certain feature, like wind speed or changes in current ocean temperature. However, the number of bands is not the only thing that’s important in spectral resolution, as the position of these bands within the electromagnetic spectrum is essential to consider. The position in the spectrum, the width and the number of spectral bands together determines the degree to which individual features are displayed and the detail given to these specific features. This means that certain features could be further discriminated and displayed in much greater detail and classified in depth. This classification of features can range from vegetation species, crops and rock types. For example rock types can be broken down into igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic rocks. Most images are collected in single wavebands, and its the same for panchromatic images. A panchromatic image is collected in a single waveband and measures upwelling radiance in the visible waveband. However a multispectral sensor refers to sets of individual images which are recorded separately in discrete spectral bands. Radiometric Resolution Radiometric resolutions refer to the number of digital quantization levels used to express the data collected by the sensor. The greater the number of quantization levels then the greater the detail of the information that is collected by the sensor. Quantization in mathematics and digital processing refers to the process of mapping a large set of input values to a smaller set. To accommodate trade-offs between the selection of the appropriate resolutions to suit the users objectives, the following two solutions can be

considered. The first is to identify the most important resolution in direct dependency to the specific application, and accept the low attendant resolutions. The second is that there is no emphasis on one specific resolution and the acceptance of medium spectral, temporal and spatial resolution. Therefore, when considering the capabilities and the objectives of the sensor these three resolutions have to be considered. A high spatial resolution is associated with a low spectral resolution. Conversely, a low spatial resolution would result in a high spectral resolution. A spatial resolution identifies an area the user wishes to view, the spectral resolution determines which features to identify and radiometric resolution determines the level of detail present.

Light Imaging Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), Drones and Photogrammetry Light detection and ranging, also known as LIDAR, is an innovative cuttingedge technology which rose to fame over the years and has gained popularity now, particularly in climate change and Earth observation. In this part of the book, we will briefly look at what LIDAR is, understanding how it works, how it is implemented, the cost involved, and how LIDAR can help us in real world situations. Firstly LIDAR, is an innovative way in which point cloud data is captured on the surface of the Earth. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are generally flown in an area equipped with sensors and relevant equipment to handle LIDAR technology, which then sends a beam down to penetrate the surface of the earth. This beam reflects off the earth's surface and bounces off, returning to the sensor which is mounted on the UAV. This data then informs us of the height of the ground and, in many instances, this can be applied to the heights of trees where it penetrates and bounces back and hits the sensor. There is also a cogent argument on adopting the usage of LIDAR technology to map the ocean floor to understand just how deep the oceans are, understand the processes of the hydrothermal vents in the surface of the Earth and aid with preservation of marine life, together with pristine aquatic environments such as coral reefs. LIDAR has been noted to serve as a strong point with regards to surveying land and especially through dense situations, having the option to either use

unmanned aerial vehicles or manned ones, although it seems that UAVs are the more prevalent option for safety and logistical reasons. When new point cloud data is captured, it returns to the sensors which are installed in the vehicle. This data needs to then be synchronized immediately depending on data connection or, alternatively, can be stalled until landing for synchronization. If the raw data is synchronized immediately, this opens the possibility for data cleaning to be undertaken even before the aircraft has landed, which saves time and demonstrates the perks of live data. The data cleaning process also depends on the size of the point cloud data and the area (in hectares) in which the vehicle was flown, as to the processing time required. Once the data is cleaned up it can then be transformed into meaningful information which can be used for reporting or analyzed by business analysts to make inferences regarding the information that is presented to key stakeholders and concerned personnel. LIDAR is immensely expensive due to the cost of the aerial vehicle scanners and sensors that are required. It also requires a specialized set of users to assess this data and clean up the dataset that's collected. It’s for this reason that only those that can afford to fly and make use of LIDAR go this route and many others seek much cheaper alternatives to complete a project, which can be just as efficient in Earth observation. Some components of Earth observation are in the realm of conservation of forests, and threatened ecosystems. Many specialists also opt for another form of data collection called photogrammetry. Photogrammetry uses a different form of image collection which takes and captures images and then converts them into 3D models. This data is easier to interpret, analyze and put together compared to LIDAR, and can be used by the average user with limited experience with this kind of technology. Some software packages such as PHOTOMOD allow for users to stitch together areas of the photos and imagery and 3D models captured with photogrammetry methods. Data can be entered into the system manually by placing points on the ground and capturing elevation data. Vector datasets would be utilized together with high end specialized editing glasses, which could be quite costly overall. Although some elements of photogrammetry may be expensive, overall it is a lot cheaper than the cost of LIDAR and seems to be the preferred option due to the difference in pricing.

