Home/News/Page 17

Qaskme Latest Questions

daniyasiddiquiEditor’s Choice
Asked: 27/08/2025In: , ,

reshaping cities and communities perm ...

communicationcompany
  1. daniyasiddiqui
    daniyasiddiqui Editor’s Choice

     How Remote Work Transformed Prior to 2020, the notion that millions would work their entire career from home was virtually unthinkable. Offices, commutes, and filled city streets lined with office workers seemed the inviolate status quo. And then the pandemic struck, and remote work wasn't an experRead more

     How Remote Work Transformed

    Prior to 2020, the notion that millions would work their entire career from home was virtually unthinkable. Offices, commutes, and filled city streets lined with office workers seemed the inviolate status quo. And then the pandemic struck, and remote work wasn’t an experiment—it was a matter of survival.

    Today, even as the world opens up, remote and hybrid work are here to stay. This revolution is subtly reshaping not only businesses, but also cities, communities, and lives.

     Leaving the Commute Behind

    • Cities have been built for decades around the concept of office commutes. Trains, freeways, and coffeehouses all centered on the daily commute. But work-from-home has disrupted this, and people are asking: Why pay to live in an overpriced downtown area if I can work from anywhere?
    • This has created trends such as:
    • Suburban or small-town relocation where housing is less expensive and quality of life appears greater.
    • Decline in downtown foot traffic, with office skyscrapers filling up empty and city businesses hurting.
    • New urban looks at how to redevelop office-concentrated areas as housing or mixed-use communities.

     Communities in Transition

    • Remote work is not only transforming cities but also neighborhoods:
      Higher neighborhood engagement: With more time spent at home, in local cafes, gyms, and stores, which stimulates local economies.
    • Fading of boundaries between work and life: Home is no longer “home anymore,” and neighborhoods evolve with shared working space and adjustable meeting rooms.
    • Worldwide communities: Individuals form friendships and professional associations worldwide, so “community” is no longer site-specific.
    • Others fear less face-to-face time with colleagues erodes social networks created in the workplace.

     Winners and Losers in This Shift

    • Winners: Rural areas, suburbs, and small towns are luring workers who previously felt trapped in large cities. Employees like flexibility and frequently save money.
    • Losers: Large cities with high populations that rely on office workers—transport networks, restaurants, and property—are confronted with a dismal future.
    • The transition isn’t level, and that is the reason some locations experience a “remote work boom” while others are confronted with vacant office buildings.

     A Permanent Trend or Just a Phase?

    It feels more enduring—but quietly. Remote full-time work will never be the norm, but hybrid models (2–3 days remote, remainder in the office) are the new norm. This still transforms cities, because even half-empty offices mean reduced demand for monster corporate campuses and less fixed commuting schedules.

    We might be going towards cities built less about 9-to-5 work and more about open, mixed-use communities where individuals live, work, and interact through the same space.

     The Human Side of It All

    At its core, this change isn’t economic—it’s what matters most. Most found they liked wasting time with family and friends instead of in traffic. They found mental health thrives when you get to control your day. And they found digital solutions can bring teams together without locking them in cubicles.

    Cities and communities will evolve to reflect these priorities—more green spaces, local hubs, and housing where people can balance both work and life.

    So, Are Cities Being Reshaped Permanently?

    • Yes—but not into ghost towns. Instead, they’re being reimagined. Remote work won’t kill cities; it will transform them. We’ll see:
    • Downtowns shifting from office clusters to mixed living, cultural, and social hubs.
    • Neighborhoods gaining new life as people work closer to home.
    • Communities expanding beyond geography, thanks to digital connections.

    In short: remote work has cracked open the rigid mold of how cities and communities function. What we’re seeing isn’t just a temporary adjustment—it’s the beginning of a new way of organizing human life around flexibility, connection, and choice.

