The Negative Consequences Of Smart Devices- Is The Mainstream Media Starting To Get It?

Smartphones, selfies and lounging at 60 mph… The horrific future of highway travel does possess a wicked sense of humor. 

Redundancy is boring as a lock and a key. At least the bean counters at the world’s largest media conglomerates and digital portals embrace the reality that sleek glitter innovation generates more revenue than the Kardashian-Hilton military industrial complex set to eliminate critical thought by the year 2030 (Interestingly, the year of the dog according to the Chinese zodiac calendar).

The consequences of the viral dissemination of content and not traditional journalism have lead to a focus on the latest and the greatest swimming in the untested waters of a pending tragedy, and not what can actually go wrong within the blink of the eye. Case in point, a stirring speech by Elon Musk and the idea of a self-driving vehicle powered by a HAL worthy CPU are all fun and games until the human driver decides to take a nap after an involved game competing in the ironic gun ’em down bloody arena of Fortnite which leads to the gruesome dismembering of an unsuspecting pedestrian, who dies a reported painless death. The tech industry insufferably excuses the horrific slaughter citing socialist rhetoric and something along the lines of emphasizing the fate of the group over that of the individual.

Armenian whiskey penguin hackers manage to hack the AI vending machine code.Self-driving vehicles, drones, smart homes, smart biometric devices, cryptocurrency, smart home deliveries, the hype has been calibrated in a steady flow of information for the last five years in a perpetual wave of congratulatory write-ups lacking skepticism or speculation. The correlation between advertising dollars spent by the elite of Silicon Valley, and the absence of objectivity is no coincidence, though not a viable excuse in avoiding the truth. Innovation, creativity, and application of the early generations of a product has overshadowed the potential detrimental engineering hazards and oversights, including the susceptibility to egregious hacking interludes leading to stopping a remote pacemaker cold or disabling tens of thousands of autonomous cars within a bustling urban corridor during rush hour. Interfacing a dinner fork with microchips can only lead to more harm than good, or placing a bio-lock on a gun. Well, maybe things are beginning to change. At least Boeing has faced harsh criticism from media outlets in the aftermath of the 737 max disasters, so there exists an encouraging precedent of hope that sensationalism will subside enough to allow a level of clairvoyance.

The politicized and controversial, but often reasonable Fox News organization, chose to highlight a major design flaw in driverless vehicles by penning a warning piece about the potential hazards of unleashing the experimental technology susceptible to hijacking by cyber criminals in inflicting gridlock and mayhem to busy traffic and pedestrian areas. For those who have been wary of the unchecked and unproven tidal wave of technology being recklessly battle tested in real world situations, the story prompts at least a sliver of optimism that the bustling marketplace showcasing the shiniest and most futuristic devices in facilitating consumer hysteria, faces accountability brought forth by a discerning voice. Tech news online portals have historically done a solid job sharing transparent reviews and identifying major flaws as high tech watchdogs, but are not considered to be major journalistic outlets.

While forward thinking proves necessary in continuing to evolve in a perpetually changing world, technological advancements should be required to endure a rigorous testing and evaluation process. The propensity of instant gratification, must be prevented from diluting a process of responsibly and carefully integrating innovation into existing infrastructure. Along with the frenzied infusion of futuristic devices into the marketplace, the effectiveness of traditional news bureaus to accurately inform the public as to the specifics of a new technology is a must. Amazon reviews and customer comments are not an acceptable alternative for factual reporting, as much shoppers enjoy perusing the content of fellow Prime members.

On a planet where in certain instances the world of tomorrow transcends time, society requires a balanced perspective to process the onslaught of dreams and magic that are suddenly reality. If only the talking heads and newsroom leaders could beat the addiction to a broken record narrative, the dialysis remote control of great uncle Willy will not originate north of the DMZ in creating another revenue channel for a tyrannical regime.

Read the Fox News story here.

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