An uncertain online landscape provides a golden opportunity for governments to wrestle back control of personal data from private companies, claims Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Whilst the late Steve Jobs was keen to turn Apple into the behemoth it has become, Mr Wozniak was more concerned with ensuring the developing technology retained that human interaction and simplicity for which it has become famous.
Speaking at the International Government Communication Forum in Sharjah alongside a panel of other tech experts, Mr Wozniak said the time is right for governments around the world to seize back control of the internet’s wild west.
“We are constantly in a battle between humans and technology, as technologists we should do everything in our power to create new tech in the most human and natural way,” said Mr Wozniak, who founded Apple Computers in 1976 with Jobs and Ronald Wayne.
“Communication moves in both directions and governments should be totally inclusive in this.
“Governments have to understand that these tech companies control a lot of the information available to us and they often want to disperse certain ideals and values upon us.
“We probably need a new form of government to regulate this – if I share information, who then owns that information?
“I hope we can come up with new technology in the future that will replace things like today’s Facebook that takes people’s information and turns it into billions of dollars.”
Mr Wozniak cited the rise of bitcoin as an example of how technology can quickly develop without a central authority.
As an investor, Wozniak has experienced both sides of the bitcoin, earning a small fortune after buying in early, but also losing the value of several coins when he sold to someone who paid for the digital currency using a stolen credit card.
The technology behind cryptocurrencies, blockchain, could yet provide a solution on how internet users and governments can secure private data online.
The social media information crisis could prove to accelerate the development of the fast emerging blockchain technology, promising a secure method of information exchange through encryption.
Also speaking on the panel discussion was Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, the non-profit online encyclopedia, who said governments are often too slow to adopt the latest technologies.
“Governments by the nature of their structures are slow and bureaucratic, so it is naturally difficult for them to keep pace with the development of technology,” he said.
“Generally, those who are elected as public officials around the world are not technologists so their understanding of technology is quite thin.
“Some governments also have a problem with encryption.”
Censorship of Wikipedia has occurred in several countries, including China, France, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
Although some governments are concerned over ‘weaponized misinformation’ to disrupt society, the use of blockchain to protect personal data could become a useful tool in the future, the experts said.
“To ban encryption is like saying let’s ban mathematics, even if there are problems with it, it is not something that should be banned by governments,” Mr Wales said.
“These systems are dynamic, and it is very hard for governments to control the flow of this information to it is citizens.”
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One government blockchain success story is that of Estonia, where hash-linked, time-stamping or blockchain has been in operation in many online registries since 2012.
The distributed ledger gives people more control over their data and disempowers a central authority, so whilst teachers can enter grades onto someone’s record, they can’t access their medical history, for example.
“There’s an opportunity for governments to become a platform, with people increasingly wanting to transact online, and deal with governments in a more agile way,” said Inma Martinez, an artificial intelligence pioneer and digital scientist who has spoken on behalf of the British government on tech development.
“Governments have a responsibility to safeguard the identities of their citizens, as no one is better placed to look after your identity.
“It gives you a birth certificate when you are born, and a passport – so information and identity should be safeguarded at a government level.
“People need to be able to trust governments and feel comfortable with this. We are living in a world where too many companies know too much information about all of us.
“Governments need to establish trust, and protect the data of their citizens.
“Blockchain is encrypted so it allows more real transparency, you can prove the data has not been tampered with so it is something you would expect to see being used by more governments in the future.”
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Four stars
Barbie
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Armies of Sand
By Kenneth Pollack (Oxford University Press)
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The bio
Academics: Phd in strategic management in University of Wales
Number one caps: His best-seller caps are in shades of grey, blue, black and yellow
Reading: Is immersed in books on colours to understand more about the usage of different shades
Sport: Started playing polo two years ago. Helps him relax, plus he enjoys the speed and focus
Cars: Loves exotic cars and currently drives a Bentley Bentayga
Holiday: Favourite travel destinations are London and St Tropez
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
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Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh234,000 - Dh329,000
On sale: now