    See less
Anonymous
Asked: 27/08/2025In: , ,

digital friendships as meaningful as ...

newstechnology
  1. Anonymous
    Anonymous

     The Age of Friendships in the Digital Era Decades ago, being friends was about skipping school, gathering at a coffee shop, or ringing your neighbor's bell. Today, friendships begin with WhatsApp chat, Discord servers, gaming groups, or even Instagram Direct Messages. There are individuals with besRead more

     The Age of Friendships in the Digital Era

    Decades ago, being friends was about skipping school, gathering at a coffee shop, or ringing your neighbor’s bell. Today, friendships begin with WhatsApp chat, Discord servers, gaming groups, or even Instagram Direct Messages. There are individuals with best friends whom they have never met face to face. To some, this no longer seems unusual—it’s the norm.

    But is the question: are they as real and significant as live ones?

     Why Internet Friendships Can Be Highly Important

    • Emotional Intimacy: At times, individuals are more comfortable opening up to each other online. Without the threat of eye contact or social scrutiny, conversations can become deeper in a shorter time.
    • Common Interests: Online communities unite people from geography so that they might bond over obscure interests—be it gaming, literature, or activism—that they might never find in their own neighborhood.
    • Consistency: Regular texts, voice messages, or late-night chats can help incorporate someone into your life just as much as bumping into them in person.
    • Support Systems: For the isolated in their own worlds (such as LGBTQ+ youth in intolerant communities), online friendships are a blessing.
    • For others, the joy, love, and understanding created on-line as real as hugs and giggles in the flesh.

    Where Digital Falls Short

    • All of that being said, internet friendships aren’t perfect:
    • Physical Presence: There’s just something irreplaceable about a hug, eating together, or just hanging out in the same room.
    • Miscommunication: Texting does not always capture tone and can result in misunderstandings.
    • Fragility: Some online friendships fade faster—people can vanish with an invisible “ghost” where that seldom occurs with a neighbor or classmate.
    • Shared Experience: Sharing a movie online with someone is not the same thing as sitting alongside in a theater, laughing together.
    • Virtual connections are rich, but they are limited by being non-sensory and non-spontaneous compared to face-to-face connection.

    The Human Middle Ground

    Perhaps the actual answer lies in not having to choose one and losing the other. Most of today’s friendships are hybrids: they begin online, gain depth with shared chat, and then become more passionate after meeting in person. Even if they never become offline, internet friendships can be rich, trust-based, and loving.

    The ability to make it work depends on intention. If both partners spend time, risk, and reliability, the friendship—both online and offline—can be deep.

     So, Are They Just as Meaningful?

    • The truth is: yes, they can—but differently.
    • Physical friendships bring depth with common physical presence and daily life.
    • Virtual friendships bring depth with convenience of access, emotional transparency, and world-wide connectivity.
    • Neither is “less real.” They simply satisfy human connection in different ways.

     Short answer: online friendships are not necessarily in place of physical ones, but they can definitely be just as meaningful. At its core, friendship is not about where it happens—it’s about the love, trust, and concern that two people have for each other.

    See less
daniyasiddiquiEditor’s Choice
Asked: 27/08/2025In: ,

schools prepare kids for jobs

education
  1. daniyasiddiqui
    daniyasiddiqui Editor’s Choice

    The Challenge of an Uncertain Future Consider this: twenty years ago, a career as an "app developer," an "AI ethicist," or a "drone operator" didn't exist. Move another twenty years into the future, and children sitting in today's classrooms will be working in industries that we can hardly envision—Read more

    The Challenge of an Uncertain Future

    Consider this: twenty years ago, a career as an “app developer,” an “AI ethicist,” or a “drone operator” didn’t exist. Move another twenty years into the future, and children sitting in today’s classrooms will be working in industries that we can hardly envision—directed by AI, climate change, space travel, biotechnology, and so forth.

    This ambiguity is thrilling and terrifying. How do we get children ready for jobs that don’t yet exist? The answer isn’t forecasting specific jobs, but equipping them with skills, attitudes, and grit that will enable them to succeed regardless of what the future holds.

     Beyond Memorization: Teaching How to Learn

    • Schools used to be about content—dates, formulas, definitions. But now with the internet and AI, facts are always available at our fingertips. The true benefit isn’t knowing something, it’s knowing how to learn, unlearn, and relearn.
    • Educate children in how to research, question, and critically evaluate sources.
    • Foster curiosity over correctness—encourage the process, not just the correct answer.
    • Create flexibility so that they can switch direction when industries change.
    • In a changing world, learning is the most important skill.

