First, I do welcome these kinds of discussions. There are a lot of complex and complicated issues facing us today and efforts, like this, to help people better understand the various elements and sides of these issues is important
On this issue - I am still trying to learn. I'm certainly not convinced of the authors arguments. for some of…
First, I do welcome these kinds of discussions. There are a lot of complex and complicated issues facing us today and efforts, like this, to help people better understand the various elements and sides of these issues is important
On this issue - I am still trying to learn. I'm certainly not convinced of the authors arguments. for some of the reasons itemized below. But I also think that the premise - that a technology is going to "solve " all those issues is problematic on its face. That's what was said about the Internet, social media etc - and look where that got us. I remember how the technology enthusiasts cheered on the Arab Spring because, among other things, it was "enabled" by social media. All those enthusiasts forgot two important things.
1. Technology doesn't make a true democratic revolution. People, policies and culture do. Unfortunately none of that was in place in an organized fashion at that time and without an organized, policy driven opposition, those efforts were doomed to fail resulting in, if possible, even greater destabilization of that region. At the time I was working with a lot of those tech utopians (because I am in technology) and when I said that I was ostracized for it
2. The bad guys can use the same technologies - and do - for their own authoritarian purposes. And we've seen that play out time and again as they use it to track down dissidents etc.
The bottom line is that it is that technology is not, in and of itself, a force for good or bad. It is a tool to help implement policies, processes and fulfill agreed upon needs. With the key being that we need to first address - and agree upon the policies and processes we want. agree on how we want to govern those and then decide what technology we want. My two cents
Agree. Humans will still be humans, regardless of the tools we put in our hands. We need to govern against our worst instincts, with as light a touch as feasible.
First, I do welcome these kinds of discussions. There are a lot of complex and complicated issues facing us today and efforts, like this, to help people better understand the various elements and sides of these issues is important
On this issue - I am still trying to learn. I'm certainly not convinced of the authors arguments. for some of the reasons itemized below. But I also think that the premise - that a technology is going to "solve " all those issues is problematic on its face. That's what was said about the Internet, social media etc - and look where that got us. I remember how the technology enthusiasts cheered on the Arab Spring because, among other things, it was "enabled" by social media. All those enthusiasts forgot two important things.
1. Technology doesn't make a true democratic revolution. People, policies and culture do. Unfortunately none of that was in place in an organized fashion at that time and without an organized, policy driven opposition, those efforts were doomed to fail resulting in, if possible, even greater destabilization of that region. At the time I was working with a lot of those tech utopians (because I am in technology) and when I said that I was ostracized for it
2. The bad guys can use the same technologies - and do - for their own authoritarian purposes. And we've seen that play out time and again as they use it to track down dissidents etc.
The bottom line is that it is that technology is not, in and of itself, a force for good or bad. It is a tool to help implement policies, processes and fulfill agreed upon needs. With the key being that we need to first address - and agree upon the policies and processes we want. agree on how we want to govern those and then decide what technology we want. My two cents
Agree. Humans will still be humans, regardless of the tools we put in our hands. We need to govern against our worst instincts, with as light a touch as feasible.