Fandango has outdone himself with this twisty biscuit. The question of the day is:
“Is technological advancement a net positive or a net negative?”
Technology’s advancement has widened the opportunity for people from all points on the globe to communicate with and interact with each other through the internet.
Massive surveillance of each and every person on the face of the globe is now possible through the advancement of technology, whether through geo-positioning-systems (gps), video and listening devices built into phones, televisions, and computers, as well as planted on power poles, in stores, government buildings, parks, cars, public transportation, etc. In addition, drones can look in your window while you’re getting dressed and who knows what else. Oh, and speaking of drones, drone warfare.
We can instantly record video and sound with our hand-held devices, then post them onto public websites. Youtube has an infinite number of cute cat videos to enjoy. We also have the capacity to record the Po-Po putting the beat down on people as evidence when it is later denied and stated by said Po-Po that the victim, er defendant was either armed or resisting arrest.
We have pacemakers for misfiring hearts. We have insulin pumps for diabetics. We have high-tech prosthetics for those who have lost limbs. We also have so many new medical machines that are overprescribed – it needs to get paid for somehow – and may cause peripheral harm. Have you heard of the DaVinci robot surgeon? Question: Would you let DaVinci do your brain surgery?
Technological advancement has put a cell phone in the hand and up against the head of everyone 8 years old or older. Do you know what the long term effects of the radiation emitted from a cell phone does to a person? Neither do I. Threat of long-term exposure to radiation doesn’t even begin to touch upon how the images and sounds entering your young one’s eyes and ears are rewiring their brains. I dare you to take a cell phone from your 15 year old teenager who has been using it since 8. It would be like severing one of their limbs. You had better be ready to duck, or be on suicide watch for your teenager.
For me, technological advancement is convenient in many ways and I appreciate its capacity to enable my communication with others anywhere on the globe. I despise the thought that I’m being watched and or listened to by some device much of the time. I like the idea if the Po-Po put the beat-down on me someone might catch it on their cell phone so I don’t get framed. If I suffer from a health condition, it will be good to know there are options short of becoming an invalid or dying. I’m terrified to think of what the generation who was raised on cellphones will be like when they are in charge – if we as a species lasts that long.
All things considered, knowing how any wondrous tool gets misused by power players bent on world domination at any cost, I’m going to have to say technological advancement is a net negative.
Tao Talk 
I feel that technology has improved our lives, as I certainly don’t want to go back to the dark ages. Sure we have some issues to work out, because technology is still in its infancy stage.
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What do you consider the dark ages? I am ambivalent about technology.
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That would be before we had bathrooms and sewers.
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Maybe we should agree on a definition of technology for the sake of the discussion? By your definition turning a piece of flint into something to make fire is considered technology.
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I think we could improve some of the bad things about technology if we weren’t so resistant to change. And it’s funny how quickly we get sunk in our habits even when a thing is newish. I keep harping on one aspect, which is online anonymity ~ imo it should be taken away from everyone. There should be no pseudonyms allowed at all. One name per person across the internet everywhere trackable and identifiable. That would get rid of a lot of these throwaway bullying accounts, stupid reviews, drive-by nastiness, etc. People should be held accountable for what they write.
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It will never happen. Right now you *are* identified — by your IP address, no matter what your handle is. Anyone who knows network administration can easily figure out where you’re at. But the geeks know how to get around it, so I guess that’s not true. Hackers can move at will around the internet and cause their mayhem. WordPress is PARADISE compared to what I experienced in usenet. Facebook is another stinking kettle of fish and why I left it. Maybe one day technology will make it so you can put your fingerprint or do a retinal scan on your machine to confirm your identity. But then have you seen the movie, “Gattaca”, where even that can be manipulated. Humans are a sneaky bunch lol
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I also left FB and Usenet… and I don’t get involved in Twitter fights. My WP block list is a mile long. I refuse to allow any jerks an opportunity to start up again. But with the “troll armies” attacking us nonstop, that may prompt some real change. We shall see!
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“troll armies”??? I haven’t seen evidence of them yet. what and how are they attacking? Does WP do any “policing”?
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In the news… bunches of Russians apparently on FB, Instagram, and Twitter sowing discord and fake news during the 2016 election and after. But isn’t that the kind of thing THEY would make up to do something nefarious in a sci-fi book???
I haven’t seen or heard of WP doing anything to stop abuse, except the SPAM filter, so I control my own comments. It’s the main reason I migrated from Blogger. I had a couple jerks stalking me… right into the abyss as soon as I got here. 😀
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We have two and three-year olds with phones – and they know what they’re doing!
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oh that is soooooo depressing. soon they’ll be handing newborns phones, or just jacking them into one. i don’t like where technology is leading us
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there are studies underway to find ways to use ‘jacking’ to ‘assist’ prems …
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noooooooooooooooooooooo! What do you think about it all, Cage?