     Creativity and Problem-Solving at the Core

    • Jobs of the future will require solving tough, real-world problems—many of which have no definitive answers. Schools can assist by:
    • Fostering project-based learning where students work on problems with no one “right” solution.
    • Mixing arts with STEM (STEAM) to power imagination as well as technical expertise.
    • Teaching design thinking—empathize, experiment, and iterate—so kids become at ease generating new solutions rather than copying old ones.
    • Creativity is not only for artists; it’s survival gas in a volatile economy.

    Developing Human Skills in an Age of Technology

    • Ironically, as AI and automation become more prevalent, the most “future-proof” skills are profoundly human:
    • Collaboration: Collaboration across cultures, across disciplines, and even with machines.
    • Emotional intelligence: Emotionally intelligent people understand, connect with others.
    • Ethics: Making considered decisions about how technology is used.
    • Resilience: Coping with failure, stress, and change at warp speed without losing it.
    • Schools that put empathy, collaboration, and communication at the top of their list will grow children prepared for a world where computers do tasks but human beings manage meaning.

     Digital & Entrepreneurial Mindsets

    • Children require more than mere “tech-savviness.” They should learn how technology influences the world—and how they might influence it in return. That includes:
    • Coding and digital proficiency, certainly—but also digital responsibility.
    • Exposure to entrepreneurship, where children learn to identify opportunities and build value from the ground up.
    • A mindset that believes: “If the job I want does not exist, perhaps I can create it.”

     Lifelong Learning Culture

    Maybe the greatest gift schools can provide isn’t an ingrained body of knowledge but a passion for learning. Children should leave school not thinking, “I’m finished learning at 18 or 22,” but “I’m just beginning.”

    Fostering curiosity, self-directed learning, and a growth mindset makes sure they’ll continue to grow long after they leave school behind.

     So, How Do Schools Really Ready Children?

    By moving from:

    • Teaching answers → to teaching questions.
    • Fixed curriculums → to flexible skills.
    • One-size-fits-all learning → to customized growth.
    • The end goal isn’t to prepare children for a single job, but to ready them for any job—and even for jobs they will invent themselves.

    In short: schools should prepare kids not for a single future, but for a future full of possibilities. The real curriculum of tomorrow is curiosity, creativity, adaptability, and humanity.

    See less
Anonymous
Asked: 27/08/2025In: ,

traditional degrees

education
  1. Anonymous
    Anonymous

     The Old Path: Degrees as the Golden Ticket For decades, a college degree has been the entry ticket to good jobs. It wasn’t just about the knowledge you gained—it was a signal to employers: “This person is educated, disciplined, and employable.” A degree opened doors, sometimes regardless of whetherRead more

     The Old Path: Degrees as the Golden Ticket

    For decades, a college degree has been the entry ticket to good jobs. It wasn’t just about the knowledge you gained—it was a signal to employers: “This person is educated, disciplined, and employable.” A degree opened doors, sometimes regardless of whether you used what you actually studied.

    But this is where the catch is: degrees are costly, not universally available, and may not always translate to skills that align with the fast-paced labor market. That’s why questions are being raised—is it time to place a premium on real skills rather than diplomas?

    The Rise of Skill-Based Hiring

    • Increasingly, more businesses today are trying out skills-first hiring. Rather than screening resumes by degree, they scan what people can do. This could involve:
    • Coding challenges rather than a computer science degree.
    • Design work portfolios rather than an art school certificate.
    • Certifications, online course completion, or apprenticeships as indicators of skills.
    • Real-world experience and projects booming louder than academic credentials.
    • Tech behemoths like Google, IBM, and Microsoft already eliminated degree requirements for most positions in favor of skills tests and practical competence.

