After class on Tuesday, it seemed like the topic of technology was following me around all week! I have an internship with Maryland Senator Ben Cardin, and sometimes we go to briefings on various current topics, ranging from fashion to defense. On Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend a briefing led by Herb Lin of the National Academies. Lin's lecture explored the fact that as the world grows more interconnected, cyberattack poses an increasingly ominous threat to every nation. While a cyberattack may not cause actual physical harm (which many believe is the definition of the use of force), it can be used to severely harm the economy and people's livelihoods. However, the fact that cybercrime represents such a potential threat to economies, jobs, national security, and personal well being only serves as proof that access to technology has truly become a vital commodity. Everyone possess it or wants to possess it.
The United Nations recently released a statement that Internet blackouts are a violation of human rights. Their premise? That "by enabling individuals to exchange information and ideas instantaneously and inexpensively across national borders, the Internet allows access to information and knowledge that was previously unattainable. This, in turn, contributes to the discovery of the truth and progress of society as a whole." The United Nations claims that access to the Internet is a human right equally as important as access to food!
On Friday, I had the opportunity to hear Ralph Nader speak at an Intern Lecture series. He mostly discussed how our generation will be the first to face challenges such as "the outsourcing of white collar jobs" due to the world's transparent boundaries. However, he also said something that really resonated with me and referenced, almost directly, our class discussion on Tuesday. He emphasized that although we may face challenges, we can utilize innovative new technology to "connect our classrooms to our communities." I couldn't believe that right after we had discussed this topic in class, Nader was echoing the same ideas about impacting people with technology through civic involvement rather than simply learning from books. When asked, he even said that this would be his platform if he were ever to run for presidential office again.
It is obvious that the world is increasingly interconnected. The class readings from the week emphasized the fact that technology allows people to multitask, work longer hours, and develop better relationships through more frequent contact. Despite these benefits, we must always recognize the downsides of technology. Whether a person runs his car into a ditch from focusing on a text message rather than the road or nation suffers economically from a cyber attack, the dangers of technological advancement loom over us in our every day lives. But both the dangers and the benefits send the same resounding message: technology is vital to everyday life.
So you decide...technophile or technophobe?
As I read your blog I was very interested in your characterization of the right to use the internet as a basic human right; I agree one hundred percent with this characterization. In the modern world, that in the opinion of many experts is becoming "flatter," the ability to acquire information instantaneously and communicate with those not in your immediate surroundings with ease is essential to maintain competitiveness. The new market is a global one and it is completely discriminatory, if not downright inhumane to keep the developing countries who need economic stability the most at such a disadvantage. The UN promised in their millennium goals to greatly lower the world poverty rate by 2015, and the proliferation of ICT technologies in developing nations is integral to achieving these goals.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I liked that you did not ignore the downsides of the rapid technological transformation that the world has gone through in the past decade. Though ICT technologies come with countless economic, social and health benefits they also have a dangerous flip side that must be acknowledged. Societies that are too dependent on technology is at a great risk for cyber warfare and can be totally obliterated by the breakdown of what used to be considered minor technological devices.
It seems blasphemous to me that the United Nations would equate having Internet access to having access to food! Although it may not seem like it, we can definitely live without the Internet. I think its important for us to remember that technology is still a privilege. It would be fantastic if people across the world had unadulterated access to it, but they do not.
ReplyDeleteSo in this vein, when the UN says that Internet blackouts violate human rights, aren't we are perpetrating widespread human rights violations across the world in then? Many people, especially in rural areas of developing countries do not have access to the Internet, but I would not say that this is a violation of their basic rights. I would, however argue they do have a basic right to subsistence.
I'm definitely a cross between a technophile and technophobe. The words of the UN exemplify my worries that our views and priorities are changing, and not always for the better.
Joanna, this was a very thought-provoking entry!You brought up a very important point by emphasizing the downfalls of information and communication technologies. While ICT4D strives to improve accessibility of information to people in developing nations, it is also important to note the risks of overinvesting in ICT4D and spurring unsustainable industrialization in developing nations. Thus, ICT4D may serve as a means of imposing Western ideals on developing nations and contributing to environmental strains that may develop if people in developing nations desire to adopt the Western way of life. While technology on whole is vital to everyday life, I would hardly say that the latest tech toys are vital to anyone's lives and may instead contribute to insatiable and unsustainable consumerism in American and overseas. The human race has existed for about a hundred thousand without such high-tech ICTs so it is important to reflect on the role of ICTs as a means rather than an end.
ReplyDeleteHey guys! Thanks for the comments. I just wanted to respond to the remarks about technology not being vital to people's lives. I definitely agree with some of your points, but I do not fall in line with you in the thinking that technology is merely a privilege. It is true that civilization has existed for centuries without technology. However, innovation led to the rise of new challenges which, ironically, can only be addressed through the use of technology. For example, the rise of MNC's (largely a result of mass communication and transportation) has often led to contracts in third world countries that undermine subsistence living. If the entire community is shifting from subsistence farming to corporation-driven contract work, how can citizens in third world countries keep up? How can they lobby for subsistence rights if they do not have the medium of the internet? Often, access to internet (for self-education, lobbying, or communication) in necessary in this day and age to GAIN food (an indisputably vital commodity). When the world is changing, citizens must have a right to the commodities that allow them to change with it. In my opinion, to say that the internet is not a vital commodity in today's day and age would be like saying that the dollar is not a vital commodity to Americans, because for centuries people used a trade and barter system. I guess my point is that when societal norms and the standard for competition are altered, there must be human rights law to ensure a fair playing ground for every citizen.
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