#TECH4ALL – can you see yet why this IS so important? #tech #future #world

Ironically the first version of this blog was LOST due to a technology problem. Something to do with the cloud and different servers not talking together on one system. An archaic and fundamentally floored legacy software issue caused me to loose two hours of work.

BUT… this terrible moment - is a great example of WHAT tech can do / or not do.

And how important #Tech4ALL is.

As just moving from one office to a different location, working remotely, and changing internet providers was enough to lose the work. But how often will #thefutureworker need to do this. Almost all of the time and it will have to be seamless with the greatest of ease.

The point being that the underlying infrastructure of things is so often overlooked that the next industrial revolution might be hampered in this country. Due to nothing more than a misunderstanding.

That it is unwise to build the cities – before you build the roads.

In this new future, Technology and ICT are all important. With this needed infrastructure of the intelligent world, the ICT industry will play “a vital role in promoting national economic growth and boosting social welfare and happiness.” Which was said only two weeks ago when I visited Shanghai for the #HuaweiConnect conference and saw firsthand the amazing things they are doing over in China and all over the world.

The company is on a mission – with a target for TECH4ALL (their CSR vehicle) is to help another 500 million people benefit from digital technology in the next five years.

BUT WHY?

As tech is key for the future of the world. As technology advances so some people might get left behind. Take it from me – as someone who due to again archaic views had to take a burner phone to China that didn’t connect to their internet nor mobile communications. Technological advancements are accelerating the advent of the intelligent world. Without them you are left behind. As Ken Hu (the rotating CEO of the company) points out:

“While enjoying the conveniences of science and technology, we must also look at the other side of the story. Digital gaps still exist: In many cities in China, the elderly might be unable to hail a taxi on the street, because taxis are now often booked via mobile phones."

Not often. ALWAYS.

You cannot get a taxi in less than an hour if you don’t have an app on the right phone. You can’t hail them. Sometimes they won’t even want to take your money. It’s truly a mobile first and a tech connected world in China (at least where I went in Shanghai.)

But it’s not just little things like transport where technology makes a difference. It’s in real things where technology can and does save lives. Let me give you another example so you can see what I mean.

SEEING IS BELIEVING:

Did you know that congenital eye diseases among babies and young children are some of the most difficult to diagnose? One the reasons is that often when young children just cry when their eyes are uncomfortable, and their parents often think they are just making a fuss out of nothing. Due to a lack of related knowledge, many children with eye diseases are left diagnosed for too long and thus miss out on the best opportunity for treatment.

This can mean that 1000’s of children go blind for no real reason.

However, now Huawei is partnering with IIS Aragon (a local medical research lab) and DIVE (a local research center) to develop a new medical device that can detect visual impairment in young children. With this device, children simply need to look at images on the screen of Huawei's Matebook E, which stimulate the eyeballs.

The DIVE system then collects gaze data and then transmits this data to a Huawei P30 phone. With the help of the HiAI and the machine learning capabilities of the P30 phone, a doctor can then analyze the data and detect the signs of eye diseases. This is an APP called Track AI on the P30 phone. With the help of digital technology, trained parents can also detect visual impairment in their children, just like skilled doctors.

This clever bit of tech, that I saw in action at Huawei Connect and did a video on, could help 100,000’s of people. As it literally turns anyone with the right technology into a train eye doctor. This moment of #Tech4ALL could benefit 19 million visually impaired children around the world. Saving 1000’s of lives in the process. As many children that go blind in developing countries then will die early due to the condition.

My point being that the right technology, with the right intentions with the right mixture of plucky startups and major businesses, can save more than our health. We can literally save the world. With the next industrial revolution around the corner – it will be those with the technology and the intelligence that comes from this that will run the world. 

CAN WE SEE IT?

I just hope we in west have the eyes to see what’s happening in the east soon enough. It would seem that the sleeping giant is awakening and lucky for us – China with companies like Huawei (which literally means China is able) might be able to save us all with technology and a gracious and giving nature.

And ... This isn’t just about giving a old marketing man a new phone, when you feel sorry for him, after you see how rubbish his pictures are (but thanks for that Katy - my new P30 is awesome. See above...)

It is about getting the right technology and infrastructure to those that need it most. Huawei already connect billions of people around the planet and now they want to help another 500 million people directly from their digital technology in the next five years. And I for one – think they might just have the right technology to be able to do so. And would love The Landing where I work to help them do so.