DOHA: Raj Reddy, Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar’s Moza Bint Nasser University Professor of Computer Science and Robotics, delivered an insightful lecture last week as part of Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s A Nico Habermann Distinguished Lecture Series in Computer Science.
In the lecture titled ‘Computing Technology in Service of Society’, Reddy acknowledged the exponential growth that is taking place in information technology (IT) and explained how it can be used to address problems in society.
Reddy is a pioneer in research on robotics and intelligent systems and has had a profound impact on society, bringing the benefits of information technologies to some of the world’s poorest people.
Computer technology has transformed the way we live, learn, work and interact with each other and will continue to do so, Reddy said. However, there are currently five billion people worldwide at the bottom of the pyramid who do not have access to devices or networks and are yet to realise the vast benefits of IT.
Reddy discussed the possible solutions that, through IT, could improve the lives of these individuals. IT can resolve basic human needs, such as providing access to education, healthcare and entertainment, as well as disaster rescue, helping an ageing population, and eliminating auto-related deaths.
Reddy spoke about the current issues within the education sector and went on to explain how computing technology can help overcome illiteracy.
“Over a billion people in the world cannot read or write and over two billion people are functionally illiterate; they cannot understand the meaning of the sentences,” he said.
The Peninsula