Autonomous Vehicles and Driving Assists When we pay attention to society around us, we realize our world has changed. Development has been centered around convenience and affordability. Significant technological innovations have made daily tasks that would have been difficult in the past trivial today. There has been lots of discussion around autonomous vehicles or self-driving cars for many, and it has been at the forefront of development and media attention in the past decade. Autonomous vehicles have gained great traction within the last five years, and the potential benefits are hard to ignore. Companies such as Google and Waymo have helped revolutionize this technology, but it was the contributions from Tesla which gave this hot topic the extra media attention. The media attention emerged as a result of the cutting edge technology and close-to-perfect design of the autonomous vehicle. Tesla brought this to the forefront of conversation globally, and it has made innovative leaps forward in the realm of autonomous vehicles. A grading level starting from zero and ending in five is used to classify the vehicle in terms of its level of manual input versus complete autonomous capabilities. Level zero means no automation, which essentially means that it is completely manual. Level one is a driver assistance mode. Level two is partial automation. Level 3 is conditional automation. Level four is high automation and level five is fully autonomous. To begin with a practical example of an autonomous vehicle, we don’t have to look much further than Tesla’s Model X. Some context about the Tesla Model X: vehicle was recently test driven by Jeremy Clarkson, the host of the hit show, “The Grand Tour” TV show (DeMattia, 2018). The show is well known for bringing exciting contemporary reviews and races together with the well established host pointing out new features of the vehicles being tested. The Tesla Model X was the vehicle that the media was waiting to see in action after its development was announced, and people were excited to see how this self-driving car technology works. Now, the Tesla Model X has no engine, obviously, because it's electric. It has two trunks and has battery packs which make the vehicle slightly heavier than normal. The weight of the battery packs was thought of as a negative element by the host of the show, however, it fundamentally does not degrade the value of the car. The vehicle

makes use of three front-facing cameras and forward-facing radar together with five other cameras, located all around the car, and uses ultrasonic sensors for parking. This gives it enough radius around the vehicle to see, and, when the vehicle is in motion, it is able to predict the path by using the two white lines. It keeps within those two, white lines and is also fitted with a parking sensor and an application which you can control the vehicle using your phone. So essentially if you are parked at a certain point not too far away you can automatically get the car to fetch you within a short range, it would not work for very far out, but this is nevertheless innovative technology, which many years ago was merely only a concept. Tesla works with something called a shadow mode and how it works is that, as the driver is driving the vehicle, in manual mode, then shadow mode learns from the driver. It captures drivers' decisions and method of driving, and predicates its technology on the way in which the driver reacts to given situations (DeMattia, 2018). Using the cameras, it's able to make decisions as to what should be done and what should not be done. This information is then synchronized to Tesla's offices into their artificial neural network, and it gets labeled and fed into the rest of the fleet. From there, it's able to be updated in the other models of Tesla and improves over time from more feedback. Essentially, Tesla’s autonomous vehicles learn based on more drivers using the vehicles in shadow mode and improving its autonomous concept over time based on the feedback received. The more models of the vehicle out, the quicker it learns as the more artificial neural network information is fed. The Tesla Model X also has a celebration mode in which the driver, in this case, Jeremy Clarkson, jumped off the vehicle after engaging celebration mode, the windows rolled down and the doors opened. The lights flickered and celebration music sounded through the stereo of the vehicle. It also has a mode called Ludicrous mode in which it picks up speed quite rapidly and is really quick on takeoff, which people did not expect to be associated with an electric car. Some assume that the electric car would be slow and sluggish, but that's not the case. Having autonomous vehicles can definitely reduce the likelihood of drunken driving and related accidents on the road, and can be rolled out into other services such as Uber on a large scale. But before this can be widely accepted by society, skeptics would need to be reassured that they are still in control of the technology and, over time, this medium will continue to learn behavior and mimic that in its default settings (DeMattia,

2018). One possible point of criticism, which would need to be addressed before skeptics are convinced of the benefits this technology brings us, is the battery packs, a fairly decent point raised by enthusiasts globally. The electric vehicle has been criticized for having lithium battery packs and, in cases where a fire breaks out and the car is on fire, when firefighters spray the car with water it would electrocute passengers or could explode. Another point is that, during dark weather or unsafe conditions the road markings will not be very visible and that could make the driver and passengers more susceptible to accidents. However, every time you step on the road there is some risk. So that's the discussion around autonomous vehicles and the progress that has been made with achieving this groundbreaking and remarkable technology. All things considered, there have been significant efforts to make this technology safe, and reliable while equipping the autonomous vehicles with cutting edge contemporary gadgets to maximize comfort, conventional practices and additional safety and learning equipment which compounds over time. This autonomous vehicle technology has certainly changed the way in which we function and provides us with more options to maximize safety, convenience and efficiency in the present and especially in the future.

Chapter 9: How to Make Technology Work for You There is no doubt that technology is here to stay and certainly has great utility to improve the quality of our lives, and the way we proceed into the future. Despite critics of technology being persistent, technology is available and is at the forefront of development in our world today and the key to unlocking our potential in the future. Despite our ideological presupposition, technology is there whether we choose to accept it or not, so we would rather choose to make technology work and benefit us in our daily lives. It’s a given that there are some negative consequences of technology. However, technology is still useful and we should learn how to manage it. These developments and innovations in technology, if we can learn to master them, will help us free ourselves of certain burdens and unlock our potential much quicker. Many people today find themselves in a moral dilemma of whether to adopt the use of technology to aid them in difficult times and still discard other technologies which don’t benefit them at a given time. For example, with the rise of data privacy and cybersecurity issues many people question terms and conditions of applications but accept regulations on social media apps without hesitation because it is perceived to be something of value to them. There are many ways in which we can use technology to our advantage and to ensure we get the maximum value of all of our lives, our children's lives and the generations of the future. In some sense we have a moral obligation and responsibility to ourselves to ensure that we lay the foundations for a productive and bright future for our leaders of tomorrow, the youth, and members of our society. In doing so the utilization of responsible technology is essential and needs to be nested in our attitude to technology and how it can benefit us. Some of the ways in which we can use technology responsibly can be broken up into various categories, some of which include taking logical breaks from the chaos of our daily lives. We should focus on technology and productivity in the things we do often in our lives, because, in some sense, the things you do on a daily basis are the most important things. We can link technology to gain the most aid to our financial situations. We can use technology to facilitate deep learning within ourselves and ensure that we boost productivity in our careers, and we can use technology to assist us in every element of our lives, including problem solving from school to a

