Information Technology and Life Essentials
Marwan Muslim
When I was young, in the late seventies, I used to watch an American documentary series titled "Beyond 2000." In one episode, titled "Beyond 2000," it showcased a person entering a supermarket through his computer (shown as a video clip). He then took a shopping cart, roamed through the supermarket sections, held the items he wanted, flipped them left and right, read their ingredients, expiration dates, and all the details (using the mouse on his computer). If he liked something, he placed it in the basket. Upon completing his shopping, he went to the cashier, and the cashier read the product information from his computer. Then a bill was issued to the customer, who paid using his bank card, provided his home address, and the supermarket delivered the requested items to his home. The program concluded with a statement (By the year 2000, you will be able to do this for real). Of course, my family and I laughed and ridiculed this scientific imagination.
Several years later, after my marriage, my wife, children, and I used to watch the famous cartoon series "Tom & Jerry." In one episode (The Robotic Vacuum Cleaner), a vacuum cleaner sensed any dirt on the floor, automatically operated, and cleaned without any commands. My wife jokingly said back then, "I wish I had such a vacuum to relieve me from the burden of sweeping and cleaning." Another popular cartoon show, "Adnan and Lena," featured Lena's grandfather taking them into a fantasy hall showing spring, children playing, trees, people, animals, etc.
In the past, we viewed these things as fantasies, thinking they were making fun of our minds, and that it could never happen. Of course, everything mentioned and more has happened. Who among us doesn't shop online now? Many of us have robotic vacuum cleaners that operate automatically (I bought one for my wife). During my visit to Microsoft's headquarters in Seattle, USA, in 2014, they gave us a tour of their innovation center. As soon as we arrived at the entrance with the tour guide, the door recognized her through her mobile phone. The door opened automatically, and the system welcomed her. She then took us to the living room and said, "I haven't contacted my mother in a while." She instructed the system to call her, and the room walls turned into screens. We spoke with her mother, who lived in a distant state, both in voice and image. Then she said to the system, "I haven't seen snow for a while." The system transformed the room walls into a famous snowy area, turning the room into a three-dimensional space. We felt the cold air and snowfall on us, among other experiences that this article cannot cover.
A friend of mine mentioned that two years ago, he went to a restaurant where he sat at a table consisting of a large screen. He opened the menu, placed an order, and while waiting, he watched YouTube or browsed the internet. After a short while, the order arrived with a robot on a table attached to it. He then paid the bill on the same table by swiping his smartwatch, which stored his bank account number. Virtual reality has become closer to us than real life. Beyond smartphones, we now have smartwatches, smart TVs, smart glasses, smart rings, smart homes, IoT devices on household appliances, smart supermarkets, smart cities, and much more. We can no longer accomplish many of our daily tasks without this technology. Developing programs and applications compatible with this technology has become the main focus for many companies, individuals, and service developers. Now, you cannot prevent yourself or your children from keeping up with this overwhelming wave of technology.
Perhaps after a not-so-distant period, you may find that you don't need to do things the way we used to. For instance, most of your official transactions can now be done from your mobile phone or computer. Most of your purchases can be made in the same way. Even your home appliances can do this on your behalf using IoT. Your fridge can be programmed to send you a notification when a specific product is running low, and it can order it from the online store, deducting the amount from your card. Samsung has developed a fridge with an installed 3D camera inside, and its door is a large screen. When you place anything inside the fridge, the camera recognizes it, and the screen shows you that you placed, for example, four tomatoes weighing 450 grams each on a certain date, and a broccoli weighing 230 grams. It displays images of the products, and after a while, it informs you that the product is starting to spoil. It also suggests several recipes you can make with the available ingredients.
Even driving a car may become a thing of the past with the spread of electric cars like Tesla and others that can drive themselves. A smart home can perform everything you want as soon as you wake up. It checks your vital signs, prepares your favorite coffee, displays your schedule, provides a list of lunch suggestions based on what's in your fridge or electronic shelf, alerts you to things that need maintenance at home, and offers other ideas. At work, you can communicate with your colleagues (one in another city and the other working from home) to collect pieces of an artificial limb for a patient with an amputated hand. These pieces have been distributed among you, each having a part specific to it, to be printed with a 3D printer.
I attended a course on smart cities six months ago, covering various aspects of smart cities. I will mention one topic from it, which is waste management. Smart waste management solutions have been introduced to help reduce operational costs by up to 80%, achieve a greener environment, and maintain clean cities. This system includes a waste compactor powered by solar energy, a fill level sensor equipped with ultrasonic waves, a real-time data monitoring and analysis platform, and more. These smart solutions minimize waste collection frequency, fuel consumption, labor, and maintenance costs. They also bring several important benefits, such as improving cleanliness, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, using a solar-powered waste compactor, wireless communication with the data analysis platform, and generating additional revenue through advertisements, among others.
I was impressed by a cartoon circulating on social media that had two parts. The first part depicted a mother dragging her son outside to play in the days when children used to play outdoors. The second part showed the mother dragging her son inside the house while he played with electronic devices, wishing he could play outside with his friends. Unfortunately, this cartoon reflects our present reality, where many wish their children would play outside with friends and leave electronic devices.
I often ponder the question: Where will this lead us? Will technology truly control us? Will jobs be replaced by technology? What was once fantasy has become a reality that cannot be ignored.
With the emergence of the new term - Artificial Intelligence (AI) - and its vast and rapid capabilities, the question arises: Can some professions be dispensed with and replaced by robots? When my daughter entered university and wanted to study medicine, many advised her against choosing certain specializations. Some medical procedures are now performed by robots, and these professions may not have a future in the near term. This is somewhat concerning for students when choosing their majors.
Here, I say that human intellect and capabilities created by God cannot be replaced by robots. Humans create and program these robots. We should benefit from robots rather than replace them. Have we replaced accountants after discovering Excel? Have we replaced factory workers after the invention of robots in manufacturing? No, we have not.
We need to adapt to our new reality with its pros and cons, its advantages and disadvantages. My generation may differ from my children's generation because I experienced the simplicity of old technology. Getting a Walkman and a VCR was considered cutting-edge technology for me. I used to be the remote control for the TV when I changed the channel (we only had two channels). Now, I have embraced and kept up with modern technology. However, I am confident that what I know, my children have surpassed, and I often seek their assistance because they grew up with this technology.