The 7 Most Dangerous Technology Trends In 2020 Everyone Should Know About

The 7 Most Dangerous
Technology Trends In 2020
Everyone Should Know About

© 2019 Bernard Marr, Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
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IntroductionIntroduction
As we enter new frontiers with the latest technology trends and enjoy the
many positive impacts and benefits it can have on the way we work, play and
live, we must always be mindful and prepare for possible negative impacts and
potential misuse of the technology.
Here are seven of the most dangerous technology trends:
The 7 Most Dangerous Technology Trends In
2020 Everyone Should Know About

Dangerous Technology Trends In 2020
The British, Chinese, and United States armed forces are testing how interconnected,
cooperative drones could be used in military operations. Inspired by a swarm of insects
working together, drone swarms could revolutionise future conflicts, whether it be by
overwhelming enemy sensors with their numbers or to effectively cover a large area for
search-and-rescue missions. The difference between swarms and how drones are used by
the military today is that the swarm could organise itself based on the situation and
through interactions with each other to accomplish a goal.
Drone Swarms

While this technology is still in the experimentation stage, the reality of a swarm that is
smart enough to coordinate its own behaviour is moving closer to reality. Aside from the
positive benefits of drone swarms to minimise casualties, at least for the offense, and
more efficiently achieve a search-and-rescue objective, the thought of machines equipped
with weapons to kill being able to "think" for themselves is fodder for nightmares. Despite
the negative possibilities, there seems to be little doubt that swarm military technology
will eventually be deployed in future conflicts.
Drone Swarms

For smart home devices to respond to queries and be as useful as possible, they need to
be listening and tracking information about you and your regular habits. When you added
the Echo to your room as a radio and alarm clock (or any other smart device connected to
the Internet), you also allowed a spy to enter your home. All the information smart devices
collect about your habits such as your viewing history on Netflix; where you live and what
route you take home so Google can tell you how to avoid traffic; and what time you
typically arrive home so your smart thermostat can make your family room the
temperature you prefer, is stored in the cloud.
Spying Smart Home Devices

Of course, this information makes your life more convenient, but there is also the potential
for abuse. In theory, virtual assistant devices listen for a "wake word," before they activate,
but there are instances when it might think you said the wake word and begin recording.
Any smart device in your home, including gaming consoles and smart TVs, could be the
entry point for abuse of your personal information. There are some defensive strategies
such as covering up cameras, turning off devices when not needed and muting
microphones, but none of them are 100% foolproof.
Spying Smart Home Devices

There are some incredibly useful applications for facial recognition, but it can just as easily
be used for sinister purposes. China stands accused of using facial recognition technology
for surveillance and racial profiling. Not only do China's cameras spot jaywalkers, but they
have also monitored and controlled Uighur Muslims who live in the country. Russia's
cameras scan the streets for "people of interest," and there are reports that Israel tracks
Palestinians inside the West Bank. In addition to tracking people without their knowledge,
facial recognition is plagued with bias. When an algorithm is trained on a dataset that isn't
diverse, it is less accurate and will misidentify people more.
Facial Recognition

With the support of artificial intelligence (AI), all that’s needed to create a clone of
someone’s voice is just a snippet of audio. Similarly, AI can take several photos or videos
of a person and then create an entirely new—cloned—video that appears to be an
original. It’s become quite easy for AI to create an artificial YOU and the results are so
convincing our brains have trouble differentiating between what is real and what is cloned.
Deepfake technology that uses facial mapping, machine learning, and artificial intelligence
to create representations of real people doing and saying things they never did is now
targeting "ordinary" people.
AI Cloning

Celebrities used to be more susceptible to being victims of deepfake technology because
there was abundant video and audio of them to use to train the algorithms. However, the
technology has advanced to the point that it doesn't require as much raw data to create a
convincing fake video, plus there are a lot more images and videos of ordinary people
from the internet and social media channels to use.
AI Cloning

When high-powered technology falls into the wrong hands, it can be very effective to
achieve criminal, immoral, and malicious activities. Ransomware, where malware is used to
prevent access to a computer system until a ransom is paid, is on the rise according to the
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). Artificial intelligence can
automate tasks to get them done more efficiently. When those tasks, such as spear
phishing, are to send out fake emails to trick people into giving up their private
information, the negative impact could be extraordinary.
Ransomware, AI and Bot-
enabled Blackmailing
and Hacking

Once the software is built, there is little-to-no cost to keep repeating the task over again.
AI can quickly and efficiently blackmail people or hack into systems. Although AI is playing
a significant role to combat malware and other threats, it's also being used by
cybercriminals to perpetrate the crimes.
Ransomware, AI and Bot-
enabled Blackmailing
and Hacking

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), the size of a grain of salt, have sensors,
communication mechanisms, autonomous power supplies, and cameras in them. Also
called motes, this smart dust has a plethora of positive uses in healthcare, security, and
more, but would be frightening to control if used for evil pursuits. While spying on a
known enemy with smart dust could fall into the positive column, the invasion of a private
citizen’s privacy would be just as easy.
Smart Dust

GROVER is one AI system capable of writing a fake news article from nothing more than a
headline. AI systems such as GROVER create articles more believable than those written by
humans. OpenAI, a nonprofit company backed by Elon Musk, created “deepfakes for text”
that produces news stories and works of fiction so good, the organization initially decided
not to release the research publicly to prevent dangerous misuse of the technology. When
fake articles are promoted and shared as true, it can have serious ramifications for
individuals, businesses, and governments. Along with the positive uses of today’s
technology, there is no doubt that it can be very dangerous in the wrong hands.
Fake News Bots

© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website
© 2017 Bernard Marr , Bernard Marr & Co. All rights reserved
Bernard Marr is an internationally best-selling author, popular keynote speaker, futurist, and a
strategic business & technology advisor to governments and companies. He helps
organisations improve their business performance, use data more intelligently, and
understand the implications of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data,
blockchains, and the Internet of Things.
LinkedIn has ranked Bernard as one of the world’s top 5 business influencers. He is a frequent
contributor to the World Economic Forum and writes a regular column for Forbes. Every day
Bernard actively engages his 1.5 million social media followers and shares content that
reaches millions of readers.
Visit The
Website

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The 7 Most Dangerous Technology Trends In 2020 Everyone Should Know About

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