     Why This Shift Makes Sense

    • Skills-based hiring can seem more equitable and future-proof:
    • Access & inclusion: University isn’t affordable for everyone, but they can learn online, at bootcamps, or through community programs.
    • Relevance: Industries change so rapidly that experiential learning tends to be faster than traditional curriculums.
    • Diversity: By eliminating strict degree screens, employers are opening the door to alternative candidates with a wealth of insight.
    • It’s more in sync with how people actually develop today—by self-learning, side jobs, and irregular career trajectories.

    The Challenges Ahead

    • But let’s face it—skill-based hiring isn’t a one-to-one exchange:
    • Faith & endorsement: Degrees are a “seal of approval.” Employers might find it tough to qualify skills reliably without universal standards.
    • Bias: Despite skills tests, unconscious bias can still infiltrate hiring.
    • Soft skills: Communication, collaboration, leadership—these are more difficult to quantify than technical expertise but just as important.
    • Hybrid model: Formal education is still necessary in certain industries (such as medicine, law, engineering) to maintain safety and ethics.
    • Thus, while tech, design, or marketing loves skill-based recruitment, it will never substitute degrees for very regulated professions.

    The Human Impact

    For employees, this change might be liberating. Consider an individual who couldn’t pay for college but developed solid coding abilities through inexpensive resources. Skill-based employment allows them to compete. It also encourages lifelong learning: rather than having to spend a fortune on a single degree in your 20s, individuals may regularly refresh skills over the course of a career.

    But it also creates fears. Degrees, though expensive, gave a feeling of security—a well-trodden path. A skills-first world places more onus on the individual to prove themselves anew and remain relevant continually. That’s thrilling for some, draining for others.

    So, Will Degrees Disappear?

    • Most likely not. But their hegemony will wane. The future is more likely a mix:
    • There will be industries that go strongly into skills-first models.
    • Others will maintain degrees as the standard but respect demonstrated skills equally.
    • In time, degrees themselves will change—becoming more modular, adaptable, and skill-oriented.

    In brief: skill-based recruitment won’t completely eliminate traditional degrees, but it will remode the balance. What will count the most is not the certificate on your wall, but the contribution you can make to the table—and your willingness to continue learning as things evolve.

    See less
daniyasiddiquiEditor’s Choice
Asked: 26/08/2025In: , ,

health trackers actually improving li ...

digital health
  1. daniyasiddiqui
    daniyasiddiqui Editor’s Choice

     The Promise of Wearable Health Trackers From smartwatches that count steps to rings that track sleep, wearable health devices are now part of daily life for millions of people. They promise to get us moving more, sleeping better, and taking charge of our wellbeing. The idea is simple: if you can meRead more

     The Promise of Wearable Health Trackers

    From smartwatches that count steps to rings that track sleep, wearable health devices are now part of daily life for millions of people. They promise to get us moving more, sleeping better, and taking charge of our wellbeing. The idea is simple: if you can measure it, you can improve it. But the real question is—do they actually make us change behavior, or do they just give us more information we ignore?

     How They Do Help

    • For many people, wearable trackers serve as a gentle push toward healthier routines:
    • Awareness: Seeing how little you’ve walked in a day can be a wake-up call. Awareness often sparks change.
    • Motivation: Hitting a 10,000-step goal or closing those activity rings feels like a small victory, and small victories add up.
    • Accountability: Having your heart rate or sleep monitored makes you more mindful of daily choices—such as not scrolling in the middle of the night or going for a walk instead of sitting.
    • Gamification: Competing with friends or earning badges can make exercise entertaining instead of a chore.
    • For others, these prompts precipitate significant lifestyle shifts—more consistent movement, better sleep hygiene, or even earlier health detection.

    The Limits of Tracking Alone

    • But the personal anecdote: data does not always equate to action.
    • Short-term enthusiasm: Most people use their trackers religiously for a few weeks or months, then lose interest.
    • Obsession with numbers: Others get hung up on hitting targets (steps, calories expended) but forget the bigger picture of integrative health.
    • One-size-fits-all targets: Not everyone needs 10,000 steps daily. Individualized health is more nuanced, and trackers don’t necessarily track that.
    • Behavioral gap: You might be aware you slept poorly, but you won’t necessarily change your bedtime routine.
    • That is, trackers can tell and nudge—but real change still comes from within discipline, environment, and deeper motivation.