professional career. When we dissect the issue of taking technological breaks, it’s important to understand the reason behind such a thing. Why should we schedule technology breaks? Why does this constitute an effective way to make technology work for us? We certainly have a lot to get through in our daily lives, particularly at work. And so we might find ourselves asking why we should take breaks at all? Why should we have a break from technology in some sense because technology has been so deeply embedded in our culture and society. There’s no distinguishable separation between the both. It is convenient and apparent in some situations. We are easily able to distinguish between ourselves and technology and, in many instances, are quick to blame technology when things go wrong, however, when a good result is produced, we find ourselves taking credit without acknowledging the methods and the means which were provided to us that allowed us to thrive in a given situation. We forget the role that the devices and technological revolutions have played in our success. So it is fundamental that we pay respect to the sacrifices of the past and things that people with dedication, energy and effort have sacrificed, like perhaps family time, to provide us with these innovations.

Technology Breaks It’s important to take breaks from technology throughout our day, and there are a multitude of reasons to do this. The first reason could perhaps be to ensure our harmonious living with nature by stepping away from technology. We can reconnect with nature. We can reconnect with the natural elements around us. We can appreciate the ground on which we walk and we can have some connection to the land in which we have thrived. We can reconnect to the Earth with nature and attempt to live in harmonious fashion with the soil, with the Earth with the wind, with the plant life, with the animals around us and with every other living creature around us. This connection helps a lot of us maintain our humility in life, reconnect to the basic fashions and in some matters prevents unnecessary spiraling out of our ego. Remaining humble through this process of evolution of life. And in doing so we can make contributions to those willing to learn, and to society. It prevents us from

being selfish, prevents us from being cynical and prevents us from being nihilistic.

Schedule Short Times to Unplug Regularly Whether we are busy studying at university, at home watching television, playing with our smartphones or predominantly at work, we always need a break from the chaos around us. In the rush of completing tasks and always wanting to be doing something or being connected to technology, we sometimes need a break. We should ensure that we schedule times on our devices to have a small break and unplug ourselves from this technology that is consuming our daily lives. This is not a criticism of technology itself, however, merely pointing out that it is necessary to take these breaks and allow ourselves to reconnect with the elements around us temporarily. For example, if we’re busy at work, we should ensure that we lock our computer, and that we’re in a safe environment, and take a walk outside. We should go outside to breathe some fresh air and clear our mind for the moment. Stop thinking about work. Stop thinking about the stresses of our daily lives and just observe the processes of life unfolding all around us. Look at the activities that are taking place around us. Just appreciate the time and salvage the present moment, appreciate life as it is. In such a technologically driven time, we tend to become used to being busy all the time. We feel the need to always be doing something, or trying to be productive and working in an attempt to live up to a specific lifestyle and accumulate wealth for the future. We become so busy with that and instead forget to appreciate what we have and immerse ourselves in the natural processes surrounding us. We can reflect on our lives very briefly, question how we got here, at work or this specific point of our lives? What chain of events have occurred to get us to this point in time? This momentary reflection can have profound existential benefits in our daily lives and help orientate us. It also facilitates deep thoughts within us and makes us reflect back on our actions and what we would like to replicate for the future. Those benefits, coupled with technology, are a powerful tool to orientate society and the youth. The moment of being disconnected with technology also prevents us from accessing scary or discouraging news. Drawing an example from COVID-19, being disconnected from our

technological devices, we are able to blank out the stressful situations and calm down, enjoying the tranquility around us. When we’re at work, it also takes the stress of deadlines and due dates away from us. We should enjoy the benefits technology itself has provided us, like setting timers or applications to remind us to take a walk, remind us to stop browsing the internet or even automatically turn off wifi, wireless networks and data connections. It will automatically block us from browsing social media. Applications like Google Calendar do a great job of scheduling times for us to take breaks, reminding us about little leisure activities we can do during the day or just have downtime to nap for 10 minutes at home.

Posture Another feature which you could link back to our technological breaks and productivity is posture. Many people throughout the world tend to have poor posture when they walk, when they stand, or when they sit down. The reason for this is unconscious: because we don’t think or pay attention to the simplistic activities. This, however, does have catastrophic effects in the long term in terms of our posture and our spinal cord. Our posture reflection also affects our mood; the way we feel and the way we conduct ourselves in the world. It affects the way in which we have confidence and project ourselves. It affects the way in which people perceive us, their thoughts about us and how they interact with us. It also limits us in our ability to project our ideas onto other people, as we don’t project confidence and speak with conviction when we have poor posture. This makes it especially difficult to lay out proposals to stakeholders in a business environment. It's the way we feel, our posture can be directly linked to our mood, and the lack of serotonin will make us hunch down and not be confident in ourselves. ON the other hand, if we maintain a good posture and sit up right and straighten up when we’re walking, this firstly prevents any physical damage, and alleviates any possibility for injuries. It ensures that we are able to do our work with confidence, project confidence to our colleagues and gives us a sense of confidence to express our ideas to those around us. This helps liberate us in the process, and make us more effective workers in doing so. Our posture goes a long way in ensuring (and increasing) the likelihood for us to have an efficient and effective long thriving career.

