At What Cost?

There's been a lot of talk lately about the new freedom offered by the latest Internet technologies. Although much of the discussion revolves around the effect modern technology has on our work and social lives, the concept is actually a fairly old one. Many times in our history the advent of a new technology has led to the prediction of a new society freed from the bonds of the prior technology. Going back to the turn of the last century, the advent of the automobile created a major shift in where and how people worked, played, and lived; it has shaped our cities, our infrastructure, and our lives. And, of course, the airplane must be mentioned in any discussion of earth-changing technology; it continues to this day to shrink and flatten the Earth. And the telephone. Oh, and of course electricity, the radio, the cotton gin, sliced bread... The list is practically endless.

With each new innovation there is a renewed sense of hope that this one will set us free...from something. Free from household drudgery or free from cubicles and traffic jams or free from the earthly bonds of gravity. For example, thanks to modern technology, in the course of writing this article I have travelled from one side of the country to the other and back again. Right now I am enjoying an iced tea at a sidewalk caf in Phoenix and by the time I finish this article I expect to be in Seattle. I am free to do my work from anywhere that has an Internet connection. Every day I work with people all over the country and I haven't seen a cubicle (at least not one that is mine) in many months.

But, at what price? Having the freedom to always be able to connect from wherever I am tends to translate to having the responsibility to always be connected, no matter where I am. There is a growing expectation that email is instantaneous and phones should always be answered, no matter where or when they call. There is an implicit trade-off between never being physically at work and never being mentally away from it. Is it worth it?

Apparently, the answer depends at least in part on how old you are. Younger people that have spent a greater percentage of their lives "hooked in" tend to deal with the lack of privacy afforded by the Internet with, if you will pardon my saying so, a certain wild abandon; whether due to an enhanced sense of openness nurtured by constant contact with the rest of the world or simply naive innocence I do not know. Older folk, more accustomed to dealing with the results of man's darker nature, tend to look at such openness with uneasiness and even suspicion.

The iGeneration is likely to have spent a significant fraction of their life on the Internet by the time they reach a point in the generational cycle where they are determining the political structure of the planet. The Internet will become such an integrated and accepted part of our culture that the distinction between what is "online" and what is "offline" will be mainly philosophical. Using the Internet to accomplish things once thought of as too sensitive in nature to be subjected to the potential scrutiny of the public will not only be accepted, it will be assumed.

Indeed, the open forum offered by the Internet could be seen as a platform to promote democracy across the planet. On the surface a seemingly good thing to those of us living in free societies, but true democracy has never worked. The average person is too easily duped, too easily swayed by emotional appeal for a government ruled by the masses to work on a large scale. Many of the founding fathers of our country felt the same way and that is in large part why our government is a form of representative republic instead of a democracy.

I'm all for the idea of giving everyone a vote in the election of their representatives in government. Clearly, the ideal government is one that represents the needs of the people and the surest way to achieve that is to make the members of the government somehow beholden to the people. But, turning the people into the government is not likely to have the desired effect. The politicians will quickly learn to avoid any responsibility for any poor decisions and to take credit for any good ones. Having a government where the majority always wins also means the minority always loses...sometimes the minority is supposed to win. When you were a kid did you ever get picked on by another group of kids? Did the fact there were more of them make it right?

Sometime in our lifetime technology will give us the capability to safely and securely perform any kind of transaction online, including voting. Inevitably, major elections will take place on the Internet or whatever replaces it. It's only a small step from there to a wholly democratic government run by continual Internet-based referendum. A brave new world indeed, but at what cost?

Article Source: http://www.just-article.com

Dan Scott is a Computer Scientist with over 25 years of accomplishments designing, building, and supporting computers and computer applications. Make sure you see his web hosting analyses on the top affordable web hosting providers.

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