Technological wonder carries a double meaning: we fill our lives with technological wonder, even as we wonder about the impact it is having on us. In this series of articles, I explore the tension between our excitement and our misgivings about our relationship with machines.
As end users, we love the convenience of Amazon, Google, and Uber, even though, as citizens, we may be concerned about their impact on our communities. At a time when most Americans believe we are headed toward a future with more economic inequality and cultural division, 87 percent say that science and technology will help us solve our problems. At the same time, 82 percent of us believe that, within thirty years, robots and computers will do much of the work now done by humans, and two-thirds of those respondents believe that’s a bad thing.The dark side of technological wonder is more than just concern over jobs though. It grows out of a much deeper feeling that we are losing ourselves to our machines. We use Facebook to keep in touch with friends but know in our hearts that it is we who are being used—and for a purpose that isn’t necessarily aligned with our best interests.
How the future of technology, humanity, and the planet depends on rewriting the code within the code.
The Deep Coding of Technology
The purpose of technology is set by its coding, be it through actual software coding or simply a process of design. This top-level coding determines how the technology carries out its function. What we sometimes fail to see is that beneath this is a deeper coding, a “code within the code,” that sets the goals—the why—behind our technology. Understanding this deeper coding requires understanding how the missions, strategies, and cultural norms of organizations create and shape our technologies.