As of January 2023, there are 5 billion users of the internet. People who use technology and want to know about it—in simple language, without jargon. Many of those nurture dreams and aspirations to be quicker, smarter and ‘be the change.’ We bring to them relatable stories of everyday users, understood by consumers and gadget freaks alike.
We start with the Internet of Things (IoT) and show how consumers are using smart devices that teach them to manage their homes, travel and lifestyle through their smartphones. We see how cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) are enabling them to give feedback to IoT devices, and extracting multiple services from household products like the humble LED light, or the refrigerator, or sophisticated jet engines, or combined harvesters. As devices turn smart and AI and robots enter our workspace they run the risk of being hacked. So techies developed the Blockchain, with encrypted text that would secure digital assets. But with it arrived cryptocurrencies that threaten to bring unprecedented speculation, money laundering and cyber crimes.
We also explore new opportunities in telehealth, distant education and metaworld, and the strides made in digital transformation that has, in less than five years, empowered over 2 billion people across the world, giving them access to cost effective banking, education, travel, energy, food and health services. But the same technologies are used to fight wars and disrupt supply chains that cause acute distress and worldwide recessions. The book is relevant because the changes happening now are not incremental but tectonic. This opens the door to a future that is more fascinating and threatening than fiction. Read on to find out more.
Preface. Introduction. Part I - Technologies That We Use. 1. Internet of Things: All Things Interactive. 2. Artificial Intelligence: Adding to Our Three Pounds. 3. Robots: The Machines Learn. 4. Blockchain: Keeping Track. 5. Cryptocurrencies: Beyond Tracking. 6. Cyber and Financial Crimes: Ruling the High Seas. Part II - Applications that Transform. 7. Digital Transformation: Will it Cut or Grow Jobs? 8. Telehealth: Distant Cure. 9. Edu Tech: Remote Learning. 10. Meta World: Virtual Reality. 11. Venture Capital: For Profit or Cause Part III - A Decade of Uncertainty. 12. The Great Digital Meltdown: A Fractured World. 13. The Circular Economy: Recycling the Meltdown. Afterword: Conclusion. Bibliography.
Biography
Sandip Sen is an engineer with over 30 years of experience in the energy and the manufacturing industry. In 2008 he decided to switch careers and enter the field of journalism. Thereafter he worked in the national media including at The Indian Express and The Delhi Press Magazines as an Editor. He has written weekly columns for half a dozen leading business dailies and magazines and appears in national television. He has also written 3 books on economic governance of which one, ‘ India Emerging, From Policy Paralysis to Hyper Economics’ published by Bloomsbury in 2019 has been co-authored with Aarohi Sen.
Aarohi Sen is an experienced thought leader at a leading global consultancy firm. He has been working on innovation in the future of IT and manufacturing for more than a decade. He is currently involved in managing a global research research team that develops economic models around themes of agile innovation, digital transformation and operational flexibility, and provides research insights into key client engagements. He has been writing for various global and in house publications for more than a decade.
