Relationship With Technology

I don’t think many people would want to give up many of today’s modern conveniences, medical technologies or efficient travel options. Who would prefer leeches over MRI scanners? Hand washing laundry over a washing machine? However, even many clearly beneficial technologies have a darker side that we ignore at our own risk.  

Technology has frequently given us hope that we have the ability to improve our lives.  This perspective was very apparent in the Futurama video. It showed a perspective of the future where we used the Earth and the oceans as a place to vacation, farm, mine and otherwise exploit for our benefit, seemingly without consequences. 

In the future that Futurama imagines, technology gives us the tools to shape the world for our commercial benefit. It states at one point that “technology has found a way to control the wild profusion of this wonder world.” For example, it describes at one point a “factory on wheels” that will grind up stumps and growth to create forest highways so we can bring to the “innermost depths of the tropic world the goods and materials of progress and prosperity creating productive communities that can enter profitably into the markets of the world.” We are now seeing and understanding how actions like deforestation (described here in positive terms) actually do have serious consequences that are negatively impacting the world.  

The results of this exploitation are dramatically depicted in the Steve Cutts animation. It shows how exploiting the world’s resources for commercial and personal gain will result in a dark future. Should we be stewards of the Earth or just consumers? 

The video of Mad World also shows a depressing view of the technology’s impact on our lives. Despite being surrounded by crowds of people, at family meals or otherwise together, everyone is glued to their phones, alone and isolated. As the song lyrics say, people don’t engage with each other but instead “Look right through me.” In one scene, when confronted with what should be a horrific moment of seeing a girl jump to her death, the onlookers just use their phones to record it and move on emotionlessly. While the original 80s Tears for Fears Mad World video also depicts loneliness and isolation, the singer is alone expressing his sadness. 

Now, as the newer video demonstrates, we can be isolated while surrounded by people, largely because of the technology that was supposed to connect us with each other and the world. 

Are we watching other people’s lives on our phones instead of actually living our lives? I have recently had battery issues with my iPhone causing it to die immediately if it was not plugged in. It took me a couple of weeks to sort through the issue, during which my access to my phone and all it brings was compromised. This lack of connection created at times a level of angst that was, honestly, a little disturbing to me. 

Despite the many troubling aspects of Futurama and the world it envisioned, there was one statement that resonated with me:

“Technology can point the way to a future of limitless promise, but man must chart his own course into tomorrow.”  

Technology can be a tool we use to improve our lives and the world or it can be isolating and destructive. Technology is not inherently good or bad until we decide how we are going to use it. So what’s our decision going to be?  

Artificial Intelligence "Living in the Age of AI"

While artificial intelligence has been discussed for many years, the reality of the impact it has had and will continue to have is becoming more and more apparent. Although the power of predicting our behavior has some positive implications to improve efficiency and provide us with information we may want, the downsides are very concerning. 

One driving force behind AI is for companies to make more money off of us. While this wasn’t news to me, the idea of “surveillance capitalism” is still a disturbing one. It claims our private human behavior as information that can be used to make predictions about our human behavior - for companies to make money based on our (no longer) private behavior. The entire business of companies such as Google is to know as much about us as we can so they use it to sell us things or ideas (or to sell our information to others who can then use it to make money).

 

Specifically, they use data from our searches to determine what kinds of ads we will click on. What we search or post; when we search or post; what we like or don’t like; who are friends are and other information. It's all there for the mining by a few powerful companies to have the ability to influence our behaviors. 

In the US, the government may not be looking at all of this data directly. However, a “corporate surveillance state” now exists and private companies are in charge of collecting and reviewing data. As the power of AI increases, so does the ability to use all of this data to control and influence our world. For example, what started as a way to sell us more “stuff” can now be harvested to target and manipulate voters. The results of Presidential elections can be changed by just influencing a small number of voters in key states and it is being done in front of our eyes without most people realizing the impact on our decisions. Are we just puppets being manipulated? 

