, The Washington Post; Life during lockdown might be much better if technophobia hadn’t held back innovation
"Now that much of the world is in lockdown, relying on technology that many viewed with worry and suspicion mere months ago, the consequences of that fearfulness are coming into focus...
Too bad so many bosses once resisted allowing employees to work from home — even though research has found that remote workers are more productive, take shorter breaks, take less time off and stay with their companies longer. That resistance inevitably limited the marketplace for video tools, leaving only a few options available when the pandemic crisis struck.
Unfortunately, that’s how things tend to go with new technologies. Fear leads to smaller markets, reducing investment by innovators.
This story has repeated itself across time and culture...
How will we handle the next wave of innovation? That will be our greatest collective challenge. The pessimists will surely have something to say. It would be good to think back to this moment, recalling the many ways that feared technologies came to be seen as a blessing. Then we can encourage something that really does improve lives. It isn’t resistance to change. It’s change."
Issues and developments related to ethics, information, and technologies, examined in the ethics and intellectual property graduate courses I teach at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. My Bloomsbury book "Ethics, Information, and Technology" will be published in Summer 2025. Kip Currier, PhD, JD
Showing posts with label worry and suspicion of tech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label worry and suspicion of tech. Show all posts
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