When we look at our lives today, it’s cushioned by the latest technologies and gadgets that have added a part of wellbeing to our daily life through easing complex tasks at the touch of a finger. Although the impact technology has on us is mostly positive, yet there are instances when technology intensifies the risk of danger. Even when digitalization emerged with a lot of positive hope to enhance the quality of human life, still some people treat this amazing technology as a weapon for mass damage. Hence, an American author once said, “Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.”

Drones and their scopes

National defense forces are seriously considering drones useful for search and rescue operations apart from gaining information on the enemy counterpart. Although it is still in the experimentation stage, yet there is no denying the fact that the very thought of a drone equipped with weapons to kill is terrifying and it will be dangerous and inhuman to mankind.

Can smart home devices become a threat?

For efficient utilization of smart home devices, technology enables such devices to track information about one’s daily habits. With increasing dependence upon smart home devices, we are empowering the devices to record information about us such as, its records information on viewing history, home address, a detailed route frequently used by an individual, the room temperature one prefers, and at what time one generally arrives at home. All of this information when stored in the cloud makes life simple, but on the other hand what if the same information is misused how deadly can it become?

Tracking individuals through facial recognition

Facial recognition is commonly used in many devices. Although it is primarily utilized for security purposes yet, in many situations it is used for racial profiling. This technology is considered biased by people across the globe. This is because the algorithm involved here is trained on a dataset that is not diverse. Also, it tracks people without their knowledge which is in a way intrusion into personal space.          

Mimicking voice powered by artificial intelligence (AI)

Technology enabled option to clone an individual’s voice with the help of AI. In fact, AI through deep fake technology and facial mapping technology can club different videos together to create a new video that looks unique and real. At times it is difficult to even differentiate between the real and cloned version. Thus, the chances of it getting misused are much more than it can positively contribute to mankind.

Cybercrime powered by AI

The zeal with which AI contributed to the surge of cybersecurity, it also effectively contributed to an increase in criminal activities. The power of AI in the wrong hands can result in illegal hacking and ransomware attacks.

Spying with smart dust

Smart dust can be beneficial when used in the healthcare industry and security purposes however, when smart dust is used to spy on someone then the benefit turns into a threat. Thus, we can conclude that a safe usage of technology can ensure that it does not become a threat to us.

- Kathakali Basu
Content Writer
Infoholic Research