Category: Tech for social good

The Smartwatch and health care…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Digital Transformation, Health & Social Care, Information Technology, Public Institutions, Smart & New Technology, Tech for social good

Lots of information about the use of smartphones in the UK is available – see here, for example. In 2012, 66% of those aged 16-24 and 5% of those aged 55+ had a smartphone. By 2023 the percentages had become 98% and ~86%, respectively. Indeed, today 80% of those aged 65+ have a smartphone, which reinforces the fact that they have become an essential component of modern life for young and old alike. The main use of smartphones across the whole age spectrum is for messaging, emails, phone calls, internet browsing, social media, weather forecasts, online shopping, finance and banking, and maps/route navigation. Adults rarely leave home without them, and if they do anxiety tends to be higher during the rest of their day!

While younger generations are more welcoming of advances in digital tech, the rapid rise in smartphone use by older age groups since 2012 shows that seniors will embrace new technology that provides them a benefit. Which brings the Badger to the smartphone’s companion, the smartwatch. Across all age groups in the UK today, ~1 in 4 of us have one. Since the game-changing Apple Watch arrived in 2015, more and more of us have been buying them. The adoption trend looks to be following a similar pattern to that of the smartphone since 2012. Unsurprisingly, smartwatch use is greatest in digital native generations (millennials and younger), but the 55+ and 65+ age groups currently account for ~ 20% of UK users. Take up in these age groups seems to be linked to interest in watch functions associated with health monitoring (e.g. heart rate, ECG, blood pressure tracking), wellness, (e.g. sleep, stress, exercise), and emergency alerting (e.g. falls monitoring). By the end of this decade, it seems likely that most of the adult population will have a smartwatch on their wrist regardless of the device’s pros and cons, The versatility, convenience, and health/wellbeing benefits they offer far outweigh the cons, especially for those in ‘senior’ age groups.

But here’s a question. If every adult wears a smartwatch to complement their smartphone within a few years, will the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) integrate the health and wellbeing data from watch functions into patient care to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and care? Hmm, the NHS seems quiet on this, but the answer is ‘probably not’ because smartwatches are not certified medical devices. The Badger senses that this might ultimately change, because when he accompanied someone experiencing an atrial fibrillation event to hospital recently, one of the doctors on arrival asked if they could look at any ECG and blood pressure traces captured on their patient’s smartwatch! That’s surely a sign that smartwatches will ultimately have a more important role in an NHS which continues to struggle to be fit for the 21st century…

Future-gazing while eating fish in Riyadh…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI & Robotics, Change, Delivery, Digital Transformation, Information Technology, Life, Outsource, Tech for social good, Technology

The Badger visited Riyadh with some members of his London-based project team. The team was developing the SARIE Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) computer system for the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). We stayed at the Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel, the normal base for short visits to meet client staff and Kingdom-based project staff. The work schedule for the visit was intense because the project was at a crucial stage in its delivery. On the penultimate night of the visit, the hotel had a ‘fish night’. The Badger and his companions duly booked a table for what turned out to be a memorable meal. It took place outside under a night sky full of twinkling stars in near 30C heat. Riyadh is in the desert 250 miles from the nearest seaport, and so it felt a little surreal seeing not only unfamiliar fresh fish on a mountain of crushed ice, but also choosing one to eat! This was more than 25 years ago.

Unsurprisingly for a group of relaxing IT professionals, we future-gazed while eating our fish and drinking alcohol-free fizzy apple juice – ‘Saudi Champagne’. Mobile phones at the time provided voice communication and SMS messaging. They were rudimentary compared with today’s smartphones, and we knew that the new one in our hand would be usurped by a newer model within weeks. Communication network technology, internet use, and IT were high growth areas, and the PCs and laptops of the time, see here for example, had nowhere near the capabilities taken for granted today.

Three areas dominated our future-gazing during the meal. The first was MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). Would it actually arrive, be useful, and popular? (It arrived in 2002). The second was off-the-shelf, reusable, software products and kernels. Would they decimate bespoke software development and speed up systems development for clients? (They did. Software has become commoditised). The third was outsourcing. Would it change the IT industry and stifle innovation and technical creativity? (It has, although views on innovation and creativity vary). We debated affably as we ate. We did not foresee the tech and online world that has emerged to be the global critical infrastructure of personal, business, governmental, and military life today!

With the Middle East in the headlines and tech CEOs savaged while testifying at a US Senate hearing, the Badger wonders what discussion he and his companions would have during a ‘fish night’ in Riyadh today.  One area would inevitably be AI and given the history of the last 25 years of digital revolution, whether its dark side would eventually overwhelm its benefits. With general points from the Senate hearings like ‘Because for all the upside, the dark side is too great to live with’ (made by Senator Lindsey Graham) rattling in his head, the Badger thinks that the dark side of AI alone would dominate the discussion and make the conversation even livelier than it was 25 years ago!  

