WHEN SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MET GEOPOLITICS.
Digitalisation has lead to evolution of how we interact with each other & how we perceive reality. It has changed the dynamics of our day to day lives in ways which we take for granted today.(Eg: E-mail replacing the humble post especially in business). Mega corporations have been established and thrived due to data ( I refer to YOU facebook).
This has also changed the dynamics of global politics to an unprecedented level. Nations have realized the nuances of privacy especially in France where legislation has been passed to protect privacy. In such turbulent times, three COUNTRIES have emerged as leaders in the data sphere:
1. RUSSIA
Unsurprisingly Vladimir Putin has found a way to undermine the western world by developing an army of Russian hackers! Many global analysts believe that Russia had influenced the 2016 American Presidential elections in the favor of pro-Russia candidate Donald Trump. Russian hackers spread misinformation through social media. This maneuver by Russia seems to have worked in its favor as the tension between former rivals has eased off considerably thereby minimizing economic sanctions.
2. CHINA.
I find it increasingly challenging to NOT include China in my articles. This signifies the rising status of the Asian dragon. China has not allowed American tech giants to penetrate its market replacing them by their famous local spinoffs {Copies}. EXAMPLE- We Chat for Whats App & AliBaba for Amazon. The Chinese government has also used data to monitor its citizens identifying and eliminating the dissidents. In fact, China shows how data can be used to create a dystopian world and maintain a tight grip on the populace. It has emerged as a leader in data piracy and intellectual theft especially from the USA.
DYSTOPIAN FUTURE?
3. USA.
Speak of the devil & the devil comes!! Just kidding. The Trump administration has been very late to realize the seriousness of the data war. Still it has also been accused of forcing American tech giants like Google & Apple to divulge user data.
CONCLUSION;
Advancement in AI and technology will raise the stakes of this battle in the near future.
Nations with big tech firms like USA will have a competitive edge.
Authoritarian states like Zimbabwe, Turkey, China, Tajikistan and Russia can misuse data to spread state propaganda and monitor the public.
Nations with huge demographics like India and Brazil will have a severe threat in the future.
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