TWC Week 6

This week's lesson was on the BioBusiness Revolution, and its increasing share of the world's economy.Being in Singapore, I'm able to relate to this as the government has shifted its focus to the biobusiness side of the economy as seen in the set up of institutions like AStar to focus on biomedical research, so as not to be left behind by the world. In one of the slides under opportunity areas, there was an agricultural segment. I was immediately reminded of Monsanto and its total domination on the genetically modified crops market as well as its huge influence on the agricultural industry. Through clever patenting and filing high profile lawsuits on its competitors, it has virtually rid itself of all competition, an example of global domination through the biobusiness industry.

Through a slide showing the changing trends in cause of death, I can takeaway the fact that the advancements in healthcare together with the improvement in standard of living over the past few years has eradicated diseases like tuberculosis and measles as causes of death. On the other hand, with the higher standard of living, 'lifestyle diseases' like heart diseases are increasingly common. From what I know, colon cancer which originates from a highly unhealthy diet is also another increasingly common cause of death today.

Another key takeaway I had from the lecture was the increasingly advanced medical technology used in developing more and more sophisticated prosthetic limbs for the handicapped, which aids greatly in restoring their life back to the same quality. From wooden limbs in the past, there are now mind controlled prosthetic limbs in existence today. Who knows, the level of prosthetic limbs as shown in the movie Robocop could be a reality in the near future.

An issue I felt could be used for further discussion would be whether there should be increasing government involvement in medical technology research rather than leaving it to the private sector. I'm sure one has heard of the numerous conspiracy theories regarding HIV treatments, and today HIV treatments are one of the most expensive in the world. And from a pharmaceutical company's point of view, its main aim is still to maximise profit rather than for selfless reasons. As such, maybe some form of government influence/intervention might actually propel medical technology forward even more?

I would rate this week's lecture 9/10.

TWC Week 5

TWC Week 5

This week's lecture was focused on telecommunications, the internet, mass media with discussions on how new technologies in this aspect like interactive technologies, social networking etc, have shaped our world. Its definitely a universal view that the advancement in technology in these areas have made our world much smaller.

What caught my attention was the dark side that came along with such advancements and inventions. With more of the world's population being heavily dependent on technology for our daily lives, the internet and telecommunications technology has also become some sort of Achilles heel for us. Issues like identity theft, hacking and many instances of cyber crime have inevitably popped into our lives, taking advantage of our reliance on such technologies. This topic was also mentioned in Daniel's presentation, where the grim scenario of the internet failing on us was discussed. While we would definitely survive such a situation, the world would invariably slow down, as everyday chores that rely on the internet that we take for granted like bank transactions and checking of emails would no longer be possible.

The recent case of the NSA's spying on USA's own citizens as well as abroad is an example of the controversies that arises from the advancement of communication technology. Originally created to detect terrorist activity after the September 11 attacks by filtering internet browsing history, emails and phone calls, many Americans are now turning against the government after whistleblowers exposed its existence and due to the general perception that such measures are no longer needed against terrorism.

There were some ideas that I brought away from the lecture. ICT technology will only continue to advance as shown in the Web 1.0-2.0-3.0 evolution. As such, the opportunities that one can misuse such technology will only increase as well. As such, time needs to be devoted to developing safeguards to minimise the risks of that occurring. The evolution of such technology will only make us more and more reliant on it, and as such, the consequences will be severe if such technology should ever fail on us one day. As such, backups for such a scenario as Daniel presented, should be thought of.

To conclude, I rate the lesson a 9/10, but I wish that some time could be devoted to discussing safeguarding measures government or bodies can impose on such new emerging technologies to lower the chances of being misused.

TWC Week 4

TWC Week 4

Change is the only constant. That was the point that was continuously being subconsciously drilled into my mind in this week's lecture. The first part of the lecture was about the drivers of world change like the always changing circumstances, while the second part was more about what one can do to achieve the change that he desires.

There were some interesting observations from the lecture, especially from the topic of change management and leadership. Through the videos shown, I realised the true meaning of Gandhi's quote "Be the change you want to see in the world." By taking the initiative, one can kick start the change he wants rather than just waiting around. Alister's presentation on flight was also interesting as it further demonstrated the point that any technological advancement can be used to benefit mankind as well as for malicious purposes.

