This is a video from Nokia that was presented at the GTI Summit 2020. Nokia’s President and CEO, Rajeev Suri discusses the importance of 5G Networks in establishing what has been termed as Industry X. Industry X refers to the unknown of how our society will transform the way they conduct work in the future. A huge emphasis will be placed on the dynamics of culture and what is deemed as socially acceptable to incorporate with machines and digital technology. Rajeev also discusses some of the consequences with industrial revolutions, one being that the people who worked in these fields did not benefit from the outcomes of their labour. In other words, these workers were completely disconnected or excluded. The hope is that with Industry X, it will actually reverse this trend, which is why it is very important to consider the type of work culture needed to do so. Education is mentioned as one of these industries. Have you thought about what you want it to be? Or what would need to change in order to create a benefit culture for all? What about inclusion? How would that look like in the education industry where you work? What smart solutions do we need to be effective in the education industry?
This video is an excellent introduction to the utopian vision of a 5G-world, and as Rajeev Suri calls it, the next industrial revolution. It is also an excellent segue into a conversation about the dystopian vision of the same thing.
As others have also pointed out, a lot of the loudest, shinest, most polished voices in the conversation are from companies with an interest in the wide-spread construction of 5G networks. They have a strong political lobby, such a seat at the table with organizations like The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as Wendy Mulligan mentions in her comment. Meanwhile, most lay people don’t know enough about the possibilities and implications of 5G networks to join the conversation thoughtfully. Many academics in Education don’t seem to either. Anecdotally, a search on UBC Summon today (Jan 26, 2021) for peer-reviwed and scholarly resources on “5G” in any discipline retrieves 115,987 results. Only 660 are in the discipline of Education. What are the implications of the Education world not having a loud voice in this conversation?
Ironically, Rajeev Suri warns us to be on the lookout for repeating the mistakes of the First, Second, and Third Industrial Revolutions while encouraging us to repeat one of the mistakes of those revolutions: Letting corporations run the show. We are letting them lead the conversation. The negative implications of IoT are already apparent in the workplace, such as the way Amazon tracks workers’ movements and then fires them based on “productivity” data. What if companies had access to biometric data that could tell them whether or not you are actually sick (by their standards)? As we work from home and build our flexible schedules, could we not conceivably lose the hard-won right to disconnected, completely personal time-off? Some argue we already are.
Corporations are not inherently pro-social entities, to say the least, and this video reveals the manipulation of information characteristic of an entity with a conflict of interest in the 5G conversation. Suri gets us onside early by describing the problems of past industrial revolutions and saying we need to watch out for them again, but then never details what we’re watching out for and how we’ll protect against it (0:50). He fearmongers and then presents Industry X as *the* solution (10:50). He tries to detach himself from his financial interest in the topic by saying “Hey, this isn’t a marketing pitch,” (which is a bald-faced lie) but then goes on to detail why Nokia is likely better than all other providers (12:10). He uses carefully crafted tricks like these throughout the video, betraying the dishonesty of his message.
He is right that “Nokia can’t do it alone. No provider can.” And they shouldn’t be allowed to.
This is an interesting video that raises more questions than it answers about the future of 5G and its impact on our society. It is true that a more equitable society is possible, but that seems to be in the hands of ICT development companies. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (https://www.itu.int/en/about/Pages/default.aspx), of which Nokia is a member, has created some encouraging goals around “for the period 2020-2023, ensuring that technology serves humanity and the planet”. These goals target the following:
Growth: Enable and foster access to and increased use of telecommunications/ICT in support of the digital economy and society
Inclusiveness: Bridge the digital divide and provide broadband access for all
​Sustainability: Manage emerging risks, challenges and opportunities resulting from the rapid growth of telecommunications/ICT
Innovation:Enable innovation in telecommunications/ICT in support of the digital transformation of society
Partnerships: Strengthen cooperation among the ITU membership and all other stakeholders in support of all ITU strategic goals
Further details at: https://www.itu.int/en/mediacentre/backgrounders/Pages/connect-2030-agenda.aspx
It’s encouraging that this international organization is working towards such goals, and I’m cautiously confident that our society may be moving in the right direction regarding equity.
Hi Brittany – thanks for this video. It was super insightful and definitely makes a case for 5G that schools would benefit greatly from. Because this is a promotional video for Nokia, it will of course show all the positives and potential of 5G. Have you come across any decent videos that are critical of 5G? I know there are many foil-hat wearers who warn of the huge negative implications of 5G (there are a ton here in Lumby where I live!), but I haven’t seen anything that come from a reliable source.
I live in an area with very poor cell service and limited access to internet. In addition to making these courses more difficult, I know many students don’t have cell service or internet, so if 5G can bring reliable service to places that have not had access I say bring it on! I would love to see more opportunities for students to register in DL courses either from home or from school and I see more potential for this with 5G.
People have been talking about 5G for years. I have been wondering what is the key difference between 4G and 5G? Is it just the speed change? If it was only the speed change, then what is the point of making such a big deal? We have experienced the change from 1G to 4G in less than 20 years.
As for online educational needs, 4G is good enough in terms of speed of transferring information or of giving/receiving lesions. So, is it a real need for 5G in the education field? If 5G is inevitable, then, how it may change the education field and applications?
To my understanding, 5G is more energy-saving than 4G in terms of data transfer and storage, which means lower price and cost. Therefore, 5G would help connect Things and allows other educational facilities to be connected and thus provide better education experience and effectiveness.
Brittany, thank you for posting this video. It was insightful to hear the CEO of Nokia discuss his vision for 5G.
When he mentioned how each revolution made the lives of the people working in that revolution worse, it made me think of the “gig” economy and how many people are working for little money in many facets of the new economy. I hope that he is sincere in his wish to design “Industry X” and 5G in a way that is more equitable.
And then I wonder, when has our society truly been equitable? One might argue the period in North America that followed the Baby Boomers was equitable in that there was a lot of growth for many people in that generation. But it also was not equitable in a lot of ways. Are humans “designed” to be equitable?
As far as education goes, if 5G and access to 5G is affordable, I think that would be a good start on the path to equity. Cell towers in more locations. Affordable 5g smart phones. Affordable rates. And as we know, how you use a tool dictates what you get out of it. So, educating a generation on how to effectively use tools to enhance their value as a participant in the economy/Industry X. How can equitable access to 5G allow for more students to thrive on their learning journey? What if, instead of being reliant on the luck of the draw of whichever teacher is “your teacher” this year, all year, based solely on where you are, what if you had an option? What if you could choose from an assortment of facilitators, learning services that were a better fit for you? And what if they allowed you to “connect” to a “brain app” regardless of where you are?
Does that turn teachers into commodities? If you are a commodity you become cheap. And what about the in person connection that we need?