With 50 days remaining in the current decade, I wanted to reflect on the massive shift humanity has undergone in just 10 years. We’ve witnessed the proliferation of technology. Handheld and pocket-sized electronics are now the norm, communication has digitized, and mass-automation is on the horizon.

The third decade of this century presents an opportunity for our society to take a step towards the protection and continued wellbeing of the everyday citizen. Regulation needs to catch up. Corporations are proven to have the financing and structures to create mass automation, communication, and navigation. All moving society and industries forward with neck-breaking momentum. 

So as capitalism continues to flourish, government entities of the world must become more nimble and technologically savvy. The responsibility of the sovereign nation is to its citizens first-and-foremost, without whom a sovereign nation would cease to exist. In this whirlwind of technology, our governments need to address the regulation of the industry with the intention of protecting privacy, human rights, and promoting equality.

Up until this point, I would argue that government regulation has been weak regarding technology, data, and consumer privacy. We are beginning to see positive steps, with the development of GDPR in Europe. However, these mega-corporations are still fined pennies on the dollar for negligence surrounding customer data.

It’s time we harness technology for the greater good and betterment of society. Instead of using technology to generate only quarterly profits, what if technology was also harnessed to properly address environmental and social problems of the world today?