Is Technology Evolving Too Quickly?

By Zachary Yuen

Thirty years ago, smartphones didn’t exist. Four decades earlier, no one even owned a computer. Think about that—the first personal computers arrived about 40 years ago. Today, two-thirds of the US owns a glowing, handheld computer. The 21st century has seen rapid changes, especially in the field of technology. Almost every day we are bombarded with new pieces of technology that are sleek and shiny and make us want to buy them. This article will explore the downsides of technology’s rapid evolution, and the need to slow down and deeply contemplate technology's rapid development.

In 2018, Samsung decided to release 13 models of phones, and LG released 16 models of phones. Of all the 13 phones Samsung released, there were only slight changes in size, camera quality, and battery. The number of new models produced each year is increasing, yet people still are crazy about the newest versions. Here’s the secret though: releasing new models annually means that manufacturers don’t usually have time to make more than incremental improvements from year to year. Do we need a new car every year? A new television? A new refrigerator? A new phone every year just won’t add much value to users. For example, we can probably already predict what the iPhone 15 will look like next year. Ready? The screen, battery, and camera will all be better. But guess what? Because Apple does such an amazing job making devices, your iPhone 14, 13, 12, 11, X, XS, and XR should still work just fine. People spend a lot playing catch with all of these technologies, buying all the new models, while ignoring the fact that all of this money spent can be put to better use than lining the tech companies’ pockets. Moreover, we haven’t talked about the 53.6 million tons of electronic waste produced per year worldwide, out of which the 416,000 phones tossed aside in the US every day surely play some role (especially given that less than 20% of smartphones sold end up being recycled in the end). Why don’t we just slow down, as citizens and as companies, and think about the necessity of all of these new models? Why don’t we slow down, and think about the consequences of producing so many electronic devices, which have a huge carbon footprint? Are we so addicted to consumerism that we can’t wait for more substantial changes in a few years' time?

Recent lightning-speed advances in information technology also threaten privacy, reducing the amount of control over personal data and opening up the possibility of a range of negative consequences as a result of access to personal data. At the center of all the concern is the internet’s lifeblood: personalized advertising. Today’s personal advertisements create a constant bombardment of information that pressure us to buy unnecessary material things, tells us how we should look, and can influence us to develop unhealthy lifestyle habits. Moreover, personal data is now the new gold. Every single action we do online is being monitored, recorded, and sold. Unbeknownst to us, big data companies are profiting billions of dollars (274 billion in 2022) from selling people’s personal information and search histories. The scope and purpose of data mining have even been described as “surveillance capitalism”. And this industry is growing at huge rates, with predictions that it will reach 600 billion dollars by 2029. However, not only is our every move monitored by companies, our own governments are also spying on our daily moves. The all-too-famous revelations of Edward Snowden demonstrate that nothing is safe: telephone conversations, internet searches, and electronic payments. It has been revealed that a program by the US government named PRISM spied on and collected data of citizens without consent, collecting activities and records from 534 million phones in 2018 alone. Furthermore, because of the rapid advance of technology, facial recognition is really common among our mobile phones. People rarely give their consent or are even aware that they are being tracked. They also have no idea how their images are being used. For instance, when you enter most retail stores, there is a security camera to prevent theft. However, that camera might be doing a lot more than just preventing theft. It could use your face in other databases so the store can market to you and create a behavior profile that connects your in-store and online activities. Even though there are countless benefits to the rapid advances in technology, thanks to it, people’s security and privacy are constantly being breached, without our knowledge and consent. At this stage, it is imperative to review and reflect on what we have created and address the concerns and ethical dilemmas we are facing.

But it doesn’t get better. From smart assistants like Siri and Alexa to face detection in unlocking our cell phones, everywhere we look today, artificial intelligence stares back at us. Some of today’s tech giants believe that AI should be more widely utilized. Even though there are benefits to the use of AI, there are still many ethical and risk assessment issues to be considered before this can become reality. One rising star in AI technology is self-driving cars. There's no denying that the number of autonomous vehicles on the road will increase dramatically in the future. But the question is, should we be concerned? Obvi- ously, yes. Even though some say that self-driving cars are safer than human-driven vehicles, statistics point the other way. Statistics have shown that there are 9.1 driverless car crashes per million miles driven, which is a lot higher than the one of human-driven vehicles (4.1 crashes per million miles driven). Moreover, there is also an ethical concern about entrusting human lives to AI, and allowing AI to make decisions over our lives and deaths. Some argue that AI could help create a fairer criminal judicial system, in which machines could evaluate and weigh relevant factors better than humans, taking advantage of its speed and large data ingestion. AI would therefore make decisions based on informed decisions devoid of any bias and subjectivity. However, are we willing to allow machines to sentence humans to the death penalty, and give AI control over our lives? It is unwise to prioritize AI decisions over human judgments. In fact, it is found that AI can easily be affected by the surroundings, and develop a particular bias. Let’s not forget that with AI, many people risk being jobless due to their work being taken over by AI, and many more job opportunities will be gone in the future. These include warehouse workers, clerks, fast food workers, delivery people, and many more simple jobs that actually can create a lot of jobs. Moreover, another alarming aspect of AI is its use in autonomous weapons. Aside from being concerned that autonomous weapons might gain a “mind of their own”, a more imminent concern is the dangers autonomous weapons might pose when falling into the hands of individuals or governments that don’t value human life. It will also be incredibly hard to hold anyone accountable when civilians are caught in the crossfire.

AI and technology have never progressed as quickly as in the 21st century, and it is expected to continue at this breakneck speed. While technology and AI definitely have transformed lives in miraculous ways, there are some serious ethical dilemmas to solve. Instead of rushing at this pace, there is no harm in slowing down and reflecting on our own creations before things get out of hand. We should actively address all moral and ethical concerns, and try to allow both technology and humans to coexist. Because the future is approaching practically at the speed of light, it’s crucial to calculate the next steps of mankind.