Long Breaks and Vacations There may be many times at work where we find ourselves stressed and feeling overwhelmed with the workloads that we face. This can easily happen, particularly in times of difficulty and when companies are understaffed. An example can be toward the end of the year when many workers take leave. There will be few employees working and thus more work for them to do. Another example can be found during the recent COVID-19 pandemic, where many organizations had little revenue with higher expenses, which in some cases meant companies had to let go of staff through retrenchments and unpaid leave. This meant little staff available and increased workloads. Many companies weren’t in a position to employ new staff and therefore had to utilize existing staff, thereby increasing their workloads. These increased workloads could have easily overwhelmed employees, and this happens often all the time. We sometimes try so hard to impress ourselves, others around us, our peers and our managers that we forget to be selfish in the moment and take breaks for ourselves. We tend to continue working. This culture has become pathological in some sense, that we feel it is embarrassing to use our annual leave or take sick leave when required. Many of us struggle through, and push through difficult conditions when we're not feeling well, or when we’re sick, and we still tend to work as though we feel we have a point to prove to our peers. We’ve somehow come to think of taking sick leave as being immoral, because if we are unwell it would show weakness. It’s highly unjustified and severely wrong. We need to take better care of ourselves. We need to treat ourselves as if we matter and we need to take care of ourselves. We should put our mental and physical health first, beyond the scope of career, as if we have a moral obligation to ourselves to treat ourselves with the best care. In many situations, we would take care of somebody else if they are unwell, taking care and showing our love and affection toward them. However, when it comes to taking care of ourselves, we won't administer proper medication to ourselves. We won't take medication as prescribed. We would associate this with weakness, and we would feel as if we have a point to prove that we don’t need medication to get better and more so we still turn up for work. This is severely wrong and to make technology work, in this instance we should actually take breaks. We should take longer breaks or shorter breaks

spread throughout the day. We should ask for sick leave when it’s required, especially when we feel unwell. Some businesses require us to take leave and go on forced leave at times when our leave has accumulated over a period, and so we should take this leave offered to us. We should make it a habit of taking a vacation during the course of the year, obviously in relation to the workloads that are available in the present, but flagging this to senior management at an early stage. At least this way, they’re aware of our leave and we can go and enjoy your vacation with friends or family. Even if it’s some time we spend on ourselves, something therapeutic, that can get our mind off work. Taking a vacation or time off doesn’t need to be an expensive act; it can be something really simple. It can be a day at the beach or a weekend away. It can be spending time at a hotel or at a local casino. It could even be booking in at a guest lodge close to a game park. It could be a fantastic hike in the area, and something or some activity which reconnects us with nature, but more so to get our mind off the stressors of the daily week. What we find is that, when we take these breaks, have long vacations and utilize sick leave when we are sick, we ensure that we take proper care of ourselves. We’re healthy. We’re mentally stable. We’re more efficient. We become more productive and we are able to continue and push on with work, as if we had just begun. It’s a reset button in our lives and allows for a longer and more sustainable career. It also helps with regulating our mood, and it helps keep us happy in the process. Technological breaks don’t only extend to our day-to-day operations, whether we find ourselves at work or at university or even at home the entire day. It doesn’t end. With those features, it also extends to our leisure time. Many of us can relate that we can easily get occupied by our smartphones, computers and gaming stations. In doing so, we can easily forget and lose track of time and spend long hours keeping ourselves occupied with these leisure activities. We certainly know that teenagers have a tendency to utilize their smartphones for longer durations and tend to get distracted with social media during study sessions.

Regulation of Smart Devices for Internet Browsing and Youtube There are many technological gadgets produced and widely available now which could be considered as distractions but aren’t always bad. So, the term distraction isn’t used in a destructive sense; it merely points out that proper

usage of these devices can be very beneficial. Using smartphones in a ‘smart’ sense and responsibly has great benefits to the user, as can understanding how the overuse of the item can be counterproductive. Many credible psychologists have found that addiction has catastrophic circumstances for the development of individuals, but that's not the only astonishing finding. The astonishing finding is that, through brain-scanning imagery, they have found that the brain of an addicted user of cocaine matches the addictive behavior of an alcoholic and also the brain of an addicted internet user. The findings were that a particular part of the brain lights up whenever an addictive activity is occurring (The Recovery Village, 2019). These affect the neurotransmitters in our brain and cause a certain reaction within us. Just as with alcohol, cocaine and even gambling, the sound and the lighting is unique in that it triggers this feeling and sensation within us through neurological processes. And so, this relates pretty extensively to the internet. We very often hear the term clickbait, in which we are lured into a certain link or certain pop up, and this chain continues, where users find themselves clicking on many different links which they didn’t initially intend to click on or view. It's like when we browse YouTube, when we search for a particular video, we watch that video and thereafter we see suggestions that come up which are similar to the type of video that we may have watched. When a user clicks on one suggestion, it begins an endless loop in some cases where the user just continues clicking each of these suggested videos, deviating from the initial search parameter. We now know the same part of the brain lights up as with addictive substances. This means that we get addicted to the internet to such a degree that it causes the same reaction within us. The same processes are firing within us and so with that in mind we have to regulate our usage of these technological devices.