Fun using Microsoft Copilot (Bing Chat with GPT-4)…

Posted on by The Information Badger in AI & Robotics, Business, Information Technology, Leadership & Management, Life, Online Services, Tech for social good

The 2024 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting at Davos ended last week.  It’s where business, government, and civil society leaders meet to discuss global issues, share ideas, and collaborate to find solutions – according to the PR machinery. The Badger’s always rather sceptical about Davos as it seems to have similarities with the annual senior leadership/management conferences that big corporations hold. The Badger attended many such corporate shindigs during his career, but he always returned a little unconvinced that they really made a difference. The conferences had themes, presentations, speeches, and breakout workshops involving attendees, but, in reality, the most important topics were addressed quietly and privately by a small group of corporate stakeholders behind closed doors. Davos, an event for powerful and wealthy elites with enormous egos, appears little different.

One of this year’s Davos themes was ‘AI as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society.’ The mischievous Badger thus asked Microsoft Copilot (Bing Chat with GPT-4) the question ‘Does Davos actually make any difference?’ The 150-word answer, mostly contextual fluff, culminated in ‘The effectiveness of the meeting is subjective and depends on the perspective of the attendees and the outcomes of the discussions’. Hmm, this is surely validation of the Badger’s scepticism! He then asked, ‘Is AI more hype than substance?’ Copilot’s answer ended with ‘While there is certainly a lot of hype surrounding AI, it is clear that there is also a lot of substance to the technology. AI has the potential to transform many industries and change the way we live our lives. However, it is important to approach the technology with a critical eye and to be aware of the potential risks and challenges associated with its use.’ The Badger smiled; it was the type of benign answer he’d expected.

The Badger’s next two questions were ‘Will AI replace lawyers?’ and ‘Will AI replace software engineers?’, ostensibly because both professional groups are crucial to the functioning of the world today and also relevant to Davos’s ‘AI as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society’ theme. In both cases Copilot answered that AI will likely augment their work making them more efficient and effective, rather than replacing them. Increased efficiency and effectiveness implies the need for fewer people in these professions, but time will tell whether this is the case.

After some fun asking more questions, the Badger sat back and considered again whether Davos makes any difference to life for the vast majority of the global population. No, it doesn’t, because it’s just a talking shop for billionaires and elites and has no executive power. It’s the constant and speedy advance of diverse technology, and AI in particular, that makes the difference for most of us. Davos is, therefore, not the dog that wags the technology tail changing our lives, it’s the other way around…

The delivery of letters…a pre-Christmas musing

Posted on by The Information Badger in Delivery, Digital Transformation, Life, Public Institutions, Tech for social good

You never know what will catch your eye or pique your interest when you browse in a charity shop. Two weeks ago, the Badger sheltered from a downpour in one, and the ‘The Post Office went to war’, a 94-page pamphlet published by His Majesty’s (George VI) Stationery Office in 1946, caught his eye. In good condition for its age, it describes how the GPO – the public service providing the UK’s letter, parcel, telegraphy, and phone services during World War II and until the late 1960s – actually worked during wartime. The Badger was drawn to it because, after service in the British Army, a close relative became a GPO postman and delivered letters and parcels to their local community from the late 1940s until the late 1960s. They enjoyed the work, the camaraderie, and interacting with customers while out delivering the mail. They took great pride in wearing their GPO uniform, and in delivering the mail reliably.

The Badger bought the item for 50p and subsequently read it from cover to cover. It was a revelation. Did you know, for example, that during World War II the GPO managed to deliver letters and parcels posted in the UK to recipients in the British Isles in two days, even when sorting offices and infrastructure had been bombed, and even when the location of recipients was transient due to the war effort and housing damage? That’s an achievement, especially when the technology for the handling, distribution, and delivery of the mail at the time bears no comparison with that of today. A little research via the postalmuseum.org reveals that the cost of a stamp as a proportion of the weekly average wage is almost the same today as it was in those times. It also reveals that the number of people actually delivering letters and parcels as a public service is much the same today as it was then. Has today’s modern technology significantly improved the time it takes for a letter to land on your doormat? Hmm, probably not.

A friend living in Northern England phoned last week. They mentioned that they’d posted a Christmas card first-class to the Badger. Our postman delivered the card this morning, a week after it was posted. Draw your own conclusions, especially as the postal public service ecosystem today is markedly different to that when the GPO existed, but surely something’s amiss when today’s tech-rich society cannot match or better the letter delivery of a bygone era with about the same number of employees and stamp price?

Christmas is now just a few days away. Have a happy Christmas however you celebrate the occasion, but please remember that family and friends, especially those who may be vulnerable, should always take priority in your thoughts…not Christmas cards that haven’t arrived due to postal delays!

