Dubai: This could be the last generation capable of loving, says blockchain expert

What does a world with highly advanced artificial intelligence, but no human touch, look like?

Disruptive technologies could rob the next generation of the ability to love, make friends or enjoy the simple pleasures of life, a top fintech and blockchain expert has warned.

Wassim Jarkas played a key role in the first worldwide launch of 3G networks. He has also led several global innovations in cloud computing and 5G during his remarkable career.

In Dubai to deliver a keynote speech at a recent 5G summit, the MIT Sloan graduate spoke exclusively to Khaleej Times about the spectre a world with highly advanced artificial intelligence but no element of human touch.

“Humans are social creatures who thrive on empathy. Regardless of how mankind has evolved over the years, the contours of basic human traits like love, friendship and empathy have remained constant. But now all that is fast changing,” said Jarkas, currently a senior director at a telecommunication giant in Bahrain.

He said the confluence of artificial intelligence, big data, 5G and blockchain have significantly improved the quality of life, but at the same time they have made people lose touch with humanity.

“I fear the next generation will be completely devoid of emotions and hence incapable of loving someone or making friends,” said Jarkas.

He said it is incumbent upon this generation to ensure that ones after it retain their singularity.

“Technological change is accelerating at an unprecedented pace and could soon create a world we can barely imagine. Already what we are seeing today is what we used to see in sc-fi movies,” he said.

“Within a single generation we have moved from black and white TV to holographic projection. We have moved from trunk phones to smart phones. We used the 1.2 megabyte floppy drive. Now we have the two-terabyte USB drive (A terabyte (TB) is a unit of digital data that is equal to about 1 trillion byte). All of this evolution happened within a single generation,” he explained.

Jarkas said while machine-to-machine communication is not new, the way they interact with each other is having a profound effect on our daily lives.

Data used to be available in silos, but now Industry 4.0, or the fourth revolution is harvesting data from sensors, aggregators, cloud computing and the Internet of Things, said Jarkas.

He said in the process of consolidating and integrating all of this data from different providers, humans are themselves becoming the product.

“Artificial learning, blockchain, 5G, metaverse, augmented and virtual reality are the foundation of this transformation that could take our lives for good,” Jarkas warned.

“Google is building an AI chip that is able to think and develop within two years the next AI chip which will be 10 times faster and 10 times more capable. This process used to take 15 years using human engineering. Imagine the capability of AI five years from now,” he said.

Talking about blockchain technology, Jarkas said it’s not only disrupting finance and banking but also impacting the community as a whole.

“Block chain technology, for instance, is capable of enabling a self-driving car to provide for itself for its entire lifecycle. With this technology, cars will not just drive on their own but also recharge and refuel. When due for maintenance, these cars will be able to drive to a workshop, pay for the repairs and record the transaction.

“Similarly, machine learning is capable of predicting behaviour by collating massive data sources that may appear random in nature but could develop into a logical pattern that could predict your next impulse purchase. It is able to predict what kind of meal you are most likely to eat on a given day without you ever being conscious about anything.”