Dopamine Detox Linking very closely to those neurological processes and brain scan imagery, is another phenomenon which happens and is linked with the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter which is predicated on a reward system, the incentive reward system. Within us this is a driving factor which causes us to feel bliss at the moment in which we are pushing forward to reach our desired goals. It’s something that keeps forcing us towards this positive energy as we start to achieve our goals. It works

better when it sees you moving towards gaining something of interest, and involved with the pursuit rather than the end result. It is something of value and meaning. The greater the goal then the greater the reward you experience as you move towards the goal. Dopamine is a great motivator for success as we accomplish micro-goals in realization of a much larger goal. We feel this positivity about ourselves. We feel good about ourselves. It keeps our spirits high. It keeps us moving forward and striving but it keeps us aiming. It keeps us focused. It keeps us sharp. It allows us to thrive in our future and become the best possible version of ourselves which we could be. It allows us to achieve things, which we thought weren’t possible. It is certainly a great motivator. However, this tends to be depreciated in some sense when we extensively overuse technological devices. Drawing from the above information about the brain activity from excessive internet browsing, through social media applications such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and through browsing YouTube we should pay more attention to this matter. Some people could spend close 3-4 hours per day using their smartphone which, when calculated over a period of time, is an excessive amount of time. Now, having been exposed to our smartphones so thoroughly every day, when we don’t have our phones with us, we feel stressed or anxious. We’ve been caught in the loop of clickbait and scrolling through features on our smartphones without having an item in mind which we’re scrolling for. We feel accomplished and rewarded as we scroll through our phones or read a random fact and share it over a dinner discussion. That however is not real learning since we’re exposed to large volumes of data and overloading ourselves with this information doesn’t actually facilitate learning. So, we might find ourselves asking a relevant question: how do we free ourselves from this addictive behavior from our smartphones? A process referred to as dopamine fasting has been used to describe the cognitive behavioral therapy technique to control and moderate our proclivity with regards to smartphone usage. To do this, we can employ basic methods such as placing our phones at a greater distance from us instead of having them in our pockets and readily available. We can use our discretion in this regard and pay attention to our environment before implementing such strategies. An example would be when we’re home it may be more practical to implement than if we are in a shopping mall or public space. Another implementable strategy we can use is to try and refrain from

jumping to get our smartphones each time we hear a notification alert, or out of curiosity checking to see what alert we have on our mobiles. We should rather try to put the attention and focus back into the activity we were engaged in before hearing the sound, such as watching television or studying. Perhaps limiting the time we spend scrolling the internet can help us improve our relationships with our intimate partners and with our children. We can prevent ourselves from using our smartphones at least an hour before going to bed, and ensuring we have a consistent bedtime. We should keep from seeing our smartphone notifications as soon as we get up, as sometimes disturbing messages may impact our mood for the day. Similar to classical conditioning practices, by using certain easy-to-implement strategies we can limit the usage of these devices and ensure it doesn’t facilitate counterproductive practices. We’ve taken a great tool for learning and communication and have unknowingly pathologized it by our abuse of this technology. If we are more aware of how we use such devices we can make our smartphones work in our favour.

Discipline and Detachment From Social Media Social media on our smartphones has a big impact on how we conceptualize the world and can easily derail us from our goals. It can also hinder our mood in the moment when we run into upsetting news or messages. We can also feel very easily discouraged when we see pictures of people thriving or being successful at ventures in which we failed, when we receive damaging texts and this tends to play on our emotions. It makes us feel bad by over-usage of our devices especially at night. This smartphone usage is tied directly with the above section on dopamine levels due to excessive usage of our phones. So, we should limit the usage of social media and smartphones and technological devices at night before we go to bed. Studies have also been conducted in Norway in the year 2015 that showed that participants of a certain age group who used social media and smartphones an hour before going to bed had restless and inconsistent sleep patterns. Insufficient sleep certainly has an impact on your productivity for the next day. So, it’s essential to ensure that we at least stay away from electronic devices and smartphones for at least an hour before going to bed. This constitutes a responsible usage of technology in our daily lives. There also seems to be a positive correlation between the amount of time people spend on Facebook

and their tendency to feel depressed (Labrague, 2014). It’s become a norm in society to depict yourself on social media as being successful, having money, having fixed assets particularly on platforms such as Instagram. The technology and applications are available, however the people who use them have abused the time spent on it, changed the dynamics of what people think constitutes success and values and in doing so pathologized the mechanisms which are available for our leisure time. The glamorization of things in our lives has taken precedence, especially among the younger generation, as opposed to using this medium educationally and in a beneficial sense. We tend to feel depressed if we don’t get enough comments on our photos or posts. If our profile pictures don’t get enough likes or comments from our peers then we begin to feel depressed and, over time, it diminishes our emotional well being. Hence, we should make an effort to limit our social media usage and remember to detach ourselves at times from the digital world.

Productivity Relating back to the notion of overworking, we should bear in mind that our daily jobs should be completed during the allocated time within working hours. We should try and minimize the amount of work which we take home to complete. That eats into our family time. From occupation to occupation we can use our discretion on how we time ourselves and allocation of time for designated tasks. We should work within a fixed time schedule, usually ranging from eight to five. In doing so, we should ensure that during that allocated time we are productive enough to complete our tasks for that day. To achieve this, we could make use of technology and smartphones together with desktop software that is now available to track and manage our time. Tracking and managing our time certainly helps us establish the hours spent on a certain task in which you could analyze at a later point in time to reduce the long-term spent on completing each of your tasks. You can also do an analysis at a very high level to understand how we spend the majority of our time during working hours. This also has great utility in implementing time tracking software to complete timesheets and through automation and integration with other software packages that compiles interactive live

dashboards to show time usage and productivity. This benefits both the business and the individual. There are both paid and free versions of time tracking software available.

