Technology is killing the net. Everything is moving faster these days photographs, emails, text messages, and online services the net is shrinking. What has pulled out lately is a dark shadow: a technology that inevitably destroys the existing civilization which invents it. That s not just because we’ve been lazy or ignorant when it comes to technological innovation. It s because we have allowed an ideology that rules our thinking to control and manipulate our behavior and decisions.
The idea of the industrial revolution is well known. It was the brainchild of Henry Ford who started the Fordist obsessions which grip us to this day. His theories of mass production are still used today and form the background for much of today’s industrial revolution. As one of the leading lights of his day, he certainly deserves to be remembered as an innovator and pioneering figure.
But the industrial revolution, at least initially, only affected a small region of the world with its factories. And for a while, at least, it did control the flow of goods and services to which many people had little or no access too. But then along came communication technology, computers, and satellite internet all innovations of the new technologies. Suddenly everybody was able to connect to everyone and reach out to many people at once. Suddenly, supply became surplus, and people could buy what they wanted and sell what they needed.
This was the birth of the internet revolution. Suddenly, everybody could tap into the huge wealth of the world and put their ideas to work everywhere and anywhere in the world. Suddenly, technological advancements were no longer restricted to a few areas of the world. Everyone could participate and build on the fruits of others’ labor. And suddenly, the industrial revolution turned into the new age of globalization.
Today’s problem is not so much that of destruction but of misuse. The misuse of technology is more than just harming other people and destroying property it is the willful destruction of technology for some personal gain. One can think of all the technology that has been ‘ruined’ by corporations’ digital music, IT systems, automobiles, communication systems, etc. Can you name any modern invention or technological advancement which was intentionally destroyed for the sake of someone else’s profit? Certainly not.
In fact, when technology becomes a business, it often seeks to serve the needs of the corporations first. And when corporations succeed in serving their needs through technology, the technology is used to serve their desires in the marketplace. And when that happens, the job creation potential of that particular technology explodes. And when that happens, it’s just a natural progression. Therefore, we need to look carefully at the role of technology in our society, because it has become an important aspect of our everyday lives, and therefore, the future of our economy.
