Are we striking a deal with a digital devil?
The digital world is starting to affect every single one of us whether we like it or not. The modern technological world flows through everything nowadays with items such as the otohiko fork, which connects to one’s smartphone and plays sounds if it detects slurping in order to mask yourself from embarrassment. However, all these nifty devices come with a cost. The cost is data. This data cost is huge compared with the menial convenience received by the user. So it begs the question, would you be willing to trade away all the details of your life in order to save time on a few little clicks?
Connectivity
One of the largest impacts on society right now is the internet of things. Most of us will have interacted with it in one form, however, what exactly is it…
‘The network of physical objects- devices, vehicles, buildings and other items- embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity that enables these objects to collect and exchange data.’
The internet of things creates a new era of convenience for most. Saving them time on everyday tasks like ordering food, playing music and even turning on your homes central heating. However, it can also provide much more advanced and potentially life-saving features to your life. “In San Francisco, a young engineer hopes to “optimise” his life through sensors that track his heart rate, respiration and sleep cycle.” This technology could improve the health of someone as the results from the sensors could be transmitted to their GP and would alert them if anything went wrong. This then would provide data not only to the user but also the GP which could further aid in the advancement of healthcare. Using technology to faster develop new technology!
The internet of things isn’t just about personal use of technology but can be used on a much wider scale! Smart cities are the future. Smart cities will connect the environment we live in from the air to the underground and provide the most efficient way to live. Smart cities will be able to tell you exactly where heavy traffic is, where a free parking space might be and even allow people to report potholes or damage to the city directly to the local authority.
Along with the convenience that smart cities will provide, Smart cities will also help with environmental issues. As a result of smart cities controlling resources, there will be less waste produced. With the advancement of the human race, we are destroying the natural world and the planet we live on. By using smarter technology and the internet of things we can attempt to reverse the negative effects we have forced onto the Earth, saving countless biodiversity and potentially human lives. operating vehicles causes a large amount of pollution, according to the EPA, in the U.S. 75% of carbon monoxide air pollution is caused by motor vehicles. The internet of things would allow cities to manage vehicle usage thus reducing air pollution and giving a brighter future
Isolation
Although the internet of things can provide some amazing benefits to our society nothing in this world comes for free. By using the internet of things we allow our lives to be turned into data, this data then has value. For example, if we use every feature provided by Amazons Alexa; Amazon then has access to the tiniest details/patterns of your life. “ you can be sure that Amazon will exploit it in every way its terms and conditions permit”. This then allows companies to target you with ads at the most specific times which in sense removes your privacy without you even knowing. This data mining doesn’t just affect you, it also affects businesses. By using Alexa the decisions it makes for you when requesting a simple command isn’t transparent and could be influenced by Amazon. Again, without you knowing your “own choice” has been influenced, technically removing your free will and privacy.
If devices connected to the internet of things can be hijacked, are they ethically sound? Will total privacy become a thing of the past? Morrow touches upon legal issues when concerning the internet of things. Would companies like Amazon have to provide data collected by devices in court cases as evidence, or does this invade privacy too much?
Potential complete failure
A.I. systems have to control the internet of things within smart cities in order to control and distribute resources. However, as A.I are not transparent; there is no way of knowing if the decision made is ethical. The data set that the A.I is trained on has to be 100% perfect in order to provide a fair result. This golden data set is almost impossible to create and so decisions made could negatively affect minorities within society.
The internet of things has the potential to evolve entire industries. Not only could it provide new exciting jobs but it could also remove jobs completely.
New technology could remove people from jobs that provide very little or even reduce their quality of life. As it also has the potential to reduce the number of humans working in dangerous jobs; the health of people will improve. However…
If the internet of things, robotics or other improvements in technology provide a cheaper alternative to human workers; this could cause an increase in poverty and unemployment rates. This would then be unethical as some people would benefit largely from the ease of technology while others would be destroyed by it!
The internet of things and advancements in the digital world can produce convenient and safer ways of living our lives. However, it can also invade our values and privacy and create an unfair imbalance between different groups of people. Going forward, society as a whole needs to take caution and carefully plan every implementation of new technology to reduce the risks it could have on people and create a Smart city, a smart world and a smart digital society.
Self-reflection
While studying digital society I have been challenged on my own views and opinions concerning technology. Especially technology that I and most people use daily. Before studying digital society my approach to new technology was very careless, I would dive straight into it and not really think much about the consequences of doing so. However, I am now a lot more cautious when thinking about purchasing and using technology such as smart home devices. The thought of large companies knowing everything I do in my home is a little scary as I think that everyone values their privacy. I realize this sounds strange as I do carry a mobile around with me 24/7 but my phone almost feels like an extension of myself at this point and doesn’t instil the same fear. Following on from the large amounts of data being collected; this made me think more about how technology can affect basic ethical principles that most people hold for example, whether we should be able to use this type of data is courts, or would this be an invasion of privacy?
Through studying digital society I have realised that there is a lot more to technology/the internet than meets the eye. This hasn’t changed my perspective on how I feel about the digital society I live in however, it has made me more cautious and has made me want to question more about my daily use of technology. The topics that I found the most interesting were about the internet of things and smart cities. personally, I think that smart cities connected through the internet of things are going to be the next important step in advancing as humans. People need to become more connected so that we can communicate more efficiently and progress much faster. Although, I also see the potential dangers that come with this as an exploitation of minorities or corruption could occur if the technology is not used correctly. This course has given me a larger understanding of how technology in society can be used for society, and not just for personal use. for example, I think the use of technology to preserve and regenerate the environment is massively important and will certainly be used in future generations.
One of the biggest challenges I faced when studying digital society was attempting to break my opinion on technology. As I mentioned before I am extremely optimistic and excited about the advancement of technology, so much that I tended to forget or ignore the negative effects that can come from it. Especially when the technology I use every day doesn’t seem to have noticeably bad effects on me. Although, digital society has trained my mind to look at technology with an open mind, and to view the negative effects that technology can have on society. Overall, digital society has given me a sound understanding of what technology is currently running the world, what is to come and the effects that this has on society and the world around me.
