What will technology look like after the COVID pandemic? This January 25, 2021 article written by Saeed Elnaj attempts to answer this question.

According to Elnaj, the pandemic has accelerated the adoption and implementation of many technologies that would have taken years to become mainstream. We have become more dependent on technology, which means that in the months post-pandemic, we can expect more digitalization and automation in many areas of life.

The author says that the two major trends that will accelerate post-pandemic are touchless technologies and highly automated robots that will augment human tasks. And as 5G becomes more available, more technologies and devices that implement minimal-human-intervention principles will become available.

Editor’s Note: Which of the issues connected to the rollout of AI and autonomous systems have been resolved already? Do our governments now have the capacity to regulate and control algorithms so that they do not affect election results? Did Big Tech companies stop covertly collecting our personal information?

What changed during the pandemic is that people have lost focus and the dangers of autonomous systems have been hidden from public view. But the issues of AI and new technologies remain. The AI bias continues to exist [see ARE WE PASSING ON OUR BIASES TO ROBOTS? and THE WAY WE TRAIN AI IS FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED].

The possibility of unscrupulous use of new technologies are still present [see THE PERILS AND PROMISE OF AI CONSCIENTIOUSNESS, RACHEL THOMAS: THIS IS WHAT SCARES ME ABOUT AI, THE REAL PROBLEM WITH AI: ITS APPLICATION]

The commercialization of the human being remains a threat [read TECHNOLOGY WILL DEHUMANIZE ALL HUMANS INTO DIGITAL ASSETS].

The bigger problem is that our democratic systems have been suspended by the pandemic. Who will tell governments that the “digital development” they want to head towards is not the same kind of development we want for the future?

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