Collective Technology Misuse

1. War: The classic – and perhaps most intractable – example of the misuse of technology is war. In the current chaotic nation state system, war is most often waged by those in control of a nation. It may be used to pit one population against another. As the ultimate expression of human insanity, war often combines the misuse of multiple technologies.
2. Perverse incentives: Corporate law requires those in charge of corporate decisions to maximize shareholder value. If a law does not exist to prevent a particular profitable strategy, CEOs are required to pursue that strategy even if they know it is harmful in some way. Only those willing to “adjust” [compromise] their values can survive long in such an environment. The corporate system has become self-regulating to maximize profit at the expense of the environment and society as a whole. Many corporations are larger than some nations. To achieve their short-sighted, quarterly growth and earnings goals, they deploy a vast array of technology from advertizing [mass propaganda] to private armies, such as Academi (formerly Blackwater).
3. Media manipulation: Due to the critical need of each side to keep their domesticated populations suitably enraged at opposing populations, truth is invariably the first casualty of war.
4. Weapons of mass destruction: War leads to the development of insane forms of technology, such as nuclear, chemical, biological, and genetic weapons.
5. Crimes against humanity: A relative advantage in weaponry can induce morally-compromised groups to engage in major crimes against humanity, such as settler-colonialism, forced imprisonment and slavery, forced starvation and ethnic cleansing, genocide, and torture and rape.
6. Data collection and mass surveillance Inappropriate access to individual data can lead to identity theft, financial loss, and sophisticated forms of mass manipulation. Misuse of connected devices can result in unwanted, illegal, immoral and potentially dangerous monitoring of individuals and groups.
7. AI: The rapid development of self-modifying computer programs (commonly marketed as AI, or “Artificial Ignorance”)m pose new threats in the form of distributed, automated (i.e., unintelligent) and largely unaccountable methods for monitoring, analyzing, persuading and controlling entire populations. AI is a glaring example of a technology that seems capable of transform civilization beyond our wildest dreams. Whether it will be used primarily for positive or destructive purposes is up to us.

Individual Technology Misuse

1. Cyberbullying: Using online technology to harass or intimidate others. Those suseptable to bullying behavior often feel empowered by the apparant anonymity of online environments.
2. Sexting: Sharing explicit content, often among minors, which can lead to legal and emotional issues.
3. Online Fraud: Scams that deceive individuals into providing personal information or money.
4. Identity Theft: Unauthorized use of another person’s private information for fraudulent purposes.
5. Computer cracking: Often mislabeled “hacking” by corporate stenographers, this is the act of gaining unauthorized access to computers or networks.

Risks and Results of Technology Misuse

1. Global annihilation: Global warming is by far the most serious concern associated with the misuse of technology.
2. Environmental destruction: Before the environmental effects of technological misuse become global, people tended to focus on specific issues, such as species extinction, forest loss, etc. Such concerns remain and in many cases are growing, but they are increasingly seen as specific aspect of the global challenge.
3. Cultural decline: The misuse of technology at both the collective and individual levels pose serious cultural risks. A single generation that fails to preserve and build upon the best of its cultural heritage can lead to centuries of barbarism.

Prevention Strategies

1. Education: Become educated about safe technology practices.
2. Laws: Advocated for local laws addressing government, corporate and other sources of technology misuse.
3. Precautionary Principle: The more powerful technology becomes the more critical it is to live by The Precautionary Principle. This is an approach to decision making about new technologies that have the potential to cause great harm. It supports taking precautionary steps – such as pausing, reviewing, or limiting release of a technology – until sufficient information is available to ensure its safe use.