    What Really Drives Change

    • When tested, wearables perform best combined with:
    • Guidance or coaching (e.g., combining the data with a fitness app, trainer, or doctor’s advice).
    • Community (sharing progress with friends, participating in group challenges).
    • Intrinsic motivation (pleasure in getting well, not just to hit numbers).
    • Without these layers, trackers can turn into high-tech baubles hiding in a drawer.

    A More Human Way to See Them

    Maybe it’s not fair to expect wearables to completely overhaul us on their own. Rather, they are tools for awareness. They shed light on routines we’d otherwise ignore—like hanging out too long on our behinds, or chronically sleeping too little—and offer a chance to make a change.

    For others, that’s life-altering. For a few, it is just a push they already knew about but weren’t ready to deal with.

     So, Are They Making a Difference?

    • The reality: Yes—but with qualifications.
    • They motivate many to become more active, aware, and proactive about health.
    • Their impacts are most effective in the short-run, unless supplemented by more meaningful habit-change strategies.
    • They won’t work magic on motivation or replace effort in developing habits that stick.

     In short: wearable trackers are sort of a mirror—they reflect back your habits and may motivate you to do better. But a mirror won’t make you exercise, go to bed early, or eat well. That’s still your choice.

    See less
daniyasiddiquiEditor’s Choice
Asked: 26/08/2025In: ,

living past 100 in good health

healthnews
  1. daniyasiddiqui
    daniyasiddiqui Editor’s Choice

     The Human Dream of Longevity For centuries, humanity has sought to extend the boundaries of life—through ancient medicine, religious practices, or modern medicine. But longevity science today is different. It's not merely about adding years to life—it's adding life to years. The question isn't mereRead more

     The Human Dream of Longevity

    For centuries, humanity has sought to extend the boundaries of life—through ancient medicine, religious practices, or modern medicine. But longevity science today is different. It’s not merely about adding years to life—it’s adding life to years. The question isn’t merely “Can we live to 100?” but “Can we do it in good health, without enduring decades of frailty?”

     Where Science Stands Today

    • Aging research is progressing at a rate never before seen. Scientists are not only investigating aging as an unavoidable destiny but also as a natural process that can be slowed or even turned back. Some of the most important areas include:
    • Genetics & cellular repair: Telomere research (the protective cover at the end of DNA) and senescent cell research (the “zombie” cells that cause harm as we age) hold great potential in slowing cellular aging.
    • Nutrition & fasting: Dietary regimens such as intermittent fasting or caloric restriction have had strong correlations with longer, healthier lives in animals—and preliminary human trials are promising the same.
    • Drugs & supplements: Molecules such as metformin and NAD+ boosters are being investigated for their potential to add healthy years, rather than manage disease.
    • Regenerative medicine: Stem-cell therapies and tissue engineering are working to replace deteriorated components of the body.
    • All of these are signs that a future in which living to 100 in good health is not beyond imagination.

     Resisting Aging vs. Aging Well

    But the emotional crux of the argument is this: nobody wants to live longer if those extended years are lived in misery, dependency, or loneliness. What gets people truly excited is the prospect of being 90 and still hiking, traveling, playing with the grandchildren, or following a passion—not being bedridden.

    That’s why aging research has turned its attention away from lifespan and towards healthspan. Rather than inquiring “How do we live longer?” the more accurate question is “How do we live longer with vigor?”

     Challenges We Still Face

    Naturally, there are challenges:

    • Accessibility: Will longevity medicine be accessible only to the rich, widening the health divide?
    • Ethics: If humans live beyond 100 as a matter of course, what does this mean for population growth, work, or retirement funds?
    • Biology’s limitations: Even if aging is postponed, accidents, genetic disorders, and environmental causes are still risks.
    • And on an individual level, longer life also brings questions such as: Will I live longer than friends and loved ones? Will society care about elders if everyone is old?

    The Human Side of Longevity

    What’s lovely about this study is the way it moves our mind. Aging isn’t merely surviving death; it’s recapturing life—people having more time to dream, love, create, and give back. Think of a world where individuals in their 80s are still beginning companies, crossing the globe, or guiding next generations with decades of experience.

