The Perils of Technology Overload: How Much is Too Much?

Western society and modern countries in general have a strange association with technology and machines. On one hand, we appear frightful of the possible consequences of ever-more-elaborate, sophisticated and powerful gadgets; movies like The Matrix or The Terminator warn of our own creations ruling over us, while others like Surrogates warn that becoming alienated from ourselves through a digital existence will only lead to harm and dependence. On another level, I, Robot and AI: Artificial Intelligence suggest that by depending on our technology, we become dehumanized and subsequently the robots are more empathic than ourselves.

At the same time, there is an opposite view. In the more fantastic science fiction or fantasy franchises like Star Trek and Star Wars, it is humans (and aliens) who remain fully recognizable despite the trappings of interstellar space travel. We don't realize it, but in most future-based movies, books and television technology is rarely the problem (instead it's those dastardly aliens suppressing freedom, or people themselves.)

But that's all science fiction, idle fantasy and speculation. What about now? It's hard to believe that in only sixty years or so we've actually matched or surpassed many of the futuristic gizmos that people dreamed up. Cell phones, portable computers, all-in-one personal devices, flatscreen monitors, OLEDs...every day technology becomes faster, cheaper, and more accessible. Despite significant economical barriers, modern technology is penetrating every part of the globe-very soon, it will most likely be impossible to go somewhere and not be connected in some form to the rest of the world.

So is this a bad thing? What are the effects of the omnipresence of technology, the internet and information readily available to anyone with a computer? Author Robert E. McGinn suggests a number of changes following the advance of technology that occurred across cultural boundaries. New values replaced the old, or new emphases placed upon them. Today, there is a prevalent reductionism view-that is, breaking larger wholes into base constituents. Efficiency is highly prized, not only for machines but human capital. Social progress-that is, the overall steady improvement of a society-is considered possible and prized.

What people don't often understand, however, is that these changes describe everything that has occurred since the Industry Revolution, beginning in the 18th century, and that our values have long been changing in accordance with technological innovation. The Industrial Revolution began a shift from an agrarian society to a urban, industrial one for developing countries. More moved to the city as transportation allowed rapid transit, and less people were needed to cultivate greater crop yields. No longer were there alternating periods of famine and plenty, for you could produce or import food from all over year-round. As our environment changes, so do our ideals and values. This isn't anything new.

What has changed in the past few decades is the rate of that change. Modern technology allows us to communicate with anyone in the world almost as if by magic. At the same time, technology has allowed businesses to expand across national borders and become global economic engines. It's not just communication, but the forces of economic growth at work-to talk about the technological revolution is to discuss globalization and what has been termed the "flat earth" as previous barriers are broken down.

This interaction leads to what could be termed a tyranny of technology-that is, certain people adept at exploiting technology dominate over the less adept or those without access to similar technologies. Some technologies and platforms are simply tools that can be used by a culture, for example the adoption of Facebook internationally (see Salkever.) Others, however, actively manipulate and shape the user. For instance, by only allowing certain avenues of expression or activity, one can condition users to be more accepting of that technology and rigid otherwise.

While technology exists to influence people today (witness, for example, viral marketing engineered by corporations to give the latest product a "hip" feel), what's perhaps scarier is what's coming. ArsTechnica reports that Sony wants to create a device that beams sensations to your brain-but when it's wireless, how do we stop people from using such a technology against unsuspecting people? The problem isn't that people are instantly suspecting a worst-case scenario, it's that people assume that all new technology is good technology, and that's simply not true. Most importantly, people need to realize that it's not just who uses the technology, but the technology itself, that influences how it is used. After all, few would expect that people would use the anonymous nature of the web to become monsters and discard civility, but the technology enabled it, and now people are scrambling to try and catch up. All in all, it's important that we realize where technology has come from and so we are prepared to stop it if we know where it's going.

References and further reading
*McGinn, Robert (1999). Science, Technology, and Society. (ISBN 0137947364).
*Salkever, Alex (2009-11-16). "Facebook, aiming for Global Domination, is gaining quickly in Asia". Financial Times. Accessed February 28, 2010.
*Stone, Brad (2007-04-09). "A Call for Manners in the world of Nasty Blogs". New York Times. Accessed February 27, 2010.