INFORMATION AGE
ealtandoc
The Information Age
Also known as the Computer Age, Digital Age,
or New Media Age, the Information Age is
a historical period that began in the mid-20th
century, characterized by a rapid epochal shift
from the traditional industry established by the
Industrial Revolution to an economy primarily
based upon information technology.
Antecedents of the
Information Age
• Printing press was invented by
German goldsmith Johannes
Gutenberg around 1440
• Computers were people who
compiled actuarial tables and did
engineering calculations.
• Alan Turing designed Bombe, which
made the British able to read all daily
German Naval Enigma traffic by
searching through the permutations.
Claude E. Shannon –
Father of Information Theory
• Many computer historians trace its
beginnings to the work of the American
mathematician Claude E. Shannon.
• At age 32 and as a researcher at Bell
Laboratories, Shannon published a
landmark paper proposing that
information can be quantitatively
encoded as a series of ones and zeroes.
• Shannon showed how all information
media, from telephone signals to radio
waves to television, could be transmitted
without error using this single
framework.
Rise of personal
computers
• Personal computers had become widespread
by the end of the 1980s. Also available was the
ability to connect these computers over local
or even national networks. Through a device
called a modem, individual users could link
their computer to a wealth of information
using conventional phone lines. What lay
beyond the individual computer was a vast
domain of information known as cyberspace.
The Internet – Driving force of the Information Age
The Internet was developed during the
1970s by the Department of Defense.
In the case of an attack, military
advisers suggested the advantage of
being able to operate one computer
from another terminal. In the early
days, the Internet was used mainly by
scientists to communicate with other
scientists. The Internet remained
under government control until 1984.
Intel and
Fiber-Optic
Cables
One early problem faced by Internet
users was speed. Phone lines could
only transmit information at a
limited rate. The development
of fiber-optic cables allowed for
billions of bits of information to be
received every minute. Companies
like Intel developed faster
microprocessors, so personal
computers could process the
incoming signals at a more rapid
rate.
The World Wide
Web
In the early 1990s, the WORLD WIDE
WEB was developed, in large part, for
commercial purposes. Corporations
created home pages where they could
place text and graphics to sell products.
Soon airline tickets, hotel reservations,
books, and even cars and homes could be
purchased online. Colleges and
universities posted research data on the
Internet, so students could find valuable
information without leaving their
dormitories. Companies soon discovered
that work could be done at home and
submitted online, so a whole new class of
telecommuters began to earn a living from
home offices unshaven and wearing
pajamas.
Electronic Mail
New forms of communication were
introduced. Electronic Mail, or E-Mail, was
a convenient way to send a message to
associates or friends. Messages could be
sent and received at the convenience of
the individual. A letter that took several
days to arrive could be read in minutes.
Internet service providers like America
Online and CompuServe set up electronic
chat rooms. These were open areas of
cyberspace where interested parties could
join in a conversation with perfect
strangers.
Surfing the net
Advocates of the Internet cited its
many advantages. The commercial
possibilities were limitless.
Convenience was greatly improved.
Chat rooms and email allowed
individuals to converse who may never
have had the opportunity in the past.
Educational opportunities were greatly
enhanced because of the wealth of
knowledge now placed at the fingertips
of any wired individual. Surfing the net
became a pastime in and of itself.
Anti-Internet
Sentiments
Critics charged that the Internet created a
technological divide that increased the
gap between the haves and have-nots.
Those who could not afford a computer or
a monthly access fee were denied these
possibilities. Many decried the impersonal
nature of electronic communication
compared to a telephone call or a
handwritten letter. Hate groups were
using the Internet to expand their bases
and recruit new members. The
unregulated nature of the Internet
allowed pornography to be broadcast to
millions of homes. Protecting children
from these influences, or even from
meeting violent predators would prove to
be difficult.
