Digital transformation driving the nation towards an interconnected future

S Mohini Ratna
Editor
VARINDIA

Digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is growing at an exponential rate. Today, AI is all around us. If you own a smartphone, tablet, PC or even a car, it’s very likely that it runs in some form of AI (Siri, Cortana, Google Now, etc.).

The ever-growing connection of people with technology is enabling a more open and transparent look into every person’s life. By knowing what we like, what we post online, buy or where we go, our smartphones, tablets and computers through complex algorithms know us emphatically better than we do ourselves. This information is mainly used by companies to better market their products at us, but it can also be used to benefit humanity.

The access to people’s information combined with an AI tool, could present great possibilities to architects. By already knowing everything about us, our hobbies, likes, dislikes, activities, friends, our yearly income, etc., AI software can calculate population growth, prioritize projects, categorize streets according to usage and so on, and thus predict a virtual future and automatically draft urban plans that best represent and suit everyone. With this reason, experts say, one has to take the hard call on to exit from the social media. Quitting Facebook and other online accounts can help block much of this social comparison, and you will end up feeling much happier and more confident.

The Internet is a double-edged sword that corporates cannot avoid. Protecting users from malware, preventing data loss, and controlling employee behaviour on the Internet requires advanced and innovative Corporate Web Security solutions. Opportunity seems promising for the companies into cloud business as businesses and organizations are putting more and more data in the cloud. In response to this trend, a new breed of cloud security companies are offering services such as novel encryption schemes and technologies for continuously monitoring what goes on in a company’s cloud server. At the same time many of the new start-ups are focused on trying to detect hackers in real time as they enter and move subtly through a corporate network.

To support and influence the digital economy, the Government reimbursing the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) to the traders on digital transactions of up to Rs. 2000 is a welcome move. This step will encourage a very large population of merchants, who deal with petty cash for smaller transactions on a daily basis, to move to digital payments. It’s a promising growth opportunity for the payment bank companies in India as well.

A big question arises about the Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that is hovering between $16k and $17k and is luring customers into a volatile market. Our suggestion to the industry is, Digital currency is just a piece of code out there on the Internet and there is no country or company you can ask to honor it.

I wish all the readers Merry Christmas and a Very Happy and Prosperous News Year!

Tags: Digital transformation, digital technology, artificial intelligence, ai, siri, cortana, google now, S Mohini Ratna Editor VARINDIA, s mohini ratna varindia, varindia