In an age where technological advancements continually blur the lines between the digital and physical realms, the emergence of the Samsung Galaxy Ring underscores a profound shift in our relationship with wearable technology. Representing a pivotal leap forward in health monitoring, this interconnected ring promises a comprehensive array of features, transcending mere fitness tracking to encompass a holistic monitoring of vital signs. From heart rate and breathing patterns to sleep movements and fertility cycles, the Galaxy Ring stands poised to revolutionize the way we perceive and manage our well-being.
"Netflix tells us what to watch and Amazon tells us what to buy. Eventually within 10 or 20 or 30 years such algorithms could also tell you what to study at college and where to work and whom to marry and even whom to vote for,"
Dubbed a "gold mine" of behavioral insights, the Galaxy Ring embodies the ethos of a society increasingly enamored with the quantification and analysis of human behavior. As individuals willingly surrender intimate data points to the digital ether, the implications of such transparency are as profound as they are multifaceted. In the realm of wearable technology, where every heartbeat and sleep cycle is meticulously cataloged, the notion of privacy takes on new dimensions, challenging conventional notions of autonomy and self-determination.
"It's data about what's happening inside my body. What we have seen so far, it's corporations and governments collecting data about where we go, who we meet, what movies we watch. The next phase is surveillance going under our skin,"
Yuval Noah Harari, warned of a dystopian future where the unchecked power of artificial intelligence leads to a world where a select few control vast amounts of human data, potentially resulting in "hacked humans." He highlighted the growing influence of AI algorithms in various aspects of life, from entertainment choices to potentially even major life decisions like education, employment, and relationships.
With the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating digital advancements through the Internet of Things and the collection of personal data, Harari stressed the urgent need for global regulation to ensure that data usage prioritizes individual benefit over manipulation, increases oversight of corporations and governments, and prevents the concentration of data in a single entity, thus averting the risk of authoritarian control.
"To hack a human being is to get to know that person better than they know themselves. And based on that, to increasingly manipulate you,"
The Samsung Galaxy ring is coming – here’s everything we know
The future could see the world's human data, delivered through the rising power and reach of artificial intelligence, in the hands of a powerful few - a recipe for a dystopian tomorrow populated by "hacked humans," says Yuval Noah Harari.
Harari says the countries and companies that control the most data will control the world.
"The world is increasingly kind of cut up into spheres of data collection, of data harvesting. In the Cold War, you had the Iron Curtain. Now we have the Silicon Curtain, that the world is increasingly divided between the USA and China," Harari tells Cooper. "Does your data go to California or does it go to Shenzhen and to Shanghai and to Beijing?"
Harari, a history professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, published his first book, "Sapiens," in 2014; it was a global best seller. He has since published two more books with futuristic themes, "Homo Deus" and "21 Lessons for the 21st Century." The three books together have sold 35 million copies in 65 languages.
He has been warning people of a not-so-distant future of incredible change, saying the artificial intelligence at work today through algorithms will only strengthen its grip on humans.
"Netflix tells us what to watch and Amazon tells us what to buy. Eventually within 10 or 20 or 30 years such algorithms could also tell you what to study at college and where to work and whom to marry and even whom to vote for," says Harari.
And he points out, the pandemic has opened the door to even more intrusive collection of our data.
"It's data about what's happening inside my body. What we have seen so far, it's corporations and governments collecting data about where we go, who we meet, what movies we watch. The next phase is surveillance going under our skin," he warns.
"Certainly, now we are at the point when we need global cooperation. You cannot regulate the explosive power of artificial intelligence on a national level," says Harari, who tells Cooper what he feels needs to be done. "One key rule is that if you get my data, the data should be used to help me and not to manipulate me. Another key rule, that whenever you increase surveillance of individuals you should simultaneously increase surveillance of the corporation and governments and the people at the top. And the third principle is that-- never allow all the data to be concentrated in one place. That's the recipe for a dictatorship."
Harari says humans are at risk of becoming 'hacked" if artificial intelligence does not become better regulated.
"To hack a human being is to get to know that person better than they know themselves. And based on that, to increasingly manipulate you," Harari says.
There's an upside to the rise of artificial intelligence, too, says Harari, but only if accompanied by regulation.
"The whole thing is that it's not just dystopian. It's also utopian. I mean, this kind of data can also enable us to create the best health care system in history," he says. "The question is what else is being done with that data? And who supervises it? Who regulates it?"
