Sometime last year, a BBC report exposed that millions of email ids were in the hands of hackers who then try to sell anti-hacking solutions. The targeted wrong doers were ostensibly Russian. Before this, the United States was battered by all and sundry when it tried to have imposed certain restrictions on the use of the internet. The kitchen sink was thrown at them including scraps such as freedom of expression, stifling technology and so much more. And now the much touted internet of things has come back to bite, very hard.
What began with a hacking of email during the US Presidential Elections that Mr Obama tried to tackle in his sunset era, that Donald Trump pooh-poohed and Vladimir Putin dismissed, hasn't gone away. That email, social media and the small matter of The Pentagon's servers can be gleefully breached isn't news anymore. The embarrassingly singular event of British Airways' systems going loco thanks to hackers and a situation whereby the UK National Health Service (NHS) doctors couldn't mail each other, has been followed by hacking of British MPs' email. In between the campaign details of Emmanuel Macron were hacked and leaked. Edward Snowden's now famous Wikileaks pales in comparison.
The fingers are pointed at Russia,,China and North Korea. Mr. Putin has so far only denied involvement relating to the US elections, mainly because of the Obama administration actions and sanctions. The concept of North Korea being involved actually, no matter how grudgingly elevates and recognises their technology capability. If they're that good the yet undeclared world of artificial intelligence (AI) needs another look by those creating it. Because , supposedly, AI is to make businesses more efficient, the element of privacy is coming under the spotlight afresh. The Googles and Yahoos of the world have so much private information, much of it already sold to businesses that smaller organisations that swear they'll never share your email address, sound woefully hypocritical. The sites one visits, the queries in the internet have an eerie way of finding their way back.
Answers to a query for cheap air fares to and from a specific destination keeps popping up no matter which site you go to. The day when mere window-shopping while clutching on to one's cell phone will relay messages to businesses that will be used for promotional targeting. That's one, albeit not the fundamental causes supermarket chains are in such a tizzy following Amazon's $ 13.7 billion acquisition of artisanal grocer Whole Foods. Given the investments the on-line product dispenser has made, reaching grocery to households that are at a distance from supermarkets is the key clincher. Supermarkets in Bangladesh have launched somewhat slipshod attempts of home delivery but it hasn't been, until now a popular concept in the US compared with other retail shopping. In the United Kingdom, retail stores proudly suggest you buy on-line and take delivery in-store, thereby reducing shopping time.
The long arm of AI currently still under wraps, may well signal the end of exit cashiers and even aisle support staff. A few experimental outlets in the US are testing the concept from last-order placed to near-field-connections (NFC) beeping orders that are processed. There's nothing perfect in science; the existing theory is valid only till a new one comes up. The pitfalls come with the benefits as will AI. In case of glitches, how quickly, if at all the old, manual system will be able to sort it out hasn't been worked out yet. Hence the reason British Airways had apologies, not solutions. Balance will be the key. A preferential shift from digital books to the printed version is one indication; the other may just about be old-fashioned social interaction.
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