What are the great advances or technological transformations that have marked the first 25 years of the 21st century?
We are in the fourth industrial revolution, which is known as the digital revolution, with significant advances such as manufacturing with robots, autonomous vehicles, new manufacturing materials, sensor development and artificial intelligence (AI). We could divide it into digital, biological manifestations and addictive manufacturing. The Internet of Things (IoT, in English) is the digital manifestation of integrated objects with sensors and programs that allow exchanging data through the Internet; For example, track packages, smart refrigerators, blockchain, which is a tremendous advance and is like a programmed accounting book – it is used for cryptocurrencies, certificates or titles – that encrypts information in such a way that it is impossible to open it.
Among the biological manifestations is synthetic biology (Synbio), which makes it possible to intervene in medicine, agriculture, in the genetic edition to generate particular treatments, modification of organism cells and 3D manufacturing to produce living tissues or bioimpression. And addictive manufacturing is very significant in this industrial revolution, because three -dimensional objects are manufactured from a digital model and can occur on demand with a wide range of materials.
Has Guatemala managed to adopt the new technology?
The lag is tremendous. Let’s start with the Internet – with the figures of the 2018 census – 22% had access to a computer, 17% to the Internet, 62% to mobile phone, but only 29% used the Internet in the three months prior to the survey; They are extremely low figures and with larger gaps in rural areas. We are very conflictive in access instruments and the curious thing is that cable television does reach the majority, because mayors and development councils have had the mentality of maintaining high charges to Internet suppliers, to take them to municipal coffers.
With this they deprive the places of access to technology. What happens is that wireless technology has allowed to overcome the local charges that make physical lines through posts or ducts, and a market has been developed based on “wisperos”, which are called so because they use the Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP), which are mostly informal operators and are dedicated to providing internet and cable services. Technology advances so much that regulations must adapt to those advances. Internet operators, most of those registered —373 – in the SIT, are equipment suppliers or are inactive.
Those are access problems. And how much to facilitate technological tools at the level of small businesses?
Large companies are connected, but with small businesses there is a big job to do, as within the government, because the digital transformation is behind the country. The internet is roads, but only in certain government institutions the digital transformation is seen. This should be a comprehensive state of the State, since it is not enough to digitize the processes, we must take advantage of a reengineering with platforms that can ethically integrate AI in some areas.
Guatemala has sectors that have not reached the fourth industrial revolution.
We are late, in general. You have to digitize, but computer roads are needed, which are broadband, servers, the last mile, which needs to increase the capacity.
Is having a smartphone enough for a person to access technology?
It has to do with education and economic capacity. When I was on the SIT, the market opened, we went to a price war, to an explosion of coverage, we got four companies in competition in a small country. When the telephone opening began there were half a million fixed lines and one hundred thousand cell phones, and we have more than 20 million cell phones, because the problem is not to have a phone, but have the Internet and that the user can pay and use it.
Can you imagine living without technology?
Not at all, I think we would even starve. Like apocalyptic films, you could not imagine a world without technology.
What comes in the coming years?
The AI was already for a long time, with Internet search engines and text translators, but we didn’t realize. This is a field that focuses on systems, programs capable of performing tasks that required human intelligence. There are jobs that can be in danger with AI, but they are the ones that involve repetitive and predictable tasks. The doors are also opened to new opportunities in many areas. What is needed is education to take advantage of AI and not fall behind.
The issue of AI regulation cannot be, nor could the Internet be regulated. The possibility of being used for worse with any technological instrument. Are the robots to completely replace the human being? It is a question that is always, and the answer I see is that robots are not consumers, and manufacturers need employees and consumers. From the first industrial revolution, in London, it was said that the machines would leave people without work, and did not leave it. What happened was that the working day was reduced.
Was Pandemia an opportunity to accelerate these changes?
Although it had more disadvantages than advantages, during the pandemic it began with teleworking, which became an option to avoid traffic, but the main disadvantage was the treatment given to the pandemic closing the economies worldwide what definitively harmed the prices of the products and was a terrible blow for the middle class, added with the War of Russia and Ukraine.