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I refuse to have a smart-phone, smart-car, smart-fridge, smart-tv, smart-house-sitter, smart-doorbell-video … I have internet because otherwise I’d be completely cut off from the world (a plus), and a dog (double plus – dogs also keep you warm). The phone is just a phone and not ‘smart’ enough for GPS or apps … but the ‘plan’ is a pain in the proverbial and should be an illegal commercial practice (you pay whether you use or not, and if you don’t keep up with the monthly/quarterly/annual charges – lost the lot! even if there was a lot of credit on it! Oh, and they can change prices within the time-frame of the plan, but you can’t change without an exit fee!).
Medical advances – I’ve written up my ACD (Advanced Care Directive, similar to a Do Not Revive [in circumstances]). I’d rather die at an appropriate time and allow the young to take over the world (I hope they’d do a good job for their children). No jacks for me – I will not live as part-machine. Life is about living, not being kept alive (as long as I can write my stories, I’m fine; once my brain goes, I go, too).
And even though I know kids are going to take over the world, that they’re smarter than some give them credit for, and they can think faster and are healthier than the previous generations have ever been – I do not want them to become ‘partials’ – bionics may help some, but at what cost? I’m not talking financial. Bionic hearing so no one has to make an effort to learn sign? Bionic eyes so no one has to care about how they treat others? Bionic legs, arms, hands may be of value, but how far to go with it?
Stick a computer in my head to keep my heart pumping? No.
These are my opinions, and not everyone will agree with them. that’s fine.
I am opinionated, my foster kids called me Sarge for being blunt and forthright, but it’s my voice, and my nose, and I stick them out there regardless of the blood and bruises.
I hope they learned something from that – there are times the bloody nose and bruised body/ego are worthwhile battle wounds …
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I very much appreciate your “realness”. One thing that bugs me about technological enhancements is that they are inanimate gadgets, without sentience or soul. They are not from living things and are not part of nature. Being someone so closely connected to nature, technology often separates us from nature and that bugs me.
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Well Elon Mush thinks we’ll need to merge with AI to avoid being destroyed by it….hmmm…..unfortunately I’ve seen the film Matrix a few too many times.
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You have got to be kidding. I know there is a lunatic fringe who believes in this. He’s probably their leader.
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There’s a reason steve jobs refused to let his kids have an ipad…
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I am glad my sons were adults when cell phones were invented, as it avoided the whole conflict. I feel very sorry for parents today when kids put the pressure on them. In the olden days the pressure was to have a certain kind of bike, or shoes, etc. It’s ramped up to a dangerous level now. One of my friends’ 6 year old granddaughter was able to talk her into buying her an Alexa. Not sure if that is as bad, but I’m not sure if it’s good either.
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Yeah it’s doing harm for sure… The parents are just addicted though so it’s hard to find a balance
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You have brought up another bad thing about them. How many times have you seen parents out and about with their young kids and the kids are trying to get their parent’s attention but the parent is all wrapped up in the device. Parenting beyond the basics is falling by the wayside 😦
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Yeah theres some research on that too… Not good
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My kids had access to a computer or two when they were fairly young, but not the internet and not individual hand-helds. We had a very large yard (although not used as farmland or for animals at all, other than cats) and many other things to do.
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Yeah getting out into nature is pretty much antidote to all this.
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Technological advancement, in and of itself, is good. It’s the ease with which technology can be used for evil intents, abused, and misused that is bad.
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You can use that same argument for anything, Fandango. You can say, nuclear power, in and of itself, is good. Knowing it is unethical because it creates radioactive waste that nobody knows how to dispose of safely, but still continues to use it, is bad.
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Yes. I suppose you can say that about almost anything. Except Donald Trump, who is all bad.
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You mean King Joffrey? My new name for him.
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btw, I hope you’ve seen Game of Thrones…
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A few times, but I’m familiar with some of the characters, including King Joffrey.
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I enjoyed reading your post on this topic. Lots of details and a good portion of what I see as humor, even if dark (it’s a certain taste, I’d say).
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Oh. Now responding to comments,
I definitely recommend seeing “Gattaca” too.
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It’s a good movie! It’s science fiction that will become science fact for sure.
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you must be talking about the cat videos 😉
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It’s an important topic…I think if you include medicine/plumbing/electricity in the definition of technology it’s always going to be net positive…until we vaporise the earth of course! But normally the discussion is about digital technology….that’s a tougher one. There’s a huge amount of negative impact – a lot seems unseen/unknown as well. I’d probably go with net positive at this stage, but it’s a close call.
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I appreciate your feedback. Some of it will only be seen in retrospect, I’m afraid.
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I think medically it’s saved a lot of lives. I just don’t like what technology has done to our human communication (connection) with each other…as I comment on a blog lol. I see kids texting each other instead of talking…in the same room…misinterpreting a text and a war starts.
Technology is my business but it’s a tool…a tool we can overuse.
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Very well-said, Max.
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Totally agreed.
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In my own opinion tech advancement is good if you use it in a good way.
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The key phrase in your statement, upon which the remainder rests, is IF. We know how that can often work out…. Thank you for your comment 🙂
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