From pen friends to WeChat moments: Social network transforms China
- By Wu Jin
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E-mail China.org.cn, July 27, 2019
While replacing conventional communication devices, the forefront technologies also help transform personal psyches and social structures. Suffice it to say that, today's emerging technologies, such as big data, virtual reality and artificial intelligence, are merely the tip of the iceberg as they are highly anticipated to trigger a profound technological revolution with the widening application of 5G.
Miao Wei, the minister of Industry and Information Technology, said early this year that, "With mobile telecommunication services expanding to broader dimensions, they will not only connect people, but also things and persons with things, defined as 'the Internet of Things'."
However, since no one has yet been able to tell how specific the changes that 5G may cause, some experts explain the trend by providing people a glimpse of the unimaginable future.
Zhao Zhifeng, the deputy director of the Intelligent Internet Research Center of Zhejiang Lab, illustrated the speed of 5G with the Red Balloon Challenge, a prize-winning competition asking contestants to find out 10 red balloons flying above different locations across the United States. According to him, with precise algorithms, comprehensive systems and the use of social network, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has kept the best score of nine hours to win the game several years ago. However, if 5G is applied, there may be only one hour in need.
To apply the technology in full swing, several cities in China began to install the facilities.
Last year, Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province and also home to the Internet conglomerate Alibaba, piloted in adopting the 5G network. On February 28 this year, Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station took the lead in launching the first 5G service provided for the national railway system.
However, when everything is ready for a starting shot, Miao showed his precautionary concerns over the smooth and safe running of the technology.
"Despite the diminution of the time delay of 5G from a second to a millisecond that humans cannot even notice, the consequences of any single tiny fallacy can turn out to be disastrous, as the technologies are supposed to be applied also to driverless vehicles and drones," he added.
