I like this a lot. In our breathless rush to embrace the next big thing, we should be asking more questions.
A lot more questions. Like maybe add these 41 ethical questions about technology.
Or personally, as a person of faith, maybe go through each of the Beatitudes, the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy, and the Cardinal Virtues and discern whether my use of that technology will hinder or help me in pursuit of that perfecting good. And, thinking of Matthew chapter 25:31-40, how might this technology expand or redefine “the least of these” we are duty bound to serve?
Science-fiction author David Brin explains his method of examining the future:
The top method is simply to stay keenly attuned to trends in the laboratories and research centres around the world, taking note of even things that seem impractical or useless,” says Brin. “You then ask yourself: ‘What if they found a way to do that thing ten thousand times as quickly/powerfully/well? What if someone weaponised it? Monopolised it? Or commercialised it, enabling millions of people to do this new thing, routinely? What would society look like, if everybody took this new thing for granted?’
Those are good questions, as far as they go. My methodology for examining new developments (especially technologies) is to ask additional questions, some with a decidedly negative slant:
- What if it runs into legal or political problems?
- What if it can be used by criminals?
- What if it raises ethical or religious objections?
- What…
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