Agile boards - Jira and Trello Certain project management boards display tiles on a board or project in which each board and tile represents a part of the project that needs to occur. These can be split up into several workflow methods to help pinpoint where we are on a particular project. Who has certain sub-tasks been assigned to, when they are expected to be completed, the time logged on a certain subtask, and the time allocated initially on a certain sub-task. An example of this board could be Atlassian Jira. It’s a proprietary software, however, it has great utility when it comes to the management of a project and a large organization. There are also free alternatives to the software such as Trello. Trello boards act in the same capacity as Atlassian Jira, however, they may have certain limited functionality or not as extensive functionality as the paid version. However, it’s still more than sufficient for the average user. It’s both practical and free and available to the user to take full advantage of and can certainly help with management of time and productivity in the workplace and ensures that you don’t take excessive work home that eats into your personal family time. That’s a great way in which you can take advantage of the software that's available to us in the present day. And so, if we can get a way to manipulate this to suit our schedule, it would have great utility in our lives and help us live a more balanced life outside of work. Some software also automatically produces graphs based on data imported into it which will then inform the user through visualizations, of the categories in which they’ve spent majority of the time during the week. Again, during hours in which we understand to be work-related we can easily make use of software to convert speech-to-text. An example would be completing a report for a certain project that we’re deeply entrenched in and can speak extemporaneously about. This could take a long time depending on the typing speed of the user, and bearing in mind variables such as distractions, power outages or even the ability to type. Speech-to-text software now embedded in many versions of software on smartphones along with desktop software can allow the user to speak and have their words be

automatically converted into text. An example would be completing a project report. The user could spend a significant amount of time typing a 2,000 word report, but if the user spent four or five hours trying to complete this task, it would be a severe loss of time. On the other hand, if the user is able to speak clearly and legibly, they could complete this task within 25 to 30 minutes, depending again on the ability of the user to speak clearly and knowing sufficient information about the project to speak. Sometimes the editing process takes a lot of time in these situations, sometimes even longer than typing out the report would have been. There are solutions which the writer can implement to ensure that these conditions are favorable the first time and minimize the amount of editing that needs to happen at the second attempt; some software such as Grammarly can be used to ensure the work is published, and punctuated in line with correct grammar to be fulfilled as best as possible on the first attempt.

Freedcamp (Tasklists) and Lastpass (Password Management) Freedcamp is another great software package in which the user can design a set of tasks with a task list that needs to happen and receive constant reminders of the task that needs to be completed. It has options to display projects with a designated set of lists and tasks, and allows for the creation of widgets for the user. Users are also able to view information from a calendar view to get a quick glance at what is due in the upcoming week or what the week looks like, and gauge things like the amount of time required or the magnitude of the work required to complete a project and related progress. We all often have the problem of having too many different passwords for certain parts of our workflow process at the office and in our personal lives. It’s not always easy to remember these passwords and, by writing them down we run the risk of compromising the safety and security of those software packages or data which we have encrypted with a password. We don’t always feel comfortable writing them down and having them in our memory is a difficult task to have accomplished, as we have to remember many things during the course of the day and have a proclivity to forget passwords. A solution to this could be using software packages that safely and securely store your passwords for a particular website or access sites. This would prevent the loss of passwords, having the user click on a forgotten password

link, which then takes the user through a host of links to have the password reset and re-login. An example of such software would be LastPass. LastPass can easily be added to your internet browser and, when you’re logged in, can auto-populate and fill in your username and password for a particular site that you have saved in its vault. It’s a secure process that is encrypted and also has two-stage authentication available for additional security. General internet browsing principles can also add value and allow for productivity by saving favorites, saving bookmarks, organizing bookmarks effectively and efficiently throughout the process. The user navigates to a certain point of a web site, as opposed to navigating to the site every day to educate ourselves on subject matter. We can even save bookmarks of videos that we would like to explore and watch. We can also listen to audiobooks and podcasts over the internet as we perform daily tasks. The usage of podcasts by the smartphone through wireless earbuds or browsing Spotify on our smartphones as we complete chores around the house or even listening to audible as we drive to and from the office on a daily basis can have great utility in our educational process and helps us maximize our productivity and efficiency. Over the course of a year this could be very effective. But if we imagine this running the course of over 10 to 12 years being efficient to this degree, it's difficult to see the abilities and potential that we could unlock in ourselves which could certainly benefit us in our future endeavors. These are also great ways in which we can educate our children and keep them up-to-date on contemporary subject matters whilst ensuring that they are both efficient and effective. In time management, it’s important that we remember technology shouldn’t be looked at individually. It should be looked at holistically. There are various softwares available to complete a given task. So, we have many options for most of the software that's available which we can use in our daily lives. We also have an option of selecting paid versions of software or free open source software, and we can select these packages based on our own personal decisions and which works best for us. So we should bear in mind that sometimes the integration of several software packages could prove to be a more effective solution in the long term in achieving a desired result as opposed to manually configuring an operating software and individualizing things. It's the way we think and conceptualize technology together with the mindset we have when adopting this technology that makes a huge difference

in the effectiveness of how we use technology to benefit our lives going forward, irrespective and despite our pessimistic assumption that the machines are taking over. Software and technology is here to stay for the long haul and we should learn how to maximize the potential that technology has to better our quality of life and standard of living. We often get automated phone calls throughout the day, spam calls and email messages. We can download applications like Truecaller to block these spam calls, emails and texts. This would prevent us from being disturbed unnecessarily and sometimes interrupting us in the middle of a thought. It could severely halt an operation and force the user to start from scratch, which is not always easy to do, especially when reading or writing. Such interruptions should be minimized as best as possible and this certainly proves to be an effective way of reducing the likelihood of disturbances. We should also bear in mind the digital age in which we live. We can make use of cloud technology such as Google cloud (Google Drive). So having documents uploaded to cloud platforms such as Amazon cloud, Google cloud , Microsoft One-Drive, Azure and Dropbox have great benefits in securing these files. They also allow us to backup images, documents, and important information, which we would like to work on and we can continue to work on this stuff as long as we have a Wi-Fi internet connection.