There have been efforts to make the use of AI more apparent - and company’s efforts to gather and use it more transparently. This gives us some hope that we may be able to make better decisions about protecting the information we share online. 

While this is challenging enough in the US, it is worse in other countries. For example, in authoritarian countries such as China, they are using video surveillance and AI to process real time data. AI systems are being used in China to predict who is a risk to the state in the future - and to remove them for “reeducation” camps. Making one region of China (Uighur) has been described as an “open air” prison. China is spreading its technology to other countries who are also potentially using it to monitor their citizens.  

While the internet may have once been viewed as a way to spread information and democracy, it seems like technology may provide authoritarian governments with the ability to control people. Rather than seeing engagement with countries like China as a good thing, many think that technology is no longer something we will want to share with them. 

While there is still hope that these new AI technologies may still be a force for good, there is also a risk that, if mishandled, it could lead to disaster. Current use of AI is not aligned with improving society. Democracy may be threatened by the power of AI, even in the US.  Can’t take these concerns lightly without thinking about possible outcomes.  

EOTO #2 Propaganda

Propaganda is the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person. It is when ideas, facts, or allegations are spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause. 

One of the most horrific examples of the use of propaganda took place in Germany in the 1930s and 40s. The Nazi Party effectively used propaganda to push their agenda, particularly against Jews. Their campaign worked to dehumanize the Jewish people which allowed them to launch their anti-semitic efforts which culminated in genocide in the Holocaust. Nazis even had a department in their government to oversee propaganda - The “Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda.” 

More positive uses of propaganda can also be found during World War I and II. For example, during WWI, “Uncle Sam” was used to recruit volunteers to join the military (“I want you!”). 

 

Similarly, during WWII, propaganda campaigns were used to support the American war effort. For example, in 1943, the “We can do it!” campaign was launched to encourage women to take on non-traditional roles to help the war effort while men were off fighting in the military.  

The poster was rediscovered in the early 80s and has since been used to promote feminism, expanding the original message of female empowerment.  

Propaganda can be verbal or or written messages. However, some images have become iconic examples that have been used in multiple situations to support a common cause. For example, the image of Che Guevara, a Latin American revolutionary from the 20th Century, has become a symbol of almost any radical group.  

 

While Guevara was Argentinian, his efforts were focused on supporting the communist revolution in Cuba that resulted in Fidel Castro taking control of the country. Nevertheless, his image has become legendary and he is now connected with any political effort rooted in communism, anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism. 

Propaganda isn’t just something from history. It continues to be used to push agendas from all parts of the political spectrum. One recent example is Tucker Carlson’s recent interview of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In February 2024, Carlson, a conservative newscaster and talk show host, traveled to Moscow to interview Putin. This sparked an immediate media outbreak and outrage from the public because Carlson gave a platform to one of the major contributors responsible for unleashing the brutal and devastating war currently still happening in Ukraine and allowed him to spread his narrative, widely viewed as false, that supports the Russian offensive against Ukraine. 

                     

This situation raised the issue: was Carlson giving a platform for propaganda or interviewing the leader of Russia to be able to share information with the viewing public? Many view Carlson's interview as a failure - and that rather than challenging Putin, it ended up being a way for Putin to legitimize his war against Ukraine by letting him spread false information about the reasons for the war. Many also saw Putin’s decision to accept the interview because Carlson had already been very critical of the US’s role in the war, so he knew he was going to be on a platform that would allow him to spew misinformation. 

Many believe that propaganda will be even more powerful with the advent of AI that will be able to spread disinformation by creating fake content that will look real and influence people. It will become even more difficult to decide what is true and what is false.  

 

How can we protect ourselves from being influenced by propaganda? One of the best ways to not be influenced by propaganda is to understand what it is and how it can be used. By recognizing how it works, we can make sure that we reach decisions based on less biased information. We can make better decisions about what we believe and support if we: 

- Educate ourselves 

- Fact check sources - don’t just accept what is being told to you.

- Be open to discussing issues with people with different perspectives.