Resistance is Futile

I am Borg, though I am not part of the Collective. It happened six years ago, when I had an electronic implant placed in my back. I rarely think about it, except if I happen to touch it or if I lean back the wrong way. It functions on its own with only minor adjustments from me from time to time. I am now the product of technology, and because I am here and healthy and can tell this tale, I'm fine with that.

In fact, though, we are all the products of technology in one manner or another. The very fact that I can write this and you can read it on this platform means that you, too, are technological. Maybe you don't have the latest and the greatest, maybe you don't have an implant like I do, but you do have, and you do use, technology. Your car's (or the bus') engine is regulated by a computer chip. You scan your groceries at the store. You talk on a digitally connected telephone, or perhaps on Skype. You send messages around the globe in minutes and think nothing of how amazing that capability really is. You do research for your next book in the vast electronic network that's called the internet. You take medicines and vaccines engineered with the latest scientific innovations. You can't help but be a part of the technological revolution, whether you want to be or not.

But that's not really the question, is it? The question many people want answered is if having and using this technology is a good thing. Look at nuclear warheads. Look at drone warfare. Look at hacking and cyberbullying. None of these would be possible if we hadn't developed the technologies to make them possible. With each new invention, each new advance, comes both the good and the bad. Whether we head into the darkness or the light is not a technological decision, but one of human nature. We are capable of both glorious and horrific things. We can take the technology and soar into the future of a better environment, better health, travel to and colonization of new worlds, or we can use it to destroy our planet and ourselves. The problem is not one of technology but one of humanity. The technology will come, whether we want it to or not - we are also explorers at heart, so it is pretty much inevitable. We have to make sure, though, that our learning curve and our ethics keep pace with our technology. If we can do that, we will have a good shot at survival. If we can't, there won't be anyone left to read this when we're through. It is up to each of us to ensure we are on a path to the best possible outcome.