Book Review - The New Digital Age

This book discusses how evolving technologies will affect human lives by considering the different ways by which technology is affecting or will affect various aspects of human life in the future. It describes how our information needs are increasing at a rapid pace and continuously evolving time, and how increasingly technology usage in this new digital age is helping us cope with these increased demands placed on us.

This book considers the after effects of technology on human lives from both positive as well as negative aspects in its attempts to provide a holistic viewpoint of the future of technology.

Technologies like 3D printing are increasingly making it easier for product companies to design better products at a faster rate and helping in cut costs in product development. 3D printing has thus enabled complex products to be designed and made within smaller budgets.

The book also highlights that the use of intelligent sensor technology is on the rise and how the use of technology will enable concepts like ‘Smart Cities’ to become a reality which not only boost energy self-sufficiency but also utilize green technologies like solar power for their sustenance.

Different aspects of how technology is affecting governance, infrastructure building, construction, spread of education and monitoring of government welfare programs by helping monitor the progress of government policies in reaching the poor. This book also discusses how technology can help in reconstruction efforts and disaster management. Particular case is provided of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan which robots were made to venture inside the damaged nuclear reactor to assess the scale of the damage caused and help the Japanese government prepare for appropriate measures.

In the new digital age, technology is helping strengthen the defense of the country by strengthening the armed forces and security agencies to deal with external threats (dealing with invading countries, spies and terrorists) and internal threats (hackers, destabilizing forces) which are increasingly utilizing technology themselves to spread panic and terror. This interplay of positive and negative usage of technology is leading to more stringent monitoring at the organization, national and international levels and cases being made for increasing cyber security laws.

Furthermore, this book also highlighted the role of technology and social media in relation to the ‘Arab Spring’ in channelizing pro-democracy movements across the Arab world in 2010-11. It also discusses how certain countries like North Korea and China are using technology to impose censorship on the public while also describing ways by which the public is attempting to escape from censorship policies.

In conclusion, I found this book to be a good and very informative read, however at many places I found the assumptions to be too far-fetched and extremely theoretical in nature considering the realities of the developing world. Often at many places, I found the assumptions and reliance on technology was emphasized by the authors as too simplistic and too removed from the realities of the developing world where let alone technology adoption, even the basic necessities of life are hard to come by for large sections of the population. 

Much as we may like technology and its positive effects on human life, there are still a lot of things that technology won't be able to do, however advanced we may become as societies.

We don't need to become technology slaves, we need to utilize technology like the ancient man utilized fire to evolve further. We need to keep in mind that technology can, like fire, be a loyal servant but a bad master and hence we need to embrace the positive changes that technology brings in our life in the future while guarding against the potential ill effects. It is only then that we would be able to successfully tap the full benefits that new technologies in the new digital age have to offer us.