SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Are advances in technology always a good thing?

Jan 16, 2017, 3:41 PM

Nothing is more cultural than technology and how it’s going to affect us. There are advances coming our way with technology that we need to be aware of. But we also need to think about how bureaucrats will think and deal with these advances.

Mashable had a piece that said there is a pattern in Facebook’s hiring, which implies that they are trying to find engineers that can read minds. And Facebook has created new partnerships with Universities because most of this expertise requires PhDs.

Related: Mainstream media can still save itself

Mark Zuckerberg said in 2015 that “one day I believe we will be able to send full, rich thoughts to each other, directly using technology. You’ll just be able to think of something and you’re friends will be able to immediately experience it, if you like.”

Can you imagine what bureaucrats will try to do with this technology? Look what they do with current new technology; they use it to find new ways to tax and regulate.

And now in the field of robotics, there is a new poker technology where a computer is able to bluff and read and identify someone’s bluff. If machine’s can figure out when you’re lying, how soon does that become part of the camera on the police officer’s uniform?

Fascinating times, we live in. And we have many decisions to make about whether just because something can be built, that it should be built.

As always, please listen to the full audio clip for complete context.

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Are advances in technology always a good thing?