Unlocking the Lockdown
hi
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
powered by cogs
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
13
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