Information and communications technologies

Information and communications technologies

Information technology includes the techniques, tools, and methods used to create, save, modify and display communicated content. Communication technologies include the techniques, tools, and methods used to facilitate communications. 

These two types of technologies were developed separately until the 1970s when information technology began to be applied to the telecommunications network. The term “information and communication technologies” (ICT) has been adopted to reflect the convergence of these two types of technologies and associated industries. The ICTs developed and applied today are technologies applicable to computers and communication systems. They are integrated or associated with modern telecommunications networks. In a broader historical sense, however, it is recognized that ICTs also include languages, gestures, dress, codes of behavior, and religious rituals as well as artistic and cultural traditions. (See also Communications. )

Historical

The telegraph (1837) and the telephone (1876) allowed almost instantaneous wireless communication over long distances, a major advance compared to the old methods which then called upon railways, boats, or stagecoaches. Communication based on the wireless telegraph (1895), HF radiocommunication (1926), and then radio communication - or microwave - (1946) eliminate the physical constraint of having to connect each point by a cable. Microwaves allow the use of broadband channels for the transport of television signals and they pave the way for the development of satellite communication systems. and spatial (1957). The 1970s saw the development of the first portable communications handsets and the technologies underlying the Internet and the Web. Mobile and online communication systems have advanced rapidly since their introduction in the 1980s, so much so that mobile Internet access (for example with smartphones) is today the dominant form of communication and the one that progresses the fastest.

The development of ICT in the XXI century is primarily focused on expanding the features and capabilities of equipment and facilities used to communicate via telephone networks. During the 1990s and 2000s, people often speak of "technological convergence" to describe how ICTs are used to link previously separate means of communication - such as the telephone, radio, television, newspapers, and newspapers. computer data - on a single platform, the Internet, which enables information to be distributed over enhanced high-capacity, high-bandwidth networks.

The increased capacity to collect huge volumes of detailed information (metadata) and the establishment of networks of connected devices (via the Internet) has enabled the creation of new beneficial applications such as real-time monitoring of various parameters in the environment. science, health, and environment. With this development, however, there has been a significant erosion of confidential data protection by allowing governments, businesses, and some sufficiently "talented" hackers to spy on people and organizations.

Nation-building

It has long been known that advanced communication technologies can offer enormous economic, political, and military benefits. Information is power. Communication technologies have strongly influenced the distribution of power within societies, as well as the rise and fall of empires, as the work of Canadian researcher Harold Innis has shown. A significant portion of ICT-focused research and development has been funded from the military budgets of the great powers, which continue to invest in this area today.

For Canada and several other technologically advanced nations, ICTs are currently the cornerstone of industrial and political strategies aimed at promoting the national economy, unifying the country, and positioning itself as well as possible in an increasingly global economy. more competitive. As a leader in the development and applications of ICTs, Canada is well-positioned to benefit from the benefits of the current revolutionary development of these technologies.

Regulation and development

With its relatively small population distributed over an immense territory, Canada has always cultivated a unique link with communication technologies. Just as the railroad was seen at the time of Confederation as the physical link connecting disparate regions of the country through rails, technologies and communication networks are now seen as a means of promoting economic development and dialogue, facilitating the dissemination of common perspectives and knowledge across the country ( see History of the railway). The federal government, which was the main promoter of the development of the railway, also played a key role in the development and implementation of communication technologies and the creation of communication networks across Canada.

The federal government has actively participated in the development of ICT, for example supporting the innovative development, in the 1970s, of the first video terminal capable of receiving teletex ( Telidon ), as well as private-public partnerships such as Canarsie, focused on the advanced internet development. Canada is also a leader in the development of telemedicine, Internet education, and the delivery of government services online.

Since the 1990s, the federal government has assumed less and less the preponderant role it had previously played in the telecommunications and ICT sector, passing the baton to actors in the private sector. It nevertheless retains the role of the political and regulatory body for matters relating to access to basic services via the Internet throughout the country.

Promises and Problems for Canada

New technologies are often presented as solutions to economic and social problems, with the prospect of financial gains and greater freedom at work and in society. However, it is not possible to predict all the effects that new technologies may have. When promoting the advantages of new technologies competitively, the disadvantages and adjustment problems they can cause are too often overlooked and sometimes even hidden.

Some analysts argue for example that since the end of the XIX century, Canada follows the path of a "technological nationalism" blithely supporting the development of technological systems - particularly communication networks - as much to consolidate the means of national unity, without taking sufficient account of the content disseminated by these systems. As a result, Canadian communication networks, particularly in English-speaking regions, mainly broadcast foreign programs. Canadians are often more familiar with the history and icons of American culture and society than those of their own country.

Other analysts assert that industrialists and decision-makers have obeyed a technological imperative and opted for rapid development, believing that any new technology necessarily brings prosperity to users and the nation. The problem is also that the full adoption of new technologies has helped to obscure the problems and pitfalls with which they are associated. Examples include the growing gap between those who have access to a large amount of information and those who do not, the excessive commercialization of the Internet, the drastic decrease in privacy protection, and how these technologies favor a shift in work and wages towards models that disadvantage the most vulnerable groups in society.

Still, others observe that financial profit, an essential motivation of the private sector, is the main driver of ICT development. They argue, moreover, that by letting private companies take charge of the development program for these technologies, many of the ICT applications are potentially beneficial to the public, such as new possibilities for universal education and increased democratic participation in the process. policies and access to interesting and rewarding professions are left aside in such a context focused on the search for short-term profit.

These concerns are legitimate, but they cannot be exclusive to Canada, because any country today must develop policies allowing to influence the development of ICTs so that they serve the best interests of all its citizens. Maximizing opportunities, minimizing unwanted effects, and finding the right balance between private and public sector activities is a major challenge, especially in an economic environment dominated by powerful private corporations. To benefit from the positive public and social benefits of ICTs and to minimize their harmful impacts, governments must take the public interest into account when developing their ICT policies and programs.

Global fallout

ICTs make it possible to overcome many temporal and spatial limitations and to greatly increase the volume and diversity of information that can be created, collected, and disseminated. They can therefore be of great benefit to most members of the public and organizations, especially users with substantial budgets for the acquisition of specialized ICT equipment and services. These technologies help broaden administrative controls and in some cases improve the efficiency of large organizations. The main beneficiaries may be the transnational corporations who can expand the reach of their activities, expand their markets and instantly transfer financial resources to anywhere in the world.

In many countries, and particularly in developing countries, this development can threaten national production and employment as well as national sovereignty and local cultures. Although the rapid spread of cell phones around the world has enabled millions of people living in poor countries to gain access to basic communication services for the first time, these services are usually not advanced. and millions of people still do not have access to it. Several initiatives of the United Nations, the World Bank, and many non-governmental organizations aim to bridge this “digital divide”.

Experience shows that ICT opens up new possibilities, but also inevitably creates new problems. These new techniques can enable more informed democratic participation of citizens and help solve a range of social, political, and economic problems. They can also foster a fragmented and disoriented society made up of passive observers who have access to continuous distracting information, but who are unsure of how this excessive volume of information can be used to improve their condition or the society in its own right. together. The balance will be established by political, military, economic, and social actions emanating from the dominant institutions that influence Canadian society and the global community.