2010s Evolution of the Information
Age
Mobile upgraded from 3G to 4G networks
• What changed? 3G networks introduced a new
age of calling, texting, and internet connectivity
for mobile devices. 4G offered 10x faster speed
than 3G networks, increasing download speeds
from 1.5 Mbit/s to 15 Mbit/s.1 For perspective,
this reduced the download time for an 800MB
movie from 5 hours to 43 seconds. This
improvement made 4G a foundational technology
for a range of mobile applications that pried users
away from their desktops and let them stream
music and videos, shop on e-commerce sites, and
use social media, all on the go.
• Industries that benefited: Smartphone
manufacturers, social media, e-commerce,
streaming media
• Then and now stat: Daily time spent online on
mobile devices increased from 32 minutes in 2011
to 132 minutes in 2019.
Social Media Brought Our Lives Online
• What changed? In the age of desktop computers,
social media was a log of what happened in the past –
a collection of experiences uploaded after the fact. As
social media shift to the smartphone, however, it
became an instantaneous broadcast of life
experiences. And it’s not just individuals using these
platforms anymore, companies, news organizations,
and governments leverage them to rapidly
communicate information in real time. In
amalgamating these different types of content, social
media platforms became one-stop-shops for
information, capturing users’ attention and occupying
significant amounts of their time. Advertisers took
notice and continued to pour spending across social
media platforms and search engines: in 2019, digital
advertising spending surpassed that of traditional
advertising mediums like TV and radio.
• Industries that benefited: Social media, online search
platforms
• Then and now stat: The number of global social media
users increased from 970 million people in 2010 to
2.96 billion in 2020.
AI and Big Data
Took Off • What changed? Payments, social media views, online searches, and app usage all
leave an extensive digital trail, creating gigabytes of data for each user. With the
emergence of artificial intelligence algorithms, these large datasets are sifted
through to spot patterns and create instructions that optimize search engines,
target advertisements to individuals, or offer real time directions. As data has
become more prolific, AI has continued to learn and advance its capabilities. In
2018, for example, language processing AI outperformed top humans at Stanford
on a reading and comprehension test.
• Industries that benefited: Social media, search engines, e-commerce
• Then and now stat: In 2010, 2 zetabytes of data was created globally, with only
9% of that data available in a structured format (i.e. data that has been organized
or indexed for easier referencing). By 2019, annual data volumes reached 41
zetabytes with over of it being 13% structured.
• What changed? Historically, enterprises and consumers stored data and software locally on desktop hard-disks or distributed to
on-site servers. But as datasets grew more complex and faster network connections facilitated the rapid transfer of data over
Data storage the internet, off-premises storage and web-based software programs became more desirable. Cloud-based storage, for
example, offers easily scaled data capacity, while allowing for remote and more flexible access across myriad devices. Cloud
moved to the computing enables firms to conduct critical business functions, ranging from to accounting and HR management, through
secure and streamlined digital environments. The software industry, too, migrated from physical CD-ROMs to the
software-as-a-service business model, where companies collect subscription revenues and are able offer real-time software
cloud •
updates, remote access, and centralized data storage.
Industries that benefited: Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-service (PaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), data
center REITs
• Then and now stat: In 2010, over 90% of data was held in local servers. By 2019, public cloud storage was expected to take over
around 30% of this share.
What to expect for the 2020s
5G’s means more than just a faster internet. It proliferates the mass-adoption of connected devices in
homes, cities and enterprises, including those involved in agriculture, health care, manufacturing, and
infrastructure. Increasingly, these industries rely on connected devices to gather and analyze data,
5G becomes the new making processes more efficient, reducing downtime, and freeing up time to focus on new products
and initiatives.
