Finding Solutions with Technology

We kind of had different views as expected on the question whether Life Supports technology of vice versa. Ofcourse, I was expecting them as this is such a topic that not many people can deny the role of technology in supporting life and also at the same time, it is implied that this technology is also created by some intelligent & enterprising instances of the same life that its supporting. Believe me, it really does come to my mind sometimes that we overdo the application of technology in supporting life. In my view, helping people live a healthy life is one thing but making sure they breathe (even forcefully) while their body and vital organs are not functioning is another thing. But as there are many things (read emotions) involved here which do not toe the line of practicality, we still allow this forced support to life when it comes to our near and dear ones.

Let’s look at some other aspects where our technological innovations have helped us. Aah, taking the cue from the political environment around the world these days, we can surely talk about the role technology has played in the political uprisings in many countries. Our very own secondary abodes meaning the Social Networking websites are playing or have played a very vital role in aiding these developments. What happened in one of the African countries a few months ago where people got together to topple the government run someone who’s been doing it for 30 years, is a testimony of the importance of technology in such matters of International concern.

People used their Social sites status updates to gather support for the protests against the establishment. It gave them the easiest way to first vent out how they felt about it and then even go to the extent of inviting masses to join them in their crusade against the allegedly corrupt leadership. And we all know, how well it worked. Even today, we are seeing the results of this application reap tremendous benefits to people and groups very close to where we are.

Using technology to carry out anti establishment activities is one thing and going to the root causes of the anti – anything feeling and trying to apply technological innovation and scientific thinking processes to find solutions to those is another. I’m not averse to the former but believe that the latter might give better results even considering that it’s a much tedious thing to do. Really can’t find the links between my thoughts and my words…I thought so. Let me try and make it simpler. The most disturbing issue developing countries are facing is corruption which is also the root of current issues closer home.

Corruption, ofcourse, cannot be solved by anything technology can offer. But it can surely aid a conscious effort to eradicate or reduce corruption. While the systems developed to have a unique identification for citizens can help in tracking the financial transactions by each individual and entities, this entire framework can be helped by technology. Technological environment needed to allow such monitoring can be made free of glitches if there is a will to do that.

Now, in a system where giving or taking bribes to get work done is as normal as breathing, there can be a mechanism parallel to this system which counters the bribery aspect while eating the culture from outside. What I mean is that if you have to get your passport renewed and the validating authority from your local police station etc asks for a bribe explicitly. You give the bribe and at the same time log an incident into this parallel mechanism with proof. Let the investigation for this incident be then aided by various technological means. But mind you, its not a one sided sword, if there is something where you offer the bribe to a public servant in order to get out of a mess you’ve created or to get things done for you without following the process, then the public servant can also log an incident against you while still accepting the bribe from you.

All this ofcourse is not which can work alone. There’s going to be a need to review the entire framework of processes, way of working in different segments of the workforce. For instance, some process might just be in place so that people can extort bribes from public in order to get around them. These processes should be thrown out for sure. I would even go to the extent of looking at some sections where you can legalize a bribe (better call it commission or something else) so that some additional benefits can get to the individuals and then since it’s a legal income, it will go into the records and govt gets taxes on this amount too. Not so easy though but I guess we can give it a thought.

While I’m not saying every bribe could be legalized as there will be rare examples where additional compensation to anyone would deemed justified. I leave you all with these thoughts and asking you again to rattle your mind guns and send feedback my way. Tell me what you think might be the use of technology while we implement something closer to what I mentioned above. Till that time, Happy Reading and Keep Up with Technology!

Cheers

N E O