One of the key takeaway points for the lecture was that for any future technology or invention, it always opens a new box of possibilities for both sides. Like the Wright Brothers could not have predicted that their invention would be become an integral part of warfare just over 10years later, nobody can ever foresee what harm could any new advancements in technology bring us other than mere speculation. Like seen in the second half presentations by Shien Tah and Chermain, leaders who make a big impact all started by daring to take the first move, as well as knowing how to adapt their management style to suit their followers.

With regards to many companies, especially in the technology industry, trying to predict the drivers of world change and staying one step ahead has always been a big gamble which can be seen in Apple's successes with its first Iphone and its failure with the Apple TV. I felt that some time could be dedicated to identifying trends and minimizing the risks of predicting such changes.

I give the lesson 8/10.

TWC Paper Outline

Artificial Intelligence

Background/Introduction

The main idea of artificial intelligence is that the capacity of the human mind can be described and replicated with a machine. While today, we are nowhere near creating anything that can replicate the human brain, technology has reached the point where robots have been created that have some form of autonomous functions. With artificial intelligence progressing at a rapid rate, we are also entering a new frontier with many potential problems and ethical concerns, which will be examined in this paper, and what we can do about it.

Why I chose this topic.

It is impossible to ignore the huge leaps in technological advancement with regards to artificial intelligence in recent years. While we designed such machines with the intent of helping ourselves, there’s always the possibilities of artificial intelligence backfiring on us like a technological singularity, as well as the numerous ethical issues.

Background and Historical Perspective

What is artificial intelligence and a brief history of it

The aim of artificial intelligence and how it has developed till today.

The Current Situation

Certain robots have displayed very limited ability of replicating human emotions.

Artificial intelligence still far from having the capabilities of the human brain.Machines are slowly taking over entry level and highly routinized work.

Issues for Future Consideration

Voice recognition technology is highly advanced now. In the near future, with adequate processing power, it has the ability to spy on everyone in the world for its operator as seen in the film Minority Report. As such, the issue of one’s privacy is at hand here.

If one day robots develop the ability to be more intelligent than humans, would they rebel against us and develop a technological singularity?

The importance of creating a friendly artificial intelligence.

If one day robots develop the ability to think as a human brain does, will it give them the ability to feel? Should they be accorded certain rights?

Conclusion
Steps we can take to minimise the potential problems and ethical concerns

 

TWC Week 3

TWC Week 3

Week 3's lesson was mostly on sustainable development, which is growth without limiting any options for the future generations. There were quite a number of interesting concepts presented, which largely revolve around the switch to renewable energy like solar power. The amount of solar energy that reaches Earth in an hour is enough to feed the world for a whole year, and sadly, much of it is wasted and not harnessed. While there are many ongoing research projects on harnessing solar energy, it seems that many governments around the world are complacent and content with using non renewable sources of energy like the traditional fuel-burning at power plants. 

The presentations were interesting and covered a diverse range of topics, but Kartika's talk on the Singaporean environment for creativity caught my attention the most. Its a general thought here that Singaporeans lack creativity due to the "No U-Turn Syndrome" as coined by Sim Wong Hoo, the founder of Creative, where there is an inbuilt mentality to follow the orders of the higher authorities without question, restricting creative ideas and thoughts. I feel that there is an abundance of people with creative ideas for progress and development in Singapore as seen in the numerous innovative projects by the polytechnic students of Singapore yearly, and not to mention Sim Wong Hoo himself. However, in the context of Kartika's presentation, the soil does not support the growth of the seeds, with a large chunk of the blame directed at our education system. The ways to change this are not definite or clear, but what is certain is that this could lead to a future brain drain from Singapore due to the lack of support for innovative projects here. As of now, Sim Wong Hoo has moved to China and engaging in new technological products over there rather than back home.

The key take away points of the lesson were firstly, everyone has a part to play in sustainable development. Yes, there are laws and regulations to ensure industries keep their growth sustainable like limiting pollution etc. However wealthy firms can simply ignore the fines and levies imposed due to their huge profits earned. Firms and consumers also have to do their part with consumers switching over to products made by sustainable means. In the long run, to cater to such a demand, firms will have to review their manufacturing processes and make the switch over. Secondly, the world is indeed constantly changing at a fast rate and innovation is indeed the main key to staying ahead of one's competitors, 

I felt that maybe some time could be devoted to exploring why governments and businesses are reluctant to switch over to more cost effective and sustainable processes, like solar energy and certain manufacturing processes.

I rate the lesson 8/10.