    For most, true hope isn’t immortality—it’s just having more years of good health, without the diseases that rob us of independence and dignity.

     So, Are We Getting Closer?

    • The short answer: Yes, cautiously.
    • Science is discovering methods to rewind the biological clock.
    • Early breakthroughs indicate human beings living beyond 100 in good health could become increasingly widespread in the years to come.
    • But it will not be one magic pill—it will be a combination of lifestyle, preventive care, and advanced treatments.
    • We might not all live to the age of 150, but it’s more and more possible that coming generations might have 100 as a new baseline for an active life instead of an exceptional milestone.

    In brief: Research into longevity is not so much a quest for immortality as a gift of more quality years. The aspiration is not endless life—it’s a longer, healthier, more fulfilling one.

    See less
daniyasiddiquiEditor’s Choice
Asked: 26/08/2025In: , ,

the future of human relationships or ...

aitechnology
  1. daniyasiddiqui
    daniyasiddiqui Editor’s Choice

     AI Companions on the Rise Only a few years back, the idea of talking with a virtual "friend" that can hear you, recall your existence, and even get fond of you felt like it was straight out of a science fiction movie. Now, though, millions of us already have AI friends—be they chatbots that act likRead more

     AI Companions on the Rise

    Only a few years back, the idea of talking with a virtual “friend” that can hear you, recall your existence, and even get fond of you felt like it was straight out of a science fiction movie. Now, though, millions of us already have AI friends—be they chatbots that act like friends, emotional support virtual partners, or voice assistants that become progressively human each year. To most, these are not just machines—these are becoming significant connections.

     Why People Are Turning to AI Companions

    The attraction makes sense. Human relationships are rewarding, but they’re also complicated. People get busy, misunderstand each other, or sometimes can’t be there when needed. AI companions, on the other hand:

    • Always listen without judgment.
    • Respond instantly at any time of day.
    • Adapt to your personality and preferences.
    • Provide comfort without the risk of rejection.
    • For the lonely, socially fearful, or just curious, it can be a lifeline. Scores of users, in fact, state that AI companions fill emotional spaces—offering daily affirmations, reinforcement, and company in a strangely lifelike manner.

    Are They Real Relationships, Though?

    Here’s the twist. A relationship is generally founded on two beings—both with emotions, ideas, and desires. With AI, the relationship is one-way. The companion doesn’t experience anything in real time; it only echoes your own. It won’t even miss you if you leave for a while—it just picks up where you left off when you come back.

    But here’s the thing: if the comfort is real, who cares whether the source isn’t? Humans already bond with fictional people in books, movies, or even pets that don’t “speak back” quite the way people do. So in that sense, AI companions might be the newest iteration of a very old human impulse: looking for connection where it feels safe and fulfilling.

     What AI Companions Can—and Can’t—Replace

    • They may replace: relaxed company, daily affirmations, social skills training, and temporary consolation in solitude.
    • They may not replace: the unanticipated depth of genuine human connection—soft talk and physical contact, inside jokes exchanged in laughter, struggles and triumphs that are shared, and the sense of being profoundly and fully understood by an individual with a life of their own.
    • Over-dependence on AI companions might end up alienating individuals more, hindering them from participating in complicated but rich human relationships.

     Passing Trend or Long-Term Future?

    • It’s not going to fade as a trend, AI friends. Human connection is forever, and technology that delivers it will endure. It’s just that AI friends will simply coexist with human relationships as an extra dimension of how we connect—like social media or text messaging did.
    • To others, AI will never be anything but an aside-tool: a solo conversation when everybody else is in bed.
    • To some, especially those who are struggling socially, it might become a central part of their emotional life.
    • Eventually, society can make “hybrid companionship”—where people rely on human and artificial intelligence relationships in all sorts of ways—”normal.”

     The Human Side of the Future

    The real problem isn’t whether or not AI companions are real—they are—it’s how we choose to utilize them. If we use them as a substitute for human connection, they can reduce loneliness and bring comfort. However, if they replace human connection, we risk moving into a society in which relationships are safe but empty.

