Techno-Slaves
What happens when the advance of technology is so rapid that it outpaces our morality? A quick glance through the pages of history will give you the answer. Technological growth certainly brings countless benefits, but that seems to be all we focus on.
We would be well served to remember that any technology, especially a new one, demands responsible use. Our species has yet to consistently accommodate this requirement because of our love for the new. What we need is a simple, deliberate approach for the adoption and use of new tech to analyze its true value in our lives. .
Ethan Roland Soloviev's Eight Forms of Capital offers just such a framework. He proposes that capital, held by an individual or a community, must be seen as a balance of eight, equally important forms: Financial, Material, Living, Social, Cultural, Intellectual, Spiritual, Experiential. If the chart of accounts is out of balance, them something is amiss.
With this in mind I propose a simple litmus test for any new technology as follows:
1.) Firstly, for each form of capital we ask ourselves: Will the technology in question likely increase or decrease, improve or degrade, this particular form of capital? For instance, considering Artificial Intelligence, I might note that ChatGPT will improve my financial capital by helping me to write more articles more quickly.
2.) As we move through each form, we look more deeply into the various effects the technology is likely to have on it, individually and communally. Sticking with the AI example, I might find under material capital that it also saves space in my office since I don't have to maintain as many reference books on the shelf. However, I note that it degrades my intellectual capital by making me lazy in my research. It also harms my spiritual capital because I find I am tempted to infringe on other peoples copyrighten work by having ChatGPT slightly change the language. So what does the overall landscape look like for AI as I might use it for my writing career? While not exhaustive, some generalized, deeper lines of questioning for each form of capital might look like this:
FINANCIAL: Will this increase or decrease financial capital, and for who? What is the cost to return ratio (Gross Profit Analysis)?
MATERIAL: Will it utilize physical resources efficiently? Does the technology contribute to the development of robust and resilient physical infrastructure? Is the technology likely to be sustainable in the long run, or does it rely on scarce resources?
LIVING: How is the technology projected to affect our immediate environment AND the environment of those “downstream” from us (physically, or in the future)? What are the waste streams and where will they end up?
SOCIAL CAPITAL: Will the technology foster community involvement, connectivity, and empowerment or does it promote isolation, individualism, and dependency? Does it align with the values and goals of the stakeholders? How does it effect privacy and security concerns?
CULTURAL: Will the technology respect and integrate with local cultures and traditions? Does it promote greater awareness, empathy, and respect for others or does it promote individualism, myopia, and bigotry?
INTELLECTUAL: Will the technology provide opportunities for learning, skill-building, and growth, and will it facilitate the sharing or the hoarding of that knowledge?
SPIRITUAL: Does the technology uphold ethical and moral principles appropriate for our life and times? Does it align with overarching values? How might it be viewed 100 years from now?
EXPERIENTIAL: How might this technology be abused, intentionally or unintentionally? Will the short-term and long-term experience of the technology (both its direct use and its results) have a positive or negative effect on the other forms of capital and on our overall quality of life?
We no longer have an excuse for blindly adopting whatever new technology comes our way. Rather, we can thoughtfully consider whether its proposed uses and outcomes aligns with our values and objectives. If the results point toward an imbalance of the eight forms of capital, then we are empowered to make a conscious rejection of that technology and to educate others as to the 'why' and 'how' of its harmful effects, further empowering them to do the same.
An approach such as this is the only way we can hope to expedite our moral growth so that we are no longer slaves to the runaway advancement of technology. Start today. Question the next, shiny new technology that comes your way.