Financials and Electronic Learning We can certainly make technology work for us when it comes to our financials and electronic learning platforms. There are many things which you could use that are available today that could help us plan for our future. There are applications we could download for our desktop or our smartphone that can help us check our monthly expenditures. They can help us budget in the present for the benefit of our future. It can do a comparative analysis of our income versus our expenses. We can also be productive in completing our taxes online. You can submit electronic documentation that has to be uploaded for tax purposes. We can share files via online cloud storage platforms with our peers. We can also use this technology for marketing purposes. We can exploit one of our skills and strong points to monetize that creative element and help us use social media as a medium to market

ourselves more efficiently. There are a multitude of social media platforms that are available, along with applications that we can download. We can use these mediums to display our strong points and services which we offer. Social media accounts such as Instagram and Facebook are very efficient in promoting an individual's business. OLX, Tick-Tock and YouTube when used effectively and efficiently can certainly bring significant results to one's business marketing and awareness to reach a different more specific audience. Creating an online blog, or even a weekly podcast, can gain us exposure and keep us relevant in a given domain, whilst enforcing the narrative of our credibility. Consistent posting of content, and updates to our social media account platforms gain us popularity and familiarity, which also increases the likelihood of being contacted to do business. It's important to keep consistent posts within a certain particular given time of the day. That maximizes views, and answers comments to keep active on social media. Keep liking pages, interacting with people, leaving comments and following significant people in which you would like to connect. That has great benefits in progressing and keeping yourself relevant in the business world. With respect to learning, there's many platforms that have become available, particularly in recent years and especially in light of the recent pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic essentially and unintentionally allowed for individuals to enhance their skills such as electronic learning and reading. Due to the excessive time saved when we all had to work from home, saving the team on travel time and reducing fatigue, many found time to grow their skills. This medium of learning (online learning and short courses) has had amazing popularity in facilitating skills development in individuals worldwide. There are many platforms in which we can learn online and obtain certification. And so we can ensure that perhaps you complete one of these a month, or even a few a year, to keep relevant and learn new skills. Sites like LinkedIn Learning, ESRI, Open Spatial, Get Smarter, Coursera and edX have many free courses available which users can take full advantage of.

Conclusion As we have evolved as a species, we have relied on technology to catapult us into the next era. We have relied on the benefits of technology to pioneer new innovations to assist us with daily life. With challenges such as overpopulation, cyber security threatening national security, climate change and health pandemics which require vaccinations, it is our reliance on science and technology which gets us out of difficult situations and helps create solutions for the future. As we travel through life, there will be many skeptics against technology. However, history has shown us that it's these innovations and technological revolutions that have extracted us from difficult and challenging times. The technological gap can be perceived from a different lens when looking at the younger generation compared to the more senior members of the community, people who are subject to change, and some people who oppose any instances of change. The underlying theme of humanity in relation to embracing change in general is that initially it is resisted however eventually is accepted and embraced. Technology is positively redefining the way in which we operate in the world and has the potential to provide us with a better quality of life and enable us to be more productive in our daily lives. Today, there are many challenges which can be fixed by browsing our smartphone, and troubleshooting minor problems such as a Google search on how to perform a certain task. On our smartphones today we have functions that cater to those with impaired hearing, poor vision and allows for voice-totext for convenience. Our smartphones have automated routines that can run based on predefined criteria to act in a certain way when we are in the comfort of our homes versus being in a public space. We have focus modes which help our children study while limiting distractions, and we have reminders which can be set when it is past our defined bedtime to remind us of the time. With the ushering in of this technological revolution, at the forefront is artificial intelligence and machine learning, capabilities which have come under much scrutiny over the years and, however, are unlocking new potential for us into the future. Such technologies have been around for a number of years, however, due to the speed of the revolution today, people are questioning if machines are going to be taking over. The conflict of

human intelligence versus artificial intelligence is at the forefront of the argument against these tools, however, with computers and algorithms learning quicker than humans there are endless possibilities on how we can adopt these technologies in our daily lives and improve the quality of life for future generations. Many scenarios have shown that some of the best possible solutions which are derived today are as a consequence of this new technology. The machines are learning while humans are using their leisure time however they wish. The machines are learning new and effective ways to complete tasks with the quickest turnaround time. Machine learning makes it possible to run multiple scenarios before finding the quickest possible route and solution for humanity. Understanding how the human brain and neural networks work, we can certainly say that deep learning is changing our perception of what artificial intelligence and machine learning can do. With examples pointed out in this book, such as the implementation of AI in restaurants, we can certainly make a case that this technology is changing the way we live our daily lives. This has been highlighted with the COVID-19 pandemic in which we tried to avoid unnecessary human contact, due to the rapid spread of the virus. It served as a glimpse of a temporary solution which could be implemented until we could find a cure or vaccine for the virus. Having automated processes saves humans’ time, and frees up our capacity to learn and solve more complex problems. We can certainly make the case that we depend on technology to aid us, as we traverse into the future. There is just too much data available. The era of big data and analytics has been given much attention and rightfully so. With the vast amounts of information and technology that's available at our disposal today, we certainly need help disseminating the data and drawing meaningful conclusions through detailed analysis. As humans, there's only a certain amount of information we can take in per day, considering human error, fatigue and tiredness. Other elements of our life outside of work, such as family life and leisure time, simply limit our capacity to learn all the time at full speed. And so this is where machine learning, artificial intelligence and technology, together with these breakthroughs in science can all benefit us. The creation of new technology and machines such as Baby X has come to the forefront in this era of big data, algorithms and machine learning. It has opened new doors, new possibilities of learning has taken away the stigma