    Finally, AI companions are reflections. They reflect back to us our needs, our words, our emotions. Whether they are a bridge or a crutch to more human connection is our decision.

    Are AI companions the future of human relationships, then? In part, yes—they will redefine what we experience as companionship. But they will not replace the messy, beautiful, irreplaceable thing of being human together.

    See less
daniyasiddiquiEditor’s Choice
Asked: 25/08/2025In: ,

current cybersecurity systems

aitechonology
  1. daniyasiddiqui
    Best Answer
    daniyasiddiqui Editor’s Choice

    Nowadays, most of the world's digital security—your bank account online, government secrets, WhatsApp messages, even your Netflix password—are protected using encryption. They rely on mathematical puzzles so challenging that even the most advanced supercomputers would take thousands of years to cracRead more

    Nowadays, most of the world’s digital security—your bank account online, government secrets, WhatsApp messages, even your Netflix password—are protected using encryption. They rely on mathematical puzzles so challenging that even the most advanced supercomputers would take thousands of years to crack them.

    But then comes the simplicity-killer: quantum computing. While traditional computers process information in bits (0s and 1s), quantum computers do so in qubits, which exist in more than one state at a time. That allows them to look for solutions in parallel, potentially doing some sort of math problems at speeds that are unfathomable.

    For cybersecurity, it is exciting and terrifying.

    Why Encryption Works Today

    • Most modern encryption (like RSA and ECC) uses problems that are easy to do one way but extremely hard the other way.
    • Finding two big primes multiplied together? Easy.
    • Figuring out which primes were multiplied (the “factoring problem”)? Essentially impossible with current technology.
    • This “hard problem” is what protects your online banking password and hackers.

     Enter Quantum Computing

    • Quantum computers, specifically Shor’s algorithm, could crack those “impossible” problems in hours or minutes. Suddenly, what was once safe for millennia could be exposed in an afternoon.
    • If quantum computers advance quickly enough, they would even have the potential to crack into:
    • Government intelligence files
    • Banking networks
    • Healthcare files
    • Private emails and personal photos kept online
    • That’s why some experts have dubbed it a “quantum apocalypse” for cybersecurity.

     But Here’s the Human Side

    It’s important to keep things in perspective. Currently, enormous, beneficial quantum computers don’t exist. We do have noisy, fragile prototypes that can do small-scale work only. Decoding the entire internet remains science fiction—at least through the foreseeable future.

    Yes, but looming on the horizon is also a threat in the guise of “harvest now, decrypt later.” Hackers or nations could be quietly vacuuming up encrypted information today, stashing it away, and holding out for quantum computers to be powerful enough to break them. Imagine intimate medical records, military communications, or bank accounts appearing years hence, naked and vulnerable.

     The Race for Post-Quantum Security

    The good news? We’re not standing still. Researchers and organizations like NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) are already developing post-quantum cryptography—new encryption methods that can withstand quantum attacks. Some approaches involve lattice-based math, code-based encryption, or even quantum key distribution (which uses the principles of quantum physics itself to secure communication).

    In a way, it’s like we’re redesigning the locks before the burglars have built the tools to break in.

     Why It Matters to Everyday People

    For all of us, cybersecurity isn’t abstract—it’s belief. It’s the belief that your pay goes into your account, that your doctor’s notes remain confidential, and that your identity isn’t commandeered in the dead of night. If quantum computers one night ripped through these defenses, it could create panic and chaos and destroy the underpinnings of virtual society.

    But if the transition to quantum-resistant systems happens in time, though, most people won’t ever know it. Just as the internet switched from “http” to “https” without fanfare, the upgrade might happen quietly in the background.

    The Bottom Line

    Will quantum computing make current cybersecurity obsolete? Yes, eventually. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be catastrophic. The race between cryptographers and quantum scientists has already started, and humankind has a history of learning to adapt its weapons to thwart new threats.

    The real question isn’t that we will have a quantum security threat—it’s whether we will be ready when it arrives. And, as with climate change or epidemics, the destiny is in the preparation, the cooperation, and the vision.

