Let’s Talk About Tech
Either a quick Google search or a conversation with my grandfather will inform you of how detrimental to society technology can be. Some of it is futuristic and far-fetched, but a lot of the advancements we’re being told to fear are already in the works. In this piece, I outline what I consider to be the most prevalent issues of today and discuss a few potential solutions.
Technology is inescapable. For the most part, this has been great: a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips, surgeon-machine hybrids with flawless technique, and the luxury of always being in touch. Still, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. The ubiquity of technology is what makes it dangerous; if our regulation of it lacks the nuance it demands we will both waste potential and be at its complete mercy.
Earlier this month my phone was stolen out of my bag. The melodrama of being robbed twice in one year made me wallow in the grief of losing my phone and the hassle of starting over with a new one, forgetting that the physical device was hardly the most valuable thing to which I had lost access. Long story short, the thieves managed to unlock my phone and I spent the better part of the following week scrambling to protect my data. I changed passwords, spent hours on the phone with customer service with my banks, Apple, and Venmo, and racked my brain to remember if there was any other important information on my phone. The good news is that I got lucky and escaped more serious offenses like identity theft, and am now intentional and careful about what I store on my phone. The whole ordeal made me realize how much of our lives revolve around our phones and computers.
Our reliance on technology has made us vulnerable in several ways. Between phones and computers, we store all of our personal information, manage our finances, connect with our friends and family, get the news, watch TV, and more. We risk becoming victims of crimes ranging from regular theft to identity theft, and this is only with respect to our personal databases. When you consider the amount of private information collected and stored by big tech companies like Google and Facebook, the story changes.
There is always the risk of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch, but the amount of damage that can be done with little effort is exacerbated by the sheer access that technology provides. And it’s not just hackers we have to worry about: unchecked access to user data makes this possible even without malicious intent. Target can now predict when a customer is pregnant (1), and sell this information to companies that sell pregnancy products. Tech giants have a greater incentive than ever to sell user data, and the implications run deeper than targeted marketing and annoying advertisements that make you think they are eavesdropping on your conversations. For example, if a company is able to track mouse-pad movements, they could also collect enough data to be able to diagnose the early stages of Parkinson’s. Private health data sold to an insurance provider could lead to the loss of health insurance. Unrestricted access to Facebook’s user data had a major role to play in the Cambridge Analytica incident when Facebook users’ political beliefs were used, unbeknownst to them, to influence the outcome of elections around the world. As time goes on and technology gets better, more of our personal information will be up for grabs. Dr. Nita Farahany gave a TED talk about the potential implications of mind-reading technology and the impact they could have had on the Iranian revolution (2).
Consumers have a right to understand what is at stake so we can get invested in the fight for accountability. Companies with access to consumers’ personal data should be disclosing what data they are collecting and how they are profiting off it. The threat of looming lawsuits will discourage corporations from mishandling data. The EU enacted the GDPR regulations in 2018 to address growing concerns about data privacy (3). I think every nation should follow suit. This should form the foundation for a legal framework that will be applicable to the new data types (such as thoughts) that will need to be protected in the years to come.
This framework should also be extended beyond data protection to deal with AI ethics. Who is to blame when machines make mistakes, or when the data AI is fed makes it racist? Companies like the Partnership on AI have started work on things like this, but it needs to be a global effort. Apart from spreading information effectively to foster the exchange of ideas by creating a global platform for AI ethics, we also need to get people thinking about these issues early.
We need to change the education system. Children should be taught young about how to navigate growing up in a technological world. By the time they are adults, they should know their data rights, how to protect their data, avoid technology addiction, learn about AI ethics, and identify misinformation online. The education system is also one of the best tools to address the inevitable issue of unemployment: collateral damage in a world that is chasing a future in which man and machine coexist to collaborate. Students need to be equipped with the skills that will be sought in such a job market. Furthermore, although reports vary on whether or not the number of new jobs created by technology will be sufficient to offset the layoffs it will cause, it is likely that many will lose their jobs, thereby widening the inequality already in play. The companies replacing employees with free labor must be mandated to use their resources to offer to retrain those employees, and perhaps even hire them back in new roles while reducing everyone’s workweek to four days (which is viable considering the abundance of free, machine labor will reduce prices and consequently, the cost of living). Finally, the government needs to encourage investment in companies that pledge to fight economic inequality by using tax breaks and subsidies. More money in the hands of the wealthy thanks to technology should translate to more money being funneled into organizations that aim to help those negatively impacted by it.
Like always, humans will adapt to anticipate and address the monumental changes to come. We must be relentless in our pursuit to understand new technology so we can prepare for it adequately. It is simply a matter of getting ahead of it all before we have no choice.
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