Technology and the public interest
The speed of technological innovation is outrunning politicians’ attempts to keep pace, bringing radical changes to our lives before we can discuss the public interest issues, according to a senior government technologist, as reported by the e-government bulletin.
Ed Parsons, chief technology officer of the Ordnance Survey, was the keynote speaker at the launch of the Geospatial Group, a newly formed special interest group of the BCS.
Parsons told the meeting that in the near future ‘pervasive computing’ will combine with a rapid growth in geospatial applications to produce a world of smart objects that “know” where they are.
There will be benefits, he said, such as making it easier for parents to know where their children are. But there are also dangers. “Without realising it, aren’t we falling into a situation where we’re always being tracked?” asked an attendee. We cannot rely on MPs to spot these dangers with enough time to debate them in Parliament and pass legislation if necessary, said Parsons. “In a sense it’s too late, because the technology is already out there,” he said.
It seems important to me that voluntary and community organisations are aware of, and if necessary campaign on, the negative (and often unintended) impact of new technologies for individuals and society. But it is clearly an immense challenge to keep up with the fast pace of change.