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We must admit that we are\u00a0living in challenging times, when the trend in technological advancement is\u00a0characterised\u00a0by a mix of innovations and technological applications, among them\u00a0digitalisation, robotics and nanotechnology.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is a great deal to be had from technological innovations and\u00a0increased computer power.\u00a0Digitalisation\u00a0has increased efficiency and productivity at work, has opened the doors to worldwide communication and has helped make the world more secure. The process of innovation is continuous and is now\u00a0spreading to\u00a0blockchains<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0cryptocurrencies<\/i>\u00a0<\/i>and the prevalence of artificial intelligence and robotics.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Rapid technological innovation has created new opportunities in business. Established companies are changing their business model to stay current. Consumers have\u00a0become used to buying over the internet and governments are using data in the provision of services and to strengthen their communication.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Innovators, policy makers and\u00a0users of\u00a0technology\u00a0make a mistake when they do not take into account the human element and human relationships in society. Persons are more important than computer data. A person has dignity, rights and liberty.\u00a0Unconditional respect for persons should be the only essential aspect that should be considered when making decisions and taking action within the economic environment. Social communication and human dialogue that is\u00a0open and sincere, but always interactive, should be a permanent aspect in the process of discussion. Human dignity calls for solidarity, justice and mercy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are two points that one must consider:\u00a0is technology being abusive, manipulative or addictive? Is\u00a0digitisation\u00a0and its related impacts posing a threat to the work done by human beings? The answers to these questions are rather complex. One may start by referring to the digital divide within our society. A person born into the digital world benefits from the advantages provided by technology in education and when they come to\u00a0socialise\u00a0within a digital environment. Persons not born in this reality are at a disadvantage. The disproportionate distribution of opportunities creates differences, prejudice and deprivation.\u00a0Minorities are, thus, excluded due to the lack of opportunity to learn and obtain the right qualifications.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Can human beings ever be replaced by technologies?\u00a0What are the implications at work and in terms of social conditions? Is it true that technology has brought about an increase in anxiety, stress and psychological problems that impact human health? On the other hand,\u00a0digitalisation, artificial intelligence and robotics offer one more time to relax and to spend with family and friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We need to\u00a0make sure that we are not putting\u00a0our judgement\u00a0before\u00a0responsibility and trust.\u00a0Responsibility in decision making goes beyond ensuring that no harm is done to others to encouraging, cooperating with and\u00a0developing others to ensure that they do not fall behind in the context of such technological progress. This is also a question of trust. Are we trusting business, financial institutions, the state, the judiciary and regulators? We are living in an age of antipathy towards those in authority who are disappointing the people due to hypocrisy, greed, lack of accountability and dishonesty. We need to rebuild trust in authority if we want to rebuild a society that is open to technology and trusts all that is good and of benefit to society.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At the end of the day,\u00a0digitalisation\u00a0is a reality we need to embrace. The key is how the computer is to make a decision when faced with a critical situation. In decision making, a human being cannot be substituted by a machine. Everyone should have the opportunity to participate in the process of digitalization and therefore education, vocational training and internet accessibility are crucial. Questions of privacy and ownership of data should not be\u00a0undervaluead\u00a0because they are tied to\u00a0human beings\u2019 liberty. All in all, all depends on the answer to this question: how are we going to develop our future?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We must admit that we are\u00a0living in challenging times, when the trend in technological advancement is\u00a0characterised\u00a0by a mix of innovations and technological applications, among them\u00a0digitalisation, robotics and nanotechnology.\u00a0 There is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1927,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":""},"issuem_issue":[81],"issuem_issue_categories":[9],"issuem_issue_tags":[],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"2.8.8","language":"en","enabled_languages":["mt","en"],"languages":{"mt":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1916"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1916"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1918,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/1916\/revisions\/1918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue?post=1916"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_categories?post=1916"},{"taxonomy":"issuem_issue_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/weekly.uhm.org.mt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issuem_issue_tags?post=1916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}