I’ve been called a skeptic, an alarmist, and a doomsayer because the focus of most of my technology blogging is on the risks of and what’s wrong with technology. I realize that I may sound like a Luddite despite the fact that I’m actually an early adapter and readily admit that I couldn’t function in my work without the plethora of technology that is currently at our fingertips. I guess the reason I come across as such a downer at times is that I assume that we all know about the incredible benefits that technology has to offer us; it’s not worth repeating what we all know to be true. At the same time, I recognize that, with the rapid advancements in computer and communication technology in the last decade, we haven’t had to time consider how these developments will shape our individual and collective lives.
I don’t have a problem with technology. To the contrary, it can be a wonderful tool for progress and change. Technology is already changing our lives cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally; psychologically, physically, and socially; politically, culturally, and environmentally. My goal is not to suggest that we should reject technology, but rather to ensure that we have control over it rather it controlling us. The ultimate objective of this dissection of technology is to make certain that we use it with perspective and forethought to enhance our lives instead of indifferently or reactively to damage our lives.
I certainly don’t have all the answers. But before we can find answers, we must first ask the right questions. That is what I want to do, to ask the questions that need to be asked in the hope that minds greater than my own will help provide the answers.
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