I was watching buffy and the eighth episode of the first season a demon is scanned into the computers. This is a funny time as its when people where online with dialup. All the same it had a quote I feel is apropos to the current period. Truns out that show had a bit of the simpsons precog ability:
Giles: Nonsense! I simply don’t adhere to a, a knee-jerk assumption that because something is new, it’s better.
Ms. Calendar: This isn’t a fad, Rupert! We are creating a new society here.
Giles: A society in which human interaction is all but obsolete? In which people can be completely manipulated by technology, well, well… Thank you, I’ll pass.
Well, we aren’t manipulated by technology per se, but by the humans who control the technology. Could have been nice if Silicon Valley wasn’t so damn fascist. But I suppose that’s nitpicking, Giles definitely had the right idea.
Meh, the evil was usually based on humans.
Steve Bannon made a lot of gold selling virtual wow gold, but even worse he learned how toxic and impressionable young male gamers were. Which lead to Gamergate and the radicalizing of a lot of the current generation…
If anything, Gile was underestimating the dangers.
On that note, can’t wait for another season of black mirror. (it’s not the technology that is evil, but can easily be used for evil)
This applies to all technology.
A hammer can be used to build. It can also be used to bludgeon someone’s skull. It’s about who is wielding it and how they choose to use it.