HOW TO THINK ABOUT IT

How 5G could save your life. From ambulances beaming patient data to doctors in real time to drones delivering insulin, 5G connectivity promises to revolutionize emergency medical care. For example, imagine that your house has caught fire and you’ve suffered severe burns by the time help arrives. In the future, those first responders will be equipped with augmented reality goggles that, using 5G speeds, connect them to burn specialists hundreds of miles away, enabling them to treat your burns quickly and with expert medical guidance.

The end of lines at airport customs? Imagine landing after a long international flight and being greeted by a machine — rather than an immigration queue — that asks a few questions and lets you go through in seconds. This isn’t science fiction. The U.S. is increasingly deploying AI-based systems to screen travelers. Fourteen American airports, for example, are now using facial biometric technology for entry verification. While groups developing border security technology argue that machines err less often than humans, some research suggests that AI systems can carry racial biases and fail to pick up cues that trained humans can about suspicious individuals.

Turning to AI to discover new species. Picture this: You're strolling through the woods when a beautiful bird swoops in and lands nearby. Curious? Take a picture and let AI do the rest. The number of species on Earth is massive, but thanks to rapid advances in what is known as Species-Identifying Artificial Intelligence (SIAI) it's getting easier and faster for zoologists, botanists and amateur nature lovers to identify rare species of plants and animals.

Making you safer online. Globally, nearly 2 billion data records were compromised in cyberattacks within the first six months of 2017, and big tech companies have come under fire for failing to protect user privacy. Once again, enter AI: Now Microsoft, IBM and Cisco, among others, are employing machine learning to protect their customers’ identities and data around the clock and in real time.

Satellites will play a big role. The towers that mobile connectivity currently depend upon won’t work for 5G, and new towers could cost billions of dollars. So, at least to start, it will only be profitable for telecom companies to develop 5G in densely populated metropolitan areas, building as few new towers as possible. The best way to expand the 5G footprint? Satellites. Groups from SpaceX to the European Union are trying to fill that gap by developing satellite solutions to beam 5G connectivity from space to millions more people.

WHAT TO READ

The Road to China’s 5G Global Domination Is Here by Ben Halder in OZY
“In the past two years, Yinchuan has developed the use of high-definition CCTV capable of facial identification for public-security monitoring, smart street lighting with integrated electric-vehicle charging and advertising, and smart traffic lane management of the city’s highways.”

Stephen Hawking AI Warning: Artificial Intelligence Could Destroy Civilization by Hannah Osborne in Newsweek
“AI could be the worst event in the history of our civilization. It brings dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons, or new ways for the few to oppress the many.”

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