THE VIEW FROM RIZAL

Once again, the world has been reminded that we may have become over-dependent on so-called “high technology.” 

Over the weekend, what international media dubbed as a “global information technology crash” interrupted media operations, vital financial services and crippled many major airports in various countries including ours. Thousands of flights worldwide were canceled. Seeing sweating travelers slumped on airport floors after airline personnel failed to board them due to the massive system failure, we were once again grimly reminded that technology — the most modern – is not perfect. 

It was also a wake-up call to all, warning us that we may have allowed our lives to be run by the chips, buttons, switches, and programs that run them.

One picture that went viral on social media dramatically displayed the irony of that moment “crash.” This was the photo of an airport personnel writing the flight schedule of aircrafts on a mid-sized whiteboard using a colored marker. 

In this day and age, that method would be described as “primitive.” That information is posted on digital billboards prominently placed in various parts of the airport. Those digital billboards are one of the most looked-at spots in those places. They are run by technology and travelers depend on them to ensure they know their boarding gates and that they would not be late for their flights. When the billboards blacked out, chaos and confusion in the airport terminals ensued.

We were relieved to learn that the outage was not the result of a sabotage attempt or a cyber-attack. We were told that it was caused by an update on its antivirus program by Microsoft, one of the world’s biggest software developers. We wonder what the damage would have been if the outage was caused by a successful attempt by criminal minds to disrupt and cripple the systems that run our lives.

So, this weekend was a low point for high-tech.

We recall that this was not the first time a massive IT outage had caused wide disruption in transportation and other vital services. In the United States, in January of last year, thousands of commercial flights were either grounded or delayed. The disruption was attributed to the crash of the US government computer system. Pilots have to access and control that system before they can fly to check certain vital information.

US media reported longtime aviation insiders as saying that they “could not recall an outage of such magnitude caused by a technology breakdown.” The chaos caused by the January 2023 system crash was compared to the US-wide shutdown of airspace following the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.

We also recall that some five years ago, the computer system of a large financial institution in the country suffered a similar crash, causing long and massive interruptions to all its online services. Its clients woke up one morning to find themselves unable to withdraw cash or to transact using the bank’s computer applications. The same financial institution was once plagued by complaints of inaccurate balances, a problem later traced to an “internal data-processing error.”

Can outages of similar proportion as those we mentioned be eliminated in the future?

That is for experts to answer. One thing is sure: at this point, technology has not achieved perfection, and we will have to live with its limitations and be prepared for the times when it will fail us.
Already, there are voices in the international community warning us about our overdependence on technology. In a study by the Pennsylvania State University, 77 percent of respondents said “society as a whole has relied too much on technology to succeed.”

Another study showed that 66 percent of the population might be suffering from what is called “nomophobia.” The term translates into “no-mobile-phone-phobia” or the fear of losing or being away from one’s cellphone. Bottomline: we have allowed technology to take over our lives. When technology fails, our lives come to a sudden stop.

For the record, this columnist is a believer in technology and an advocate of its use in governance and public service. 

Antipolo City, which we have been privileged to serve as its chief public servant, has tapped this valuable resource to make it easier for the public to transact with the local government, and for constituents to avail of the city’s services and benefits. The city’s growing use of information and communication technology earned the recognition of the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines. The use of technology is an item in the competitiveness index for which the Council gave Antipolo the highest score among the country’s component cities.
We have seen how technology speeds up processes and reduces errors. We have yet to tap its fullest potential, especially in public service.

We hope that our technology experts will one day find the answers to the remaining concerns about the limitations of technology and how to deal with situations when it fails.
We have to admit that we have become reliant on technology. There is no turning back.

(The author is the current mayor of Antipolo City, former Rizal governor, DENR assistant secretary and LLDA general manager. Email it to [email protected])