    In the end, quantum computers won’t just break old locks—they will challenge us to build stronger, smarter ones. And that’s a human one: technology disrupts, but we adapt.

    See less
daniyasiddiquiEditor’s Choice
Asked: 25/08/2025In: ,

deepfakes the biggest threat

aitechnology
  1. daniyasiddiqui
    Best Answer
    daniyasiddiqui Editor’s Choice

    When people think of election threats, images of ballot tampering or foreign hacking often come to mind. But today, a newer, less visible danger is spreading: AI-powered deepfakes—ultra-realistic videos, audio clips, and images that can convincingly impersonate real people. Unlike obvious fake newsRead more

    When people think of election threats, images of ballot tampering or foreign hacking often come to mind. But today, a newer, less visible danger is spreading: AI-powered deepfakes—ultra-realistic videos, audio clips, and images that can convincingly impersonate real people. Unlike obvious fake news articles of the past, these manipulations are designed to feel authentic, making them especially dangerous in shaping public opinion.

    Why Deepfakes Hit Hard During Elections

    Elections are about emotions. Voters respond not only to policy but to trust, personality, and image of candidates. One effective video of a politician uttering something outrageous—or an outright false audio clip of them conspiring in secret—can go viral on social media before fact-checkers even get around to it. And before the truth finally comes out, the harm is already done.

    Unlike biased headlines or rumors, deepfakes take advantage of one of our strongest impulses: trusting what we see and hear. That makes them unusually effective at eroding faith, planting seeds of doubt, or stoking rifts at times of high stakes in democracy.

     Global Issues

    • In consolidated democracies, deepfakes have the potential to polarize already fractured societies. Even voters might suspect a video is a fabrication, but it can reinforce pre-existing prejudices (“I knew that candidate couldn’t be trusted”).
    • In new democracies, where resources for fact-checking and media literacy are lacking, the dissemination of deepfakes destabilizes faith in the entire election process.
    • International borders offer no obstacle, as malicious actors can exploit deepfakes to interfere with foreign elections at minimal expense, spreading propaganda campaigns without ever leaving another country.

     Are They the Biggest Threat?

    • While deepfakes are frightening, they might not be the sole or greatest threat. Other election threats still cast a shadow:
    • Disinformation networks: Plain old-fashioned text lies on social media still reach more individuals than video.
    • Cybersecurity vulnerabilities: Hacking into voter databases or election systems can have direct effects.
    • Polarization and echo chambers: Without deepfakes, partisan media bubbles allow misinformation to more easily flourish.
    • Deepfakes are different, though, because they can destroy faith in truth itself. If enough citizens get to the point where they think “anything could be fake,” then they might no longer trust any information—including genuine, fact-checked news. That loss of faith could be the most treacherous consequence of all.

     What Can Be Done?

    • Technology vs. Technology: While AI has the capability to produce deepfakes, AI tools also have the capability to identify them—albeit only a step behind.
    • Media Literacy: Educating individuals to stop, question, and confirm prior to sharing is paramount.
    • Regulation & Responsibility: Platforms, governments, and fact-checkers will require more robust policies to detect and mark deepfakes efficiently, particularly around election time.
    • Public Awareness: If citizens assume that deepfakes are real, then they’ll be more circumspect before reaching a conclusion.

     The Human Side

    • At the center of this problem is trust—trust in leaders, in media, and in one another. Elections are not merely about votes; they are about people having faith that the process is equitable. If deepfakes erode that faith, then democracy itself seems tenuous.
    • The twist is that deepfakes are strongest not because they’re untraceable, but because they sow doubt. Even the rumor that a video could be deepfake can leave citizens uncertain what is real. That doubt is sufficient to influence emotions, and emotions tend to drive ballots more than facts.

    In short: Deepfakes are perhaps not the only election threat, but they are something peculiarly unsettling: a world in which believing is no longer seeing. Their threat is less that they will deceive everybody and more that they will cause everybody to doubt everything. The battle against them is not merely technological—it’s also cultural, political, and fundamentally human.

    See less
Load More Questions