Technology advances make everything more convenient, show people a more efficient way to do things, and help to rethink existing processes. In all industries, technology has brought many advantages including improved speed, reduced paperwork, and eased transfer of information. These advances benefit the corporate world but it might be at the expense of our broader society. Is technology growing too fast? Are we relying too much on technology?
Side effects of technology on society
A recent study of the International Monetary Fund says technology is to blame for rising inequality, especially in advanced economies. According to the IMF, “workers have received a declining share of national income since the early 1990s” (Tetlow, 2017), while capital owners retain more and more gains from national productivity. Using data collected from 9 different industries in 150+ countries, the IMF found that about “half of the decline in the labor share of income that occurred in advanced economies between 1990 and 2015 can be attributed to technological change”(Tetlow, 2017).
If we take a closer look at the individual level, teenagers are greatly exposed to technology and its negative side-effects. A recent survey commissioned by Digital Awareness UK has revealed that almost “two-thirds of schoolchildren would not mind if social media had never been invented” (‘Growing social media’, 2017). Respondents reported that privacy, online abuse, fake news, and addiction are the main issues that people face when using social platforms.
The next wave of technology: are we really ready?
Current technology does not only include social platforms and if we look at the future we still do not know what kind of innovations will be available to business corporations and end-consumers. Will it be harmful to any aspect of our social interactions or physical/mental health? If we assume that supercomputers, enhanced AI, and robots’ intelligence will surpass our own (by far), governments and institutions should closely monitor any risk associated with their development & introduction to the market. Recently, one of the most famous figures in the tech industry, E. Musk (CEO of SpaceX and Tesla) tweeted that AI posed a “vastly bigger threat to the world than North Korea” (Segarra, 2017) , and he asked lawmakers to regulate AI before “people see robots going down the street killing people” (Segarra, 2017).
What do you think? Are you also passionate about technology but afraid of how fast everything goes?
Paul Artigue (378847)
References
Anonymous (2017, October 5) Growing social media backlash among young people, survey shows, Retrieved from the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/oct/05/growing-social-media-backlash-among-young-people-survey-shows
Segarra, LM. (2017, August 12) Elon Musk: AI poses ‘vastly more risk than North Korea’, Retrieved from Fortune:
http://fortune.com/2017/08/12/elon-musk-ai-poses-vastly-more-risk-than-north-korea
Tetlow, G. (2017, April 11) Blame technology not globalization for rising inequality, says IMF, Retrieved from the Financial Times:
https://www.ft.com/content/cfbd0af6-1e0b-11e7-b7d3-163f5a7f229c?mhq5j=e7
Hi Paul, Within your post you are surfacing what is, if you ask me, the inevitable disadvantage of technology. The biggest “dark side” I see as the world becoming more about technological contact rather than personal contact. A recent research found that despite the fact we are more connected than ever, there is also an historical high in the amount of people feeling lonely. The notion of genuine friendship is decreasing in a fast manner because of an illusion of friendship emerging in an online environment, especially for the children born after 2000 (Warrell, 2012).
But of course, the advantages of technology are immense, inevitable, and constantly increasing. Therefore, we will have to deal with the dark sides of technology. This becomes especially important for children who were born in an era of being fully surrounded by technology. In an article by Forbes, 7 strategies are suggested for building a real social network, which I would like to share with you.
Firstly, be sure to unplug as much as possible. Fully remove all your technical devices for a night and engage in face-to-face contact. Secondly, become a better listener and be open to others’ vulnerabilities. Social media tends to give an artificially positive view of one’s life, while listening to people might surface this is not always the case. Thirdly, engage in the community by becoming part of local clubs. Fourthly, practice conversation everywhere. For instance, having a conversation at the bus stop or with a fellow bus passenger will already help you overcome a dark side of technology. Fifth, find like minds. Sixth, reconnect with lost friends. Seventh, invite people over. (Warrell, 2012)
In conclusion, technology is very convenient but, as obvious as it may sound, engaging in face-to-face contact is also more important than ever.
Warrell, M. (2012, May 24) Text or Talk: Is technology making you lonely?, Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/womensmedia/2012/05/24/text-or-talk-is-technology-making-you-lonely/#1cd80b6b2a7b
Hi Paul!
Wherever there is light, there are also shadows – so yes, sometimes, I am definitely concerned about dark sides of technology. Technology is affecting so many aspects of our lives starting from al-Qaida online recruiting, cyberwar, data privacy, and robots taking over our jobs (Boskin, 2017). These are examples of threats that did not exist prior to the rise of AI, IoT, robotics and other innovative tec. On the contrary, technical innovations are also said to be responsible for roughly 50% the economic growth in the G7 economies in the past decade (Boskin, 2017). In my eyes, this is not a questions if technology is good or bad, but in is more about how to provide grounds for technology to blossom without heavy shadows hovering above us. I think this is a call to create institutions, governmental regulations and policies, which have an integrative approach that includes law enforcement, private firms and individuals to harvest harvest technology in the future. And on top of that, I think it is also a matter of one’s state of mind since knowing how to leverage AI does not automatically make you “a bad guy”.
Boskin, M. (2017). Hi tech, high threat: it’s time to plan for the downsides to technology | Michael Boskin. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/apr/24/technological-threats-governments-fbi-apple-cyber-attacks [Accessed 16 Oct. 2017].
Hey Paul, nice article. I like the fact that you try to make us more aware of negative side effects of technology. What I was thinking reading your article was that I missed your opinion about it. My opinion is that yes technology advances became more and more intrusive but I would not totally agree with Elon Musk or IMF. Maybe that might be true only for a small develop countries which might feel this kind of effect like lower absorption of income for workers or online abuse. Mainly USA in my opinion but Europe is not very affected by these. The reason is that developing countries such as those in Africa are starting to reap the real economic benefits out of it. To not forget that technology made our world to achieve some great results regarding many industries such as manufacturing, retail, communication or financial. The technology advances currently applicable in west of Europe might benefit a lot developing countries. Think about Nigeria and effect of whatsupp there where people can report sexual harassments cases or similar cases. Regarding the IMF comment I think these countries can really boost their economy so much that a lot of people will not face hunger again.
In conclusion, I agree that some countries face negative side effects an those are mostly Develop countries such as USA or Western European Countries. But technology advances can boost developing countries economies so much that can give them a real chance to align to western economy level.