Unlocking the Lockdown

my name’s amman and welcome to my talk

all about how technology has helped us

unlock the lockdown now over the past

few months this pandemic has completely

changed the way we do certain things in

our lives

and technology has been with us every

step of the way

but let’s start at the beginning now

technology started off

quite simple the first computers were

and punch cards and the first computer

scientists lived hundreds of years ago

they wouldn’t even call themselves

scientists and it’s not because they

didn’t wear lab coats or goggles

computer science is all about the study

of maths and logic

to make things more efficient and more

effective

every century has like a vital turning

point a simple idea

something like the printing press

penicillin and the steam engine

and this century we’re having the

digital revolution

the pandemic has simply sped up the

timeline it’s inevitable

but i think it’s really going to be

amazing and here are some of the ways

that it’s really helped us out

the past few months have changed the way

certain businesses operate

restaurants pubs hotels

they’ve all had to change how they work

some of them have switched to takeaways

and technology has been every step of

the way with them to help them make that

switch

applications such as justi and ubereats

have helped these businesses

continue doing what they do best and

supporting local people

getting them food and supplies likewise

supermarkets turn to deliveries

and using more and more technology to

help make their deliveries a little more

efficient

and more effective at getting to the

people that require them

i myself worked as a team where we

created loop

a simple application that allowed people

to sell the contents of their storeroom

either businesses or people at home who

have perhaps hoarded a little bit

too much toilet roll and wanted to trade

it for food

now when the lock down lifted that

created another problem

suddenly we had to figure out how this

virus was spreading

and how we could stop that spread once

again technology gave us

a little answer called contact tracing

imagine as you walked through the street

your phone would high five or handshake

another phone

that created a little network of people

who’ve you’ve been in recent cons

contact with meaning that if one of

those people

turned out to be covered positive it

would highlight

who that person had met previously and

it would alert everyone to stay at home

in self-isolating

helping to stop the spread of

coronavirus

countries such as germany and south

korea the home of lg and samsung

have made fantastic leaps in this

technology where it’s helped to save

thousands of lives and help to keep

people safe

now of course if you’re self-isolating

and you’re at home the first few weeks

might feel really fun

but soon the cabin fever sets in and

exotic trips to the kitchen

aren’t really going to cut it anymore

and once again technology through social

media and through simple mobile apps

have helped people to reconnect with old

friends and make new friends

facebook storage increase in users go up

by 30 percent

whilst whatsapp video calls doubled as

people wanted to stay in contact with

each other

furthermore events such as concerts as

well as football tournaments

move to telepresence and even this very

tedx talk

i’m talking to you remotely and it’s

working pretty well and it allows a lot

more people to view us

which is brilliant now of course it’s

not just events that moved online with

telepresence

once again with a lockdown with pubs

and cinemas and bowling alleys all

closed people needed to fill their time

with something else

and a lot of people chose to level

themselves up and learn new skills using

the internet

they were supported by technological

giants like ibm

microsoft facebook and google who made

free loads of content on learning new

web skills

as well as other people people like you

and me who volunteered to help people

online

as well as through youtube where content

creators uploaded all sorts of videos

on topics ranging from artistry to

medieval history

youtube itself saw views on educational

content increased by a hundred and

thirty percent

which is phenomenal as people committed

to learning new hobbies and new skills

to keep themselves

leveled up during the lockdown

now that brings me to another point

because it’s not just adults or

teenagers

who are learning a lot more at home it’s

children too

in the uk despite being quite privileged

there’s a level of digital poverty

where children under the age of 12 and

less than 10 percent of them have access

to laptops or computers at home

meaning that they might be left behind

it’s just something to think about

luckily a lot of organizations and

people are stepping into action

and seeing what they can do to make the

internet and to make technology more

accessible for others

but it’s something to bear in mind now

as i’ve been talking about the benefits

of technology

we’ve been looking at maslow’s hierarchy

of needs now this is a simplification

of psychological things that people

require to feel self-fulfilled

and we’ve been going through them

systematically and showing you how

technology has helped each step of the

way

except for the peak self-actualization

it’s all about the idea of doing

something good

and that’s how technology can really

help us to improve

technology like all tools can be used

for good or for bad

and it’s all people like you and people

like me who it’s up to to

make it more available make it more

accessible and use it as a force for

good for everyone

with this technology we can collaborate

create

and do more than we ever could in the

past it’s all about harnessing it

and spreading it out so anyone can use

it to do whatever they like in the world

now my name is iman hussain and

hopefully

these past five minutes in this short

talk you guys at home watching on your

phones tablets and computers

you understand the benefits that

technology has given us

and maybe it makes you want to do

something good with it too

thank you

you