How do we ensure disruptive tech is in the right hands?

Fast Future founder Rohit Talwar said the benefits of emerging tech such as AI could be game-changing for many industries, but certain guardrails will still be needed to protect wider societal interests.

At an event in Printworks at Dublin Castle today (9 September), futurist, author and speaker Rohit Talwar took to the stage and immediately painted an extremely futuristic picture for the audience.

In this picture, emerging and disruptive technologies enable someone who is watching a movie about Japan to be presented with a travel plan to visit the country. An opportunity to have a wardrobe already there exists, along with a 3D printer to be able to print any additional clothing items you may need. A personal AI companion translates for you so that you can talk to locals. Drones help to capture your trip and micropayments enable you to be paid by others to view your experience.

The picture is of a techno world that could be straight out of a sci-fi movie. And as Talwar came to the end of this description, he was aware that some might find the prospect of this exciting, while others might find it terrifying. But his goal was to show what could be possible as these disruptive technologies continue to evolve and advance.

This futuristic picture was painted for the audience of Enterprise Ireland’s inaugural DisrupTech Summit, which aimed to explore the world of disruptive technologies and how they can improve people’s lives and address global challenges.

What are disruptive technologies?

Disruptive technologies or innovations are those which significantly changes how users or industries operate and can come in the form of products and devices, or companies and their services.

Smartphones disrupted the computing industry and changed the way users browse the internet, Amazon disrupted the traditional bricks-and-mortar retail landscape, streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify have changed the way we consume media and challenger banks such as Revolut have disrupted the banking industry.

Now, companies who are hoping to ‘disrupt’ are looking to emerging technologies such as generative AI, cloud computing and even quantum to change the way systems and services operate for the better.

Start-ups working with disruptive tech

Outside of Talwar’s keynote in which he explored what the wider world could look like as tech advances, the DisrupTech Summit also showcased some of the Irish start-ups working in this area, creating commercial innovations out of research and emerging technologies to solve real-world problems.

One example is A-techsyn, a drone company with technology that can survey large areas of coastline, improve maritime surveillance and support Ireland’s ability to combat drug smuggling.

Deciphex uses AI to target accurate screening, which will contribute to improved outcomes for cancer patients. Last year, it was named Medtech Company of the Year by the Irish Medtech Association.

And Galway medtech start-up Neurent Medical develops a device for treating chronic inflammatory sino-nasal conditions.

Each of these are start-ups that have received support through Enterprise Ireland’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund (DTIF), which was established to help fund projects that would tackle challenges through technology.

Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform Pascal Donohue, TD, said the range of challenges the successful projects have overcome is impressive. “They are wonderful success stories and serve to illustrate the benefits of investing in the long-term future of our economy,” he said.

How much tech is too much?

But while the smaller companies are undoubtedly showing how these technologies could be used for the greater good, one can’t help but wonder about the broader changes to society. As part of Talwar’s keynote in the morning, he spoke about AI in action in various different industries such as healthcare and education.

In fact, he spoke about David Game College, a private school in London, which is piloting a ‘teacherless’ class where AI is used instead of human teachers. However, concerns have already been raised about how this will dehumanise the learning process.

“One of the areas where AI has crept in almost unseen is online dating,” he said, adding that an AI companion could help those who struggle to connect with prompts that might guide them to a better result. This could include telling someone they’re talking too much about themselves to giving them some ideas about what to ask their potential partner.

Again, like the critics of the AI classroom, I was immediately concerned about the dehumanising element of this. In this world where everyone has an AI bot helping them navigate a human conversation in real time, will users end up in an online dating relationship with the person or the bot? And where does the real user’s personality end and the bot’s ‘helpful tips’ begin?

In conversation with SiliconRepublic.com, Talwar agreed that there could be an element of manipulation at play in these scenarios, but he maintained it can help those who struggle with communication, especially in that initial meeting.

“The desire and the content might be there, but with these things they just don’t know how to [communicate],” he said, adding that if a user had someone prompting them on certain communication cues, they could establish a better connection.

Tech in the wrong hands

There’s another factor to consider, which was brought up during the DisrupTech Summit itself: the corporate hands that are actually on this technology and how their goals directly affect the user’s experience.

While the societal good that these technologies can bring is certainly there, one can’t help but worry about the ulterior motives and vested interests of those in industry who actually wield the power here. During a question-and-answer session at the event, Talwar said that while experimentation is important to further these technologies, regulation and guardrails will be needed, especially for the larger tech companies and how they are using this technology.

Chatting to SiliconRepublic.com after his keynote, Talwar reiterated that the tech giants are “undoubtedly very powerful” but that there are others breaking through, which will be significant in taking some of that power back because of changes in consumer behaviour.

“There’s a generation coming through that doesn’t want that, so now we know about DuckDuckGo, they prefer to go that route than Google,” he said. “DuckDuckGo has like 230m users. It still seems tiny against Google’s 5bn, but it’s a start, and so we don’t necessarily have to assume that everything is fixed forever.”

He spoke about industry giants from the past that seemed unassailable at the time, until they weren’t. General Electric, once one of the biggest companies in the world, was essentially torn apart through sales and spin-offs until what was left of it earlier this year was finally dismantled into two separate companies.

“It is possible for industry leaders to become too arrogant, too convinced in their own magic…and so there comes a point where the market starts to tell a different story and it’s almost too late because you’re too invested,” he said.

“I think we will see more and more competitors, people using distributed stuff on blockchain, all of this will happen as you get a generation coming through that are more tech literate or tech native realising that they don’t just have to go with the superpowers.”

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