The writing and publishing of this editorial begins and ends with the use of a smartphone. The editor-in-chief instructs the writer to prepare the editorial for a certain date of publication. The writer proceeds to perform word-processing on a laptop, then creates the document file, and transmits it to the editor’s email as well as Viber account on smartphone.
On April 3, 1973, the first call on a cell phone, the precursor of today’s smartphone, was made by Martin Cooper, Motorola’s vice president for research and development. Indeed, the cell phone has come a long way to become the ubiquitous go-to device of the inhabitants of planet earth. It was not until the 1990s that cell phones became popular, as the number of mobile users reached around 11 million. It is estimated that there would be about 18 billion smartphones in use by 2025, or four times the world’s population.
How did we get this far since the first cell phone call 50 years ago?
At the Macworld Conference on Jan. 9, 2007, Apple chief executive officer Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone, a new mobile phone that could be used as a camera and a digital musical player. Previous phones had keypads to aid users in navigating the internet. The iPhone’s touchscreen enabled owners to flip through websites just like a desktop computer.
Most mobile phones in the Philippines today belong to the 4G or fourth generation category of technology development known as Long Term Evolution or LTE. According to Statista: “All three telecommunication providers have been rolling out 5G networks nationwide to offer a wider array of services to their clients and to maximize the potential of such technology. As of April 2022, 98 cities in the Philippines have 5G network coverage, an increase of three cities from June 2021.”
Speed is key. Mobile phone users clamor for ever-higher levels of digital connectivity.
Digital acceleration enabled the populace to cope with the crippling effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Using smartphones, people broke through the isolation and restricted mobility brought on by a deadly contagion. Foodstuff, groceries and medicines were purchased through e-transactions and home-delivered. Businesses shifted to work-from-home mode. The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry set the example in quickly adapting to the new situation, thanks to advanced digital technology, including laptops and smartphones.
The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) through smartphones has raised the specter that machines, not humans, will rule the world. The introduction of ChatGPT and similar generative AI applications has brought on apprehensions that humans will be muscled out of the workplace. Technology professionals say that such fears are exaggerated.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has a four-pronged mission: first, cyber safety and security; second, citizen-centric governance; third, digital inclusion to fully harness the talents and capabilities of women, youth and other sectors to ensure that “no one is left behind;” and fourth, advancing an innovation-driven economy.
Digital transformation must be harnessed continually in the service of humankind’s aspirations for a gentler and kinder world.