INGENIEUR
INGENIEUR
Increase in energy consumption and the race for a new source of energy
According to research , the information technology and communication sector could be consuming over 20 % of all electricity produced by year 2025 . The power consumption of 5G base stations is said to be at least twice of that of 4G stations , the equivalence of powering 73 households .
While there are arguments that 5G can enable better energy efficiency given its higher speed , less latency and greater capacity , we also need to consider the greater demand for data from users . The incorporation of digital technology into offices , homes , cars and even whole cities places a demand on energy as we have never seen before , and with limits that surpass our imagination .
There is therefore a need to innovate current sources of energy , and explore new ones . Again , this is not a new race . Development in hydro , solar , wind , tidal , hydrogen , nuclear , biomass and even geothermal energy technology has been moving at a breakneck speed in the past five years . There has also been keen exploration into new alternative sources of energy such as algae , jellyfish , alcohol , atomic fusion and harnessing cosmic energy from space such as from solar flares .
It is without a doubt that future generations will be fuelled by a new source of energy that would be powerful and sustainable enough to keep up with their growing demand . We are therefore left with two responsibilities - to create this future technology , and / or to create the technology that would enable this future technology to be created .
And just as a close to this heading , critical evolution is also needed in battery technology .
Life in Cyberspace and the Metaverse
Here are some quick statistics . Every ONE MINUTE in the year 2023 : YouTube gains 500 hours of fresh new video content , 35 million people update their Facebook statuses , five million Google searches are made , 350,000 tweets are sent , and six people get hired on LinkedIn .
Post-pandemic , many organisations have seen benefits in remote and hybrid working arrangements , including here in Malaysia . Communication technology has enabled work from home , online learning and socialising online to flourish , alongside the development of uncountable communication tools .
Nevertheless , the lines between reality and virtual has long been blurred , as younger generations start identifying , sharing and living more in the online space . The emergence and post-pandemic proliferation of e-commerce , digital transactions , e-wallets , QR payment and of course , cryptocurrency has brought our economy into the virtual space in a massive way .
So here is what the future generation will look like . They will be plugged in and they will be cashless . Intellectual , social and economic transactions will ride on communication platforms . These platforms will therefore need to be built with careful ethics and utmost security in mind .
Limits of Smart and Intelligent Technology
Limits ? There aren ’ t any . In negotiations over the writers and actors strike in the US , lawyers are now including contract clauses to ensure that artificial intelligence ( AI ) and machine learning ( ML ) elements are not used in their engagements . This is for fear that the physical likeness and voice attributes of the person are manipulated through technology without accreditation or compensation .
This concern is shared not only by the entertainment industry but , also a serious consideration in crimes . Communication technology has already arrived at a point where scams and hacks can now be carried out through AI image and voice manipulation .
Future generations are therefore likely to use communication technology that has more encryption embedded , but not to a point where it becomes intrusive . Crime and manipulation prevention technology will also need to keep up with this .
Data is currently at a crossroad , both where cybersecurity and aggregation are concerned . Development in this area would be very interesting to observe in the coming years as technology around data management become more sophisticated , and given the relatively positive and liberal outlook by the younger generation on data use .
50 VOL 97 JANUARY - MARCH 2024