What development has had the most detrimental impact on society in the last 20 years?

Posted on by The Information Badger in Change, Education, Information Technology, Life, Online Services, Press & Media, social media, Tech for social good, Telecommunications

The Badger was asked the question ‘What development has had the most detrimental impact on society in the last 20 years?’ during a conversation with a youngster who’s just started the final year of their university degree course. The conversation was centred on the Badger’s experience in the IT industry and was primarily focused on helping the youngster not only look  beyond completing their degree, but also decide whether to stay at university for a higher degree or move into industry to bolster their immediate income. As the Badger described some of the dynamic technological changes encountered throughout his own career, the youngster paused for a moment, pursed their lips, frowned, and then unexpectedly asked this question.

The Badger was taken aback. After what seemed like a prolonged and embarrassing silence, but was really just a few seconds, the Badger took the easy option and answered with a bland ‘I don’t know. Different generations will probably have different views.’ The youngster smiled and chided him for being cleverly uncontentious! They then answered  their own question, and their answer took the Badger completely by surprise. Why? Because he did not expect what he heard from a Generation Z person who is completely digital-native with no experience of life without the internet, personal computers, social media, or mobile phones.

‘Social media is the development that has had the most detrimental impact’, they proclaimed. They contended that social media has developed such that its content is the  embodiment of 7 R’s – rage, rumour, rackets, rubbish, robbers, retail, and revenue – which is growing to be ever more corrosive to the fabric of society. They voiced their distrust of the likes of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter), and expressed  concern that users of such platforms are naïve about their impact on personal privacy and social stability. Their final assertion was that social media has had the most detrimental impact on the world in the last 20 years because it has undermined law and order, respect for others, encroached on privacy, and enabled the immediacy of widespread fraud and misinformation. The Badger, who was a little surprised at hearing this from a digital native of Generation Z, quickly refocused the conversation on the youngster’s post-graduate aspirations!

Whether you share the youngster’s view or not, history suggests that some developments which change society are lauded during their time, but ultimately prove to be devastating in the long run. For example, fossil-fuels revolutionised life in the 20th Century, but they have had a damaging impact on the sustainability of life on our planet and are now shunned. The Badger’s undecided whether social media, a once exciting early 21st Century development, falls into this category, but if you want some fun at a multi-generational gathering of friends or family then ask the youngster’s question. The result is almost guaranteed not to be what you expect…

Tech for social good…

Posted on by The Information Badger in Digital devices and the environment, Education, Information Technology, Life, Tech for social good

Sitting at his desk over the weekend, the Badger enjoyed a coffee and a slice of cake  while reading about Charlie Mackesy, the Oscar-winning author and illustrator of The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse. The words ‘Every day I wake up wondering what I will draw today. I’m just another human trying to tell the truth. Love, kindness, and empathy are the answer. And cake…’ struck a chord. Not because the Badger was eating cake, but because they resonated with the circumstances of someone he knows and helps. After retiring from a low-wage, low-skilled, working life, they live alone with their cat and wonder what to do every day. They have no home broadband connection or digital devices. Although they are proud and fiercely independent, they allow the Badger to provide help, kindness, and empathy as they try to navigate a world that demands tech awareness, devices, and skills that they’ve never acquired.

This person illustrates that in the UK, a country with a high level of digital infrastructure, there are still many digitally disadvantaged people. This person cannot afford a broadband connection or connected devices, and even if they could, they are at a loss on how to use them. Their priority is simply to ‘keep the wolf from the door’ with their meagre budget. The Badger visits once a week with doughnuts, his tablet and smartphone, to chat over coffee. They often have worries that he manages to alleviate using his smartphone or tablet. A few weeks ago, the Badger gave them an old tablet found languishing at the back of one of his cupboards to help acquaint them with modern tech without the worry of cost. After some initial reticence, their confidence in using some of the rudimentary aspects of the device is rising. It’s small but rewarding progress!

After his visit last week, the Badger came across the ‘Circular electronics for social good: reusing IT equipment to bridge the digital divide’ research from the Good Things Foundation (a UK digital inclusion charity), the Circular Electronic Partnership (CEP) (the biggest names in tech, consumer goods and waste management), and Deloitte. It’s an enlightening insight into digital inequalities and how equipment reuse can not only help address these, but also assist in reducing a growing e-waste problem. The major businesses engaged in the CEP are clearly taking tech for social good seriously. But here’s the thing. Digital inequality, reuse and e-waste of course needs action from charities, businesses, and governments, but it also needs regular members of the public to reach out to the digitally disadvantaged in their community with kindness, empathy, compassion, and above all patience. Tech for social good needs people to engage with others at a human level with patience, which – sadly – seems a rarer commodity today  than it used to be…