By Mark Isaiah David
2018 is here! And maybe the tech gods from the heavens will be kind and give us smartphones that don’t run out of battery or Augmented Reality glasses that give instantaneous information (like Iron Man’s HUD) about everything. Or maybe, just maybe – we’ll finally get that much anticipated Diablo II HD remake.
But if we’re going to be a little bit grounded, there’s still a lot of tech things we can hope for that’s achievable in 2018. For example:
The Falcon Has Landed
When Young Sheldon (2017) suggested to a NASA scientist that their rockets should be built to survive re-entry on Earth, he was told that while his math was theoretically correct, current technological capabilities are still unable to execute his plans. The young genius, it seemed, was ahead of his time.
Young Sheldon had been proven true in April 2016, as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket finally made the first successful landing ever recorded – an unprecedented spaceflight achievement. The rocket was able to land upright and intact, paving the way for the possibility of reusing rockets and significantly lowering the cost of space exploration. Such a feat fueled other (ongoing) SpaceX projects, and in 2018, I hope we could see more groundbreaking accomplishments to further our forays into space. The Space Race between the US and Russia resulted to several spin-off technologies and additional investments in education – let’s hope SpaceX’s success would spark a new boom in science and technology.
Expanded Eshop
Nintendo’s mini NES and mini SNES Classic are the most popular retro gaming platforms out there – but they’re severely lacking in game content. The mini-NES has 30 built-in games while the SNES Classic has 21. For comparison, the ATARI Flashback 8 Gold has 120 Atari games while the SEGA Mega Drive has 82.
An easy solution for this that would keep both the Nintendo fans and the company happy would be to make old Nintendo games available for purchase and download on the company’s eShop. Nintendo would easily earn millions, the fans would have more games to play with, it sends the message that Nintendo is looking out for the long-term satisfaction of its customers and its stock price goes up. It’s a win-win.
Ubiquitous, Instant HIV Tests
I’ve read somewhere that as of 2016, the Philippines has 56,000 HIV cases – or about 30 new cases a day. That’s insane. What’s worse, it’s projected to rise to 142,000 by 2022, with young people (15 to 24) being the most vulnerable.
The situation is untenable – clearly, something drastic needs to be done. I think the technology is already available, but we obviously need instant HIV test kits to be available EVERYWHERE. The government should subsidize it (even partially) to make it affordable and easily available in convenience stores, groceries, gas stations, drugstores, bars, motels, hotels – everywhere. Screw what the conservatives would probably say; this is clearly a rapidly escalating health scourge that could even threaten national security. We need to act.
The technology might already be available but public perception needs to change if we are to maximize the utility of the technology. In 2018, I wish for better access to healthcare, including instant HIV test kits.
Pervasive Traffic Cams and Reliable Enforcement
A law is useless if it is unenforced – and that’s a big part of why we have this unspeakable, just-going-to-get-worse, everyday hell of traffic in our cities. We do horrible things on the road because we rarely get caught.
What do you think will happen if every driver who breaks the speed limit, every idiot who beats the red light, every privileged buffoon who counterflows, every brute who throws garbage out of their cars, and every inconsiderate prick who takes up the pedestrian lane while waiting for the traffic light to turn gets caught on camera and gets fined? What if the fines are significant, the enforcement is reliable, and the punishment is progressive (fines get bigger for repeated offenses and you eventually lose your license)? Oh, and to make sure the rich don’t get off easy, it shouldn’t matter who’s actually driving – the owner of the vehicle should get the penalty. If you chose to lend your car to a jackass, well, sucks to be you.
How to turn this into a reality? First, the government should know where its people are. Every person should have a registered address and if you move, you will need to register to your new area. Next, in all major streets, noticeable traffic signs should be erected and cameras should be deployed (the cost could easily be recouped from either the fines the government will collect or from the economic growth brought by the reduced traffic). When an offense is made, a letter detailing the offense, the amount that needs to be paid, and the deadline for the payment of the fee, will be sent to the address of the car’s owner. If the owner doesn’t pay the fee within the deadline, pursue it – with additional punishment (maybe a temporary suspension of the license).
I’m sure many people would complain and come up with excuses and appeals (“trabaho lang,” “maawa naman kayo”), but unless it really hurts, the lesson will never be learned. I know – I once drove way beyond the speed limit at SCTEX and paid a significant fee. And you know what? I never did it again. As the saying goes, “Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time”. See how quickly drivers follow the rules when they know they’d suffer the consequences of their actions.
Big Data-Based Policies
Have you ever wanted to do an epic facepalm whenever you read about a new scheme/plan of the government and their sole basis for doing so is “suboklang”? Sure, it’s nice that they’re trying out things, but don’t we deserve something better than a plan pulled out of an official’s ass?
Big data analytics can help any policy-creating body to come up with plans backed up by real, actual data – you know, the things that actually make up our everyday lives. Instead of going by an official’s hunch or limited perspective, big data can help government agencies see the actual picture. Aside from helping manage traffic, big data can show where government health subsidies and support should actually go, determine optimum cultivation of agricultural resources, and with real information, pinpoint areas most in need of attention to alleviate poverty.
To be clear, I’m not saying that the government shouldn’t do anything unless their plans are backed by a dozen or so papers, but it would be good not to waste tax money on half-assed plans, right? The government should always SPAR – Study, Plan, Act, Revise. We don’t deserve anything less than the intelligent use of the tax that we pay.