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“The Hidden Effects of Technology”
by Andy 
The above is a chapter title in my 2003 book, Ageless Wisdom Spirituality: Investing in Human Evolution. 7 years later, there is still no significant discussion of technology’s pervasive and profound impact on our individual and collective lives, unless there is something specific or dramatic (a media ‘”hook”) like the current Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Even in these cases, the incident/ event is treated as an unfortunate, unforeseen “single issue”, which soon becomes “old news”, even if the consequences continue and worsen outside of the brief news-cycle. Who is interested in mortality spikes a few years later or interconnections with non-oil issues? Not very “sexy”.
The general impact and control (or lack thereof) of Technology does not lend itself to media coverage or legislation, because it is gradual, complex, subtle and generally un-dramatic, which doesn’t translate well into sound or video “bites”, media ratings or opinion polls. To my mind, the unexamined implementation of new technology is far more dangerous and destructive than the threat of “terrorists” over which we currently obsess. “Terrorists” will eventually succeed in killing anywhere they want if they are willing to sacrifice their own lives. You or I, if sufficiently desperate, deranged or “motivated”, can strap a bomb to our bodies and detonate it in a crowded shopping mall, restaurant, market, subway station etc... and make the headlines, stampeding millions of people! But what does that really mean or require for prevention? More surveillance and Big Brother/ Police State policies (costing billions $ out of the Public Purse) which will eventually fail in the face of individual Human Will?
Here are few of the “hidden effects of technology”:
- There is little control over the introduction of new technologies apart from the profit motive and if things go wrong, any compensation eventually paid out represents but a fraction of the true costs, which are mostly borne directly by the average individual (you and me) thru loss of health and/or livelihood and indirectly thru taxes if the government steps in. Recent examples include Monsanto’s DDT and Agent Orange, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Thalidomide, the effects of tobacco and much more. In relation to the current oil spill, we were so certain that things could never go wrong that people like Sarah Palin taunted, “Drill, baby drill” (in relation to the fragile Arctic) and the masses applauded....the same people who refused to curtail oil usage and are now blaming everyone in sight, except themselves. No technology is foolproof; everything has a cost. In this case, no matter how much BP eventually pays out, it will never cover the true costs of the damage. The spill is now affecting Florida and it will soon be moving towards Cuba and into the Atlantic. Another factor to note is that under George W Bush, the US regulatory agencies were packed with former industry lobbyists. I don’t know if that was a factor in the current oil spill, but it does seem that the regulators were very chummy with the oil industry personnel they were supposed to be monitoring. Alarm bells!!
- Technology generates complexity. This not only contradicts the promise of “ease”, “convenience”, “time-saving” etc. (stress is actually increasing), but makes it difficult to pin down those responsible when things go wrong. Think how much time you spend checking your email, Facebook, Twitter etc... getting info that someone is enjoying a burger on a patio! What happens if your computer crashes, you have a computer virus, some Facebook “friend” posts unflattering photos or comments, or your identity is stolen? When personal computers were first introduced, “experts” were expecting people to work a 3- day week because the new machines would be so efficient. They were, but the savings and profits got sucked upward. People were made redundant and those with jobs worked twice as hard.
- Technology impacts us physically as well as in how we behave as human beings. We are being used as human guinea pigs for the sake of profit. For example, we don’t know the physical effects of repeatedly pressing a cell phone to our heads or keeping it next to our body - many studies suggest that the effects are very negative. In terms of our behaviour, studies suggest that cell phones and the internet may well be blurring the boundaries between the Private and Public and reducing our abilities to communicate in person. In terms of food and drink, which we ingest daily, we don’t think of what it takes to produce animal or vegetable foods... it is just something that comes to us conveniently and attractively packaged. What a horrifying story lies beyond!!
- Big Brother factor. Your spending habits, thru debit and credit cards, are widely available to public scrutiny. More information is available if you use GPS thru cell phones or other means. Google keeps the IP addresses of all searches and these are available to the American federal government thru the George Bush “Patriotic Act”. The new “smart” power monitoring systems, which track power useage, will give an even more detailed picture of your private habits.
- Pollution dumping. The Developed World dumps lots of its toxic trash (including computers, cell phones and more) into the underdeveloped world... conveniently out of sight. The poorer countries are glad to take the toxicity because it means more immediate currency...even though the real costs will kick in years later.
- The 21st century technologies are immensely powerful and additionally, capable of being integrated into human beings, capable of self-generation and of mutation. These include (so far) robotics, genetics and nanotechnology. These will radically alter what it means to be “human”. Given the enthusiasm with which we have embraced breast implants etc, it seems likely that the masses will embrace these new implants in order to “get ahead”, whatever that means.
There is much more but space dictates the end of this blog. We need more discussion. Technology is not just a glorified hammer or shovel, but highly interactive and interconnected with us.
06/03/10 04:49:42 pm,