associated with machines in the conventional sense. A digital baby that can learn, which has its system predicated on the human brain and anatomy with capabilities of deep learning through artificial neural networks. With breakthroughs such as Neuralink, the brain chip that's been proposed and is awaiting human trials, we can certainly say that there may be a possibility to cure people of health limitations caused by Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and strokes. These unfortunate circumstances may never be able to dictate the terms of human life and Neuralink may help the people suffering from these issues to live a normal life. Neuralink is able to make us perform tasks quicker, be more productive and it's even possible to intercept and fire counter-impulses to prevent us from suffering from epilepsy. Neuralink is able to bridge the gap between computers and brain chips. But with all of these technologies at our disposal, it’s probable that there may be more criminal threats. There may be more unofficial and illegal activities taking place with people especially when data is in the wrong hands. So we need to be responsible about the data. We need to have ethics. We need to have confidentiality and integrity when using this data. We need to have robust security, to make sure that our information is trusted and secure over any platform that we work on. The examples of surveillance in China (Shenzhen) certainly prove that technology can play a big role in reducing crime and in catching criminals in real time. This also helps set the example for the broader society that these illegal activities are unwelcome. It’s understandable that not everyone has sound knowledge of technology, some oppose it because they simply do not understand technology and so we might find ourselves asking a question of how can we grow our knowledge of technology to benefit us and suit us? We have seen clear-cut examples of this during the COVID-19 pandemic, when working remotely became a norm, for many people, we relied on technologies, like Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Cloud infrastructure to conduct our day job from the comfort of our homes. Technology is helping shape businesses. The conventional system of marketing and unsustainable methods of printing pamphlets and flyers, has been reduced in many instances. Now a large portion of marketing happens digitally over platforms like TikTok, Facebook Marketplace, Instagram, and Twitter, amongst many others. Google AdWords and search engine optimization (SEO) has become synonymous with digital marketing and advertising in the current day and age in which we live, which can provide

the platforms that can aid us to make more informed decisions and improve on our insufficiencies. We find ourselves in the middle of the fourth Industrial Revolution, for better or for worse, whether we choose to accept it or not that is our existence or reality with platforms like Wikipedia, we're able to get a brief understanding about a certain subject. With sites like Quora were able to ask questions and receive direct answers. We find ourselves in the middle of so many new programming languages and coding systems that are available and allow for contemporary and challenging new job positions at a rapid rate that's never been seen before. Data visualization technologies such as Power BI and Tableau have the capability of allowing us to make more informed decisions while allowing us to present and make a more cogent case for ourselves in the business without reading lengthy reports, being able to view graphics and understand our data or help inform clear-cut decision making almost instantly. We now have the leisure of doing online courses, taking these courses which provide us with online certifications thereby boosting our chances of employment but also investing in our own skills development. Technology is also making us more efficient; project management software such as Jira and Trello boards help us manage projects effectively and efficiently. We have punctuation software and grammar software such as Grammarly, which helps us make sure our language is professional, a variety of e-books to read, and audio books to listen to which is revolutionizing the way in which we learn and changing the conventional method of reading, especially among the younger generation. Many of us don't have the time to read a book but we have time to listen to a book. So, the advance of audiobooks is certainly allowing us to access data at a rapid rate. Podcasts are engaging us in contemporary debates and long form dialogs, making us grapple with complex situations and invoking critical thinking skills of people from all age groups. Technology also has a crucial role to play in our observation of the Earth, with nre possibilities through remote sensing, satellites and sensors fitted on satellites which are designed by engineers and launched into space. These technologies help us to navigate through difficult climates and make informed decisions. It helps us to understand the natural elements around us and when things are out of harmony with nature. More importantly it helps us predict natural disasters based on which we can make decisions on and plan for disaster relief circumstances.

Since we have this technology at our disposal, we should make it work for us, to our advantage, not to our disadvantage. We should take breaks during technology periods. We should schedule short times during the day to unplug and take a break, to walk outside. During these brief breaks we should try and stop using our smartphones and stop being connected with technology. We need to disconnect and become cognizant of the natural environment around us and have some moment of self reflection to appreciate the beauty of life as such. When we work, especially longer hours, and, if in an office setting, we should ensure that we have a comfortable chair. We should try and maintain a decent posture, which not only benefits our body, but also helps us project confidence in the workplace. We should often schedule breaks during work. We should go for vacations when we get a chance and take time off from our crazy chaotic lifestyles and just bask in our accomplishments. We should regulate our usage of the internet on our smartphones. We should set times or reminders on our phone to stop browsing social media. We can use technology to be more productive. Software such as FreedCamp makes us create tasks for the day and what we hope to achieve, other software such as LastPass allows us to manage our passwords as opposed to forgetting passwords and sending and receiving password reset links which take up time during the day. We have endless possibilities that technology has made possible and we should use it to our advantage. Machine learning and artificial intelligence is changing every aspect of our daily lives and allowing us to achieve and reap the benefits at a rapid rate. To do things which remained a wish many years ago.

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