To me, the encryption things is a big issue. In 1950, transmitting for the world to hear seems reasonable. In 2021, virtually anyone with a few grand could record literally everything transmitted on the 160, 80, 40, 30, and 20 meter bands and archive it for all eternity.
Do I want my casual conversations going into some historical record?
Probably not.
Testing is also a bother. I support testing, mind you, but so much of this is memorizing factoids. "What segment of the 20-meter band is most often used for digital transmissions (avoiding the DX propagation beacons)? (A) 14.000 - 14.050 MHz (B) 14.070 - 14.112 MHz (C) 14.150 - 14.225 MHz (D) 14.275 - 14.350 MHz."
At least we finally got rid of Morse Code.
And aside from that, the authorized modes of transmission aren't that interesting anymore. I'd enjoy experimenting with things like spread spectrum, or similar types of innovative things. Building an SSB radio in 2021 seems archaic.
I think these things are changing, though I hope the changes come sooner than I suspect they actually will. I know there is ongoing discussion about how to bring rules more in line with modern practice and tech, such as the explosion of interest in digital operation over the past decade or so. I doubt this will reach to authorization of fully encrypted casual comms, though some form of encryption isn't out of the question when you get into the emergency comms piece of amateur radio, which is restricted from passing certain health and welfare information over the essentially "open line" of ham radio.
A lot of this is closely related. Encryption and spread spectrum are sort of tied. Ideally, spread spectrum looks like noise. My carrier isn't a sine wave, but something which looks a lot like a one-time pad. If I'm allowed to experiment with modern transmission, security goes up, at least beyond the level of a casual listener.
I also think you could maintain the spirit of ham radio with encryption. It kind of depends on how it's done. If I establish an encrypted connection to a stranger on the waves, and I'm using the connection to peddle commercial goods, if I do it enough times, someone will report me.
There's also the issue of security when interacting with anything digital. I don't mind remotely controlling equipment in the clear, perhaps, but I do mind if strangers can commandeer it. Signing is good enough for that, but encryption is better. A lot of things I'd like to do -- if I were experimenting with radio -- I don't want hacked.
Do I want my casual conversations going into some historical record?
Probably not.
Testing is also a bother. I support testing, mind you, but so much of this is memorizing factoids. "What segment of the 20-meter band is most often used for digital transmissions (avoiding the DX propagation beacons)? (A) 14.000 - 14.050 MHz (B) 14.070 - 14.112 MHz (C) 14.150 - 14.225 MHz (D) 14.275 - 14.350 MHz."
At least we finally got rid of Morse Code.
And aside from that, the authorized modes of transmission aren't that interesting anymore. I'd enjoy experimenting with things like spread spectrum, or similar types of innovative things. Building an SSB radio in 2021 seems archaic.