How will intelligent connectivity change our lives?

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Editor's Note: Aaron Zou is a California-based PhD student specializing in media and cultural studies. The article reflects the author's opinion and not necessarily views of CGTN.

Foldable phones, 5G, Internet of Things (IoT) – these are not distant scenes of sci-fi films, but buzzwords for the 2019 Mobile World Congress (MWC) being held in Barcelona, Spain from February 25 to 28.

As the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, the event is aimed not only at showcasing the most innovative technologies, but also to explore a vision of the future world, as well as the relationship between humans, machines and the environments in which we reside.

What is “intelligent connectivity”?

The theme of this year's MWC is “Intelligent Connectivity” – a term used to describe the powerful combination of flexible, high-speed 5G networks, the IoT, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data. Intelligent connectivity heralds an era of enhanced personalization, ubiquitous hyper-connectivity across platforms and devices, smart ways of living and working, as well as speedy data transmission and processing.

The underlying logic of intelligent connectivity is rooted in the idea of IoT, namely that all devices and apparatuses – smartphones, wearables, laptops, sensors, cameras, home appliances, and vehicles – connect with each other into an extensive network to perform services for their owners.

The IoT extends Internet connectivity beyond standard electronics to an array of digital and non-electronic physical devices and objects. It allows these devices and objects to transmit, exchange and sync data instantaneously, and to be remotely monitored and controlled.

Spain's King Felipe VI (R, facing camera) leads the applause during a dinner at the National Art Museum of Catalonia to mark the inauguration of the Mobile World Congress, the world's biggest mobile fair, in Barcelona, Spain, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

Intelligent connectivity and a smarter life

The concept of intelligent connectivity, when put into practice, is set to impact every aspect of our daily lives, and breaking traditional boundaries between entertainment and work, between personal and public lives, and between the “real” and the virtual.

Intelligent connectivity will not only afford more convenient and efficient ways of living for individuals, but will also lay the technological and infrastructural foundations for the development of smart cities.

Intelligent connectivity means more than simply connection and transmission. With big data and machine learning technologies, the massive information collected and generated could not only be stored in the cloud, and be analyzed and processed through complex predictive analytics, which identifies, analyzes and predicts individual's habits and behaviors.

Not only will people be able to experience more immersive entertainment and education via augmented or virtual reality technologies, but buildings, public spaces, and transportation will be surrounded by connected smart devices and extensive data networks, channeling traffic flows, monitoring assets and properties while coordinating emergency management.

People take pictures of the new Mate X smartphone ahead of the MWC 19 in Barcelona, Spain, February 24, 2019. /VCG Photo

Algorithmic analytics can enable people to receive high-quality and high-relevance products and services. In retailing, consumers are able to receive personalized ads, assistance in shopping and replenishing products, as well as customized services.

In healthcare, data sharing and connected services will better serve patients' needs. People's smart devices could draw on machine learning to detect patterns in their medical data or changes in their health condition and share them with the doctors, enabling early interventions and diagnoses.

In transportation and traveling, self-driving cars could gather and process real-time data about the environment to inform driving decisions and to channel traffic, leading to safer and more efficient transportations.

When you are visiting a new city on business or for vacation, your personal assistant could help you book flights and hotel rooms while making travel plans for you. There are even ways to travel “virtually” in the comfort of your smart homes: by controlling a drone remotely, you could take virtual tours around any destination of interest.

Potential risks

However, the convenience of smart working and living made possible by intelligent connectivity comes with a price and raises the bar for security precautions. First and foremost, people's privacy is at stake. The collection and secondary uses of massive personal data by third parties as well as the easy sharing of such data across platforms may give rise to uncertainty around the use of personal data.

Moreover, facial recognition technology and connected digital cameras make surveillance ubiquitous and low-cost. To address these privacy issues, there needs to be more transparency and accountability in terms of data collection and use. Consumers should be given clear instructions and informed options on whether or how they want their data to be used.

A visitor tries out Lenovo augmented reality glasses with the Star Wars Jedi Challenges during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 26, 2018.

Secondly, as big data analytics plays a stronger role in predicting and modifying people's behavior, the quality of the individual life is more and more dependent on machines. The over-reliance on algorithm-based decision-making could be risky because machine learning is not perfect and is prone to errors and biases as well.

The tendency to see algorithms and machines as completely objective, accurate and impartial is dangerous. In fact, many scholars have proved that algorithms, due to their bottom-up data-driven approach to problem-solving and their heavy emphasis on historical data, may project or reinforce biases in decision making, which impacts various aspects of people's lives.

Therefore, we should be aware of the limitations of predictive analytics, and refrain from excessive fixation or obsession with artificial intelligence and machine learning. Technologies are tools invented to aid us, not to entrap us.

Thirdly, intelligent connectivity raises the bar for security precautions and quality controls. As all the devices and platforms are interconnected, any breach in a particular node could put the whole network at risk. Therefore, more reliable security protections and quality controls are needed so that people can use their devices with confidence.

All these risks are not necessarily inevitable and should not turn people away from developing and enjoying intelligent connectivity. Rather, they are issues that designers, engineers, owners and regulators of these technologies should be consciously taking into consideration, in order to better harness the technologies and better serve the needs of the people.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)