Impacts of Going Digital

There is no denying that the world is going digital. From digital cameras to digital vouchers to digital art, everything seems to be going online. It wasn't too long ago when you had to buy a disk to watch a movie, play a game or listen to an album. Now all you need is an access code and an internet connection. 

With the digital revolution, humanity has never had so much instant access to so many things. With the click of a button, one can read dozens of news articles, but what are the impacts. Yes, technology and digitalisation has advanced humanity tremendously, but at what cost? 

Every situation has at least two sides to it. With the internet, came ways to buy and sell goods across continents, from the comfort of your home. This unfortunately also made it easier for criminals to move contraband. 

The journal "Wired" goes into more detail about this.

The Wired, UK

As of the 2020's, digital currency has become the main focus. Crypto-currencies, a term coined by Satoshi Nakamoto, are basically a digital form of the everyday coin. What made crypto-currencies like Bitcoin successful, other than the fact that it was a new innovation, was the fact that the growth of the currency was independent of the federal reserve. This meant that government had no control over the creation of the currency. This, along with the fact that Bitcoin has a finite supply, means that hyper-inflation is near impossible, since governments cannot print more of it to pay debts or bail out banks. Basically, with crypto-currencies like Bitcoin, the value cannot end up like  the Zimbabwean dollar. 

Now as I've said, there are two sides. Countries like China have what they call a "social credit" system, where the government is in control of the national currency. The issue with this is that the party in charge has every say in what your money is used for, as digital forms of currency are extremely easy to control and track by the parties that build and implement them. This removes freedom from the individual to purchase what they want.

Read more at DiVA portal

Let's look at South Africa. What would happen if the RSA were to implement a crypto-currency. First off, if it is controlled by the government, it should be an instant no. Much like Eskom, Postnet and government industries in general, lack of competition and huge amounts of greed and corruption have caused these agencies to fail. Second, with a population that is over 40% unemployed, if crypto currencies become mainstream, the unemployed will never be able to buy their own things. It is already difficult as most people don't carry cash.

Now this short blog doesn't even get into the more complex issues. What I'm saying is that technological innovation is hugely important for humanity, but we need to be careful. A great quote to describe this comes from Jurassic Park.

"Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.” - Ian Malcolm, played by Jeff Goldblum in 1993 Jurassic Park.

So before you innovate, think about the repercussions.

Thank you.