Digitization of society - a threat or a blessing, it is up to us!

We are on the verge of a new industrial revolution, there is more and more talk of robotics, artificial intelligence... technology will rapidly change the world as we know it. What will this change bring, what are the challenges that we will face and how to influence our future – these are the topics that we discussed with Nikola Ljushev, an engineer by vocation and the Chief Executive Officer of Makedonski Telekom.

1. We are witnessing technological innovations on a daily basis, progress is taking place with a very fast pace and it all has an impact on each of us.
We are entering a new era, a new industrial revolution, our society is becoming digital…what is going to change?

Everything! Digitization will take over every cell of our society without any exceptions whatsoever. We are facing enormous changes, but we still seem to be unaware of the robustness of such changes and the speed at which the world is going to change.
Not only will the physical, digital and biological world become combined, but also, in all likelihood, the very essence will change, and thereby the nature of the human being as it is today. With the development of artificial intelligence the question will arise: what does it mean at all to be a human being? So far, human evolution has been taking place over a relatively long period by way of nature. The merging of the digital features in the biological systems can contribute for us to keep on evolving in a completely new direction, through inbuilt sensors and processors so as to overcome the biological limitations of the cognitive capabilities, thus evolving much faster. The generation currently populating our planet will witness its own transition into a new evolutional phase.

2. It is a fact that each industrial revolution brings great changes, but there are always two sides of the coin.
Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

I am always on the side of progress because the new age is coming, whether we like it or not. The train is already moving in that direction. But, I do believe that we should and can be creators and not merely passive observers; thence, my optimism. If we want the transformation to succeed, we should create a society full of opportunities for everyone: business, politics, science and, first and foremost, the citizens, i.e. their rights. We should start working on the “good” scenarios immediately. For instance, with the autonomous vehicles the resource efficiency will rise by 30% to 40%, it will be possible to perform remote surgeries, personal digital assistants will advise people about a healthier lifestyle, recycling techniques will become very advanced… However, we must not forget that technology is a tool that can be abused. We should focus our attention on parts of the progress that have not been critically analyzed to a sufficient extent and not reject progress as a whole. I don’t think that we have ever been in such a good position before throughout human history. There are challenges, but the opportunities that are opening also open a new chapter for humanity. What is even more exciting is that progress is coming at a galloping pace and we will personally witness the changes.

3. Artificial intelligence will be very important for this new chapter of mankind.
Still, the question remains – is it a threat or a blessing?

It is up to us. We should create an artificial intelligence system that will function in a moral manner, express our will and be available to the greatest extent possible so that as many people as possible could benefit from it. Artificial intelligence can help us in many different ways, especially combined with robotics – it can help us live longer, healthier, save lives, anticipate natural disasters… Nevertheless, there is a great risk and I see it more in the probability of a small number of individuals to use technology in order to rule the world, rather than artificial intelligence turning against us. Artificial intelligence will make a significant impact on our lives, it will shape our lifestyle. Therefore, it is very important to establish principles, a framework within which it will develop. Transparency is of utmost importance. The patents and researches should be open to the public. We should have discussions about what robotics and artificial intelligence will do for us, our work, education, health and social life in general. This is the right time to develop digital responsibility.

4. You mention digital responsibility – what does it mean exactly?

Digital responsibility is the greatest challenge of today for all of us as creators of the digital society. It relies on a simple postulate – that technology and innovation should always and primarily serve people. It is people who should decide what can and what cannot be done with technology. This is due to the fact that the same technology can be used both for good and for bad. The algorithms will be able to detect an illness even before the first symptoms appear, but they can also be used for a complete invasion of privacy of people. Now is the time to start fighting for a humanized digital society and, yes, artificial intelligence can help us, as long as we work together so as to point it in the right direction. We all bear the responsibility – you, me, the political leaders, the corporation leaders, the non-governmental organizations, the economic leaders, the social media influencers, the educators. It is not simple, but we will have to find a common language and to work together. Only thus we will be able to make an impact.

