These Are the 5 Most Dystopian Technologies of 2020 and Beyond
From CRISPR to deepfakes, these are the technologies that could cause calamity in the future
By Mark Sullivan
Tech is always both good and bad. But we live in a time when everything gets weaponized — ideas, images, ancient texts, biases, and even people. And technology provides the tools to do it easier, faster, and with less resources.
Older threats like atomic warheads are still a serious danger, but they’re hard to deliver and take time and money to build. Delivering toxic images or malware to millions or billions of people, or even badly edited genes to future generations, is easy by comparison. Other technologies like artificial intelligence could have gradual, long-term effects that we do not or can not understand at present.
We’re living in a period of technological wonderment, but many of the shiniest new technologies come with their own built-in potential for harm. These are five of the most dystopian technologies of 2020 — and beyond.
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