{"id":5298,"date":"2015-07-21T10:20:26","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T08:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.alainveuve.ch\/technology-will-kill-us-all-or-will-it\/"},"modified":"2015-07-21T10:20:26","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T08:20:26","slug":"technology-will-kill-us-all-or-will-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alainveuve.ch\/en\/technology-will-kill-us-all-or-will-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Technology will kill us all. Or will it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few days ago, the news circulated that an assembly robot had fatally injured a VW plant employee while setting up such a device. What is a gruesome accident at work, which unfortunately happens almost every day somewhere, was stylized in the media as the (first) blow by robots against humans. Sometimes to an extent that almost borders on satire. Even if satire is allowed to do anything, I found it a little tasteless. Because: it was an accident, the robot has neither the intention nor the intelligence to commit such an act. Every child is aware of that. <\/p>\n

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(Reading time: 4 minutes)<\/p>\n

But why has this topic attracted so much attention? Because there is a diffuse fear of new technologies, especially among those whose mechanisms of action we cannot penetrate at first glance. This has always been the case and is probably nothing new to you. <\/p>\n

New technology is quickly adapted by society<\/strong><\/p>\n

But if you look at society as a whole, I find it amazing how quickly the relationship with a technology can change. In other words, how quickly society can move from rejecting a technology to accepting it. <\/p>\n

Evil technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

I realized this once again a week ago when I had a few minutes to spare at Friedrichstrasse station in Berlin before I had to catch the train. In the former departure hall(Tr\u00e4nenpalast<\/a>), there is a permanent exhibition organized by the “Stiftung Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland” entitled “GrenzErfahrungen. Everyday life during the division of Germany” (interesting, well done, easy to navigate, free admission) about life in the divided country and about the train station, which used to be something of a border station. In one corner of the exhibition, a part of the old GDR surveillance center was set up. I took a photo: <\/p>\n

\"monitorwall_ddr\"<\/p>\n

When you look at the installation and read the explanations, you instinctively get a bad feeling. It was really bad, this surveillance state, this GDR. Just like Orwell. So many cameras, so many screens. <\/p>\n

Good technology<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back out on the street, I looked around and counted the surveillance cameras and came up with 3 of them without having to look very hard. And I quickly realized that Friedrichstrasse station probably has a lot more integrated surveillance today than it did back then. And interestingly enough, nobody is interested in it anymore. In fact, comprehensive surveillance of city centers in Germany is the norm for all self-respecting cities. Surveillance technology has arrived and is socially accepted. <\/p>\n

What you make of it<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might object that this has little to do with the actual technology. It depends on who uses the technology, how and for what. That is precisely the point. Because in society’s perception, this fact is not taken into account at all when new technology emerges. For the time being, technology is the embodiment of evil. For the time being. <\/p>\n

When new technology becomes widely known in society, there is initially a defensive attitude and the admonishers and supposed wake-up callers loudly point out all the bad things that can be done with it. And indeed, of course you can do all sorts of wrong things with technology. However, wrong must always be understood in the context of the zeitgeist and we are constantly changing. What is bad today may be good tomorrow from a value perspective. The rapid pace of technological change will pose its own challenges for society. <\/p>\n

Humans are much better at adapting to new technology than we think<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, if you look at the use of new technology in a historical context, you have to realize that in the past, humans have always been pretty good at using technology for the benefit of all over a longer period of time. Two examples: <\/p>\n

Nuclear technology<\/em>
\nEven though this technology has harmed humanity through its use in nuclear weapons, it is sometimes forgotten that it has contributed significantly to global electricity production for decades (12% worldwide \/ industrialized nations 20%). This does not mean that this technology is unproblematic. But it does show that we are perfectly capable of using very dangerous technologies for our own good. <\/p>\n

Rocket technology<\/em>
\nThe Aggregat 4 rocket<\/a> was designed by Wernherr von Braun in the German Reich as the first functional large rocket with a liquid engine. This is basically the same technology, albeit much further developed, that Elon Musk’s SpaceX uses to launch their space freighters into space. In between, we have seen countless missions and milestones in human history, none of which would have been possible without this deadly technology. <\/p>\n

Technology will help us – further<\/strong><\/p>\n

The new technologies that we will see in the next few years will initially cause unease in society. And there will still be the possibility that they will be used in a way that harms society. Over the longer term, however, this concern is unfounded. <\/p>\n

So far, technology has meant that more people on this planet have been able to live a peaceful life in good conditions than before. Unless perhaps you consider hunting with bow and arrow to be the only truly suitable lifestyle. Or traveling by horse and cart. Or reading paper newspapers. <\/p>\n

Technological development demands a certain amount of mental agility from society and therefore from each individual. However, we are already much better at it than we were 20 years ago. And with the ever shorter release cycles of new technology, we as a society have been and continue to be conditioned accordingly. <\/p>\n

So be more open to new technologies and don’t think about all the bad and evil things that can be done with them. Our collective will find a way to make something good out of it. It just takes time sometimes. <\/p>\n

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