Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Coronavirus pandemic is pointing to how technology will transform the future – and some of its drawbacks

Big data and artificial intelligence have been deployed to help contain the virus and hunt for a vaccine. But concerns persist over the threat to privacy and tech’s promotion of misinformation

The world faces a paradigm-shaking set of economic, political, environmental and social issues. They include rising populations, the environment and failing post-World War II metrics and economic models; what each of these factors share is that technology offers both solutions and challenges.

As we focus on Covid-19’s health and economic hurdles, the environment and social changes loom in the background. What can we expect from technology?

Big data allows governments to track people in unprecedented ways and provides raw information, which can be used to find commonalities, trends and genetic markers to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and help develop vaccines.

5G speeds up information sharing, facial recognition, contact tracing, distance learning, GPS and social media, for example, allowing artificial intelligence experts to create real-time models that drive more accurate and targeted decision-making.



It took around five months to decode the severe acute respiratory syndrome genome; Covid-19’s was decoded in a month. AI is already speeding the process of finding a vaccine by going through the various antiviral combinations and selecting high probabilities that can be pursued in the lab.

The internet itself has evolved and allows access to the most up-to-date and accurate information on prevention, infections and deaths.

On the other hand, technology has also enabled the spread of false and misleading information. In some instances, the media and the internet are being used to push political or economic agendas, or deflect blame for incompetence.

The same technology that can be used to fight the virus could also be used to weaponise it. The same combination of big data, 5G and AI – crucial in controlling the spread of Covid-19 – is also a challenge to people’s privacy.



Covid-19 is seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back, which brought the world to the doorstep of a recession. What people often overlook is the role technology has been playing in our economy. Beyond unicorns and tech titans, technology has changed, and will continue to change, the way we work, live and govern ourselves.

So far, technological changes have largely affected factory jobs but, in the future, its impact will be felt in logistics and services like law, banking and accounting. This will lead to a massive dislocation of existing labour and economic, political and social change.

Economically, people will need to be shifted into fields where they can be productive and there is enough demand, such as design and other creative fields where technology cannot currently replace human beings.

Politically, people will expect and receive more information, but not all of it will be accurate, as we have experienced. For example, jobs lost to automation are often blamed on other countries.

Socially, we are interacting with each other increasingly online; remote working, meetings and learning are experiencing a massive boom, which may subside slightly, but will not disappear due to economic efficiencies.

On the positive side, on the economic front, technology – especially AI, big data and 5G – will transform the efficiencies of commercial processes. Smart contracts will replace legions of lawyers, and taxation at the point of transaction will replace armies of accountants and book-keepers.

Agricultural yields will rise due to drones employing GPS navigation and directed by AI to minimise water and fertiliser use. Productivity gains can be directed into more leisure time and activities. Even fewer people will be employed in the fields.

Politically, real-time information will be available. With less time spent assembling reports, and tracking and guarding data, fewer bureaucrats will be needed. More time can be spent planning the successes of the future, rather than making excuses for the failures of the past. Governments can be held more accountable, as the need for guesswork is reduced.

Socially, assuming that resources are put into education and training people for the future economy, there will be shorter weeks and more leisure time. Hopefully, with fewer resources devoted to providing subsistence necessities, economic disparity will decline. In essence, advances in technology will enable socialist goals.

To ensure that technology better serves mankind, greater compatibility, international standardisation, efficiency in information and communication technology value chains, and international cooperation and teamwork should be promoted and encouraged, rather than disrupted and sabotaged.

A case in point in the fight against Covid-19 is that different standards of protective masks by different countries and regions have hindered the efficiency of the fight against the virus and put more lives at risk. Divided technologies in general, and in information and communication technology in particular, will make the world of tomorrow more dangerous.

In the future, technology companies should be treated fairly and freed up to innovate. Politicising any technology company – be it Apple, Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung or ZTE – without due process not only undermines the rule of law itself, but inflicts harm on consumers and mankind as a whole.

Technology is like a surgeon’s scalpel: when wielded by a trained practitioner, it can save lives, but used irresponsibly, it can do the opposite. The experience of the Covid-19 pandemic should remind us that whether the future is a “brave new world” or a better new world will be up to us, not technology.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
Analysts Warn Iran May Resort to Unconventional Warfare
Iranian Regime Faces Existential Threat Amid Conflict
×