• More research: How can 5G Accelerate the Internet of Things (IoT)?
wireless standard • Base technology: 4G
• Requirements: capital, supportive government policies, high frequency spectrum
• Industries we believe will benefit: Connected device manufacturers, semiconductor companies,
network providers, as well as technologies that rely on 5G such as autonomous vehicles,
telemedicine, and augmented and virtual reality
The continued decline of computing costs and improvements in network infrastructure and artificial
intelligence are key drivers of the emergence of edge computing – data processing conducted locally without
transmission across a large network. Some technologies require instantaneous data interpretation and can’t
Cloud moves to rely on networks with higher latency. Autonomous vehicles, robotic surgery, gaming, and smart factories, for
example, can require near simultaneous data transmission. Edge computing reduces latency to 5-10
milliseconds from 25-35 milliseconds for early deployed 5G devices.10 A study estimates the economic impact
of edge computing to reach $4.1 trillion by 2030.11
the edge •More research: Cloud Computing: The Digital Infrastructure Powering Today’s Businesses
•Base technology: Cloud computing
•Requirements: Local digital infrastructure, 5G buildout
•Industries we believe will benefit: Cloud infrastructure companies, IoT device makers, AI developers, smart
factories, streaming gaming, autonomous vehicle platforms, surgical robots
Improvements in artificial intelligence and dexterity are the result of advanced 3D vision capabilities and
end-of-arm tooling for precise movements. While the auto manufacturing segment remains robotics’ largest
end-market, emerging segments like healthcare and hospitality can benefit from smarter, more capable robots
Robotics enters that can conduct surgery, check on patients, cook food, or deliver items to hotel rooms. Agriculture will also
see a robotics-driven revolution with automated spraying, monitoring, and picking likely resulting in reduced
costs and improved crop yields. The global stock of industrial robots is expected to reach 20 million by 2030,
new industries representing a 24% CAGR as robots enter more industries.13
•More research: Drivers of Four Key Segments in Robotics and AI
•Base technologies: Factory automation
•Requirements: Enhanced computer vision, advanced materials
•Industries we believe will benefit: Robotics manufacturers, AI chip developers
As the population ages, there will be increasing pressure to reduce costs, improve patient outcomes, and optimize
physicians’ time. All of this is possible by leveraging telemedicine and artificial intelligence – two technologies that are
Health care goes set to disrupt health care. Telemedicine offers an alternative solution to in-person doctor visits, providing diagnostic and
clinical services to patients around-the-clock, from the convenience of one’s home or workplace. Currently, telemedicine
utilization rates remain below 10% in the U.S., but penetration is likely to grow as technology reduces costs and adds
digital: AI diagnoses convenience. Further digitalization of health care will also enable new use cases for AI. Recent developments like
AI-driven, real-time MRI interpretation could mean enhanced diagnoses and treatments across other health care
and telemedicine verticals, in addition to its use in telemedicine as an AI chatbot for triage or basic medical advice.
•More research: Chipchat: How Conversational AI Will Change Humans and Computers Forever
•Base technologies: artificial intelligence, streaming
•Requirements: connected medical devices (IoT), conversational AI
•Industries we believe will benefit: Cloud computing, big data & AI
Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age
(Mason, 1986)
Privacy
• What information about one's self or one's
associations must a person reveal to others,
under what conditions and with what
safeguards? What things can people keep to
themselves and not be forced to reveal to
others?
Accuracy
Who is responsible for the
authenticity, fidelity and
accuracy of information?
Similarly, who is to be held
accountable for errors in
information and how is the
injured party to be made
whole?
Property
Who owns information? What
are the just and fair prices for
its exchange? Who owns the
channels, especially the
airways, through which
information is transmitted?
How should access to this
scarce resource be allocated?
Accessibility
What information
does a person or an
organization have a
right or a privilege to
obtain, under what
conditions and with
what safeguards?
Specific issues of IA today
Weaponizing the Internet
In the Philippines, paid trolls, fallacious reasoning, leaps in logic, poisoning the
well – these are only some of the propaganda techniques that have helped shift
public opinion on key issues (Ressa, 2016).
CoViD-19 and misinformation
False information on COVID-19 spreads at speed, making it more difficult
for the public to. identify verified facts & advice from trusted sources.
–World Heath Organization