5. Robotics, artificial intelligence, Internet of things – what is the technology behind all these?

The technology of the new generation – 5G. This technology will be for mankind what the steam machine was for the first industrial revolution, electricity for the second one and computers and information technologies for the third one. 5G will bring a quantum leap in three dimensions: an extremely fast data flow with speeds of multiple Gbps per user, energy efficient communication of a large number of machines/sensors and ultra-confidential real-time communications. Confidential real-time communication will actually be one of the main benefits from the 5G technology. Last week, in Barcelona, the first remote surgery was performed by using 5G. The surgeon leading the surgery gave guidelines and technical assistance to the team of doctors at a distance of 5 km from the hospital. 5G enabled a transmission with a delay of 0.01 seconds, as opposed to 0.27 seconds with the 4G network, currently used throughout the world. In the future, surgeons will be able to perform such surgeries with a robotic arm.

6. What preparations are necessary for 5G?

Most of the investments of the telecommunications operators in the forthcoming years will be aimed at introducing the new technology, certainly if they want to continue existing on the market. It takes serious, multimillion investments to build a new eco-system. The telecommunication operators, through their networks, now have a very important task – we will have to build the “blood vessels” of the new world in order to enable the entry in the new era. It takes infrastructure and investment capacity. Our networks will pave the way for the digital society.

7. When can we expect 5G in Macedonia?

Deutsche Telekom has started intensive preparations for the introduction of this technology. We, as Makedonski Telekom, are keeping up with the pace of the European countries. The fact that we are a small country does not mean that we are slacking; quite the opposite.

We have started intensively working on the test implementation of the 5G technology. By the end of the year, we are expecting to have a test platform that will help us gain experiences in an actual surrounding and evaluate the most perspective business models. Depending on the tests that we will conduct in the course of 2020, we will be in a position to make a decision as to the right moment for a commercial phase. The first 5G telephones have already timidly appeared on the world market, certainly, as always, starting with the premium segment. We are expecting the finalization of the 5G standard to happen within the next few years, which means that the first complete implementation of 5G with all its advanced features is expected to occur around 2025.

8. How will this technology impact the daily life, how can it help us locally?

The very word ‘locally’ is not really adequate since the world is going to change generally and globally. However, the new technology will certainly be able to solve the problems we are facing – providing cleaner air, a better use of resources, smart cities and homes, faster administrative processes. We will be able to learn how to preserve the natural resources that we have, as well as profit from them. With the help of the smart solutions we will be able to manage agriculture: to make wine or produce honey… During these processes we should all work together: the large companies, the institutions, the young new start-ups offering solutions. It is a common task for all social actors. We have the technology that could make such a breakthrough. We have a chance to establish the foundations of the Macedonian e-health, e-education, e-administration – and it is only the beginning, a basis for the great changes that are imminent.

9. Which technological advancement has amazed you the most?

Nanomedicine and the possibility to detect and rectify “technical” faults in the human body with the help of advanced technologies. It would be the way in which degenerative diseases would be cured on a permanent basis, the tissue aging process would be stopped and life would be prolonged, with a potential to fully redefine life on Earth, i.e. what we thought of as life until now.

10. What would be your advice for the younger generations?

Study math, programming, robotics – it is not the right answer, it is far from good advice. We do not know and we cannot predict precisely which jobs will exist at all and whether they will be “classic” jobs. But, we can change the angle of viewing things. Our entire educational system should undergo a complete mental change. Education should be radicalized. In addition, we should learn how to use technology for good – technology can make us digital addicts or future scientists, the choice is ours to make.

The concept of a diploma and a grade will not be valid any longer. Not only the young generations, but we should all develop a principle of continuous life-long learning. We simply cannot stop learning, especially in a world in which things are moving at the speed of light. We must remain open and curious. We have no other choice.

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