Is my laptop really going to come kill me one day?

You would think that after Terminator, Matrix, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the other futuristic apocalypse movies that maybe we would have learned our lesson. Maybe, we would have at least avoided the possibility of technology taking us all over. Whenever you and your friend talk after watching the latest sci-fi "machines and robots getting their revenge on the filthy humans" film, a typical question that comes up is: "That could never happen right?" I mean sure, human beings can be pretty terrible to each other but there is no way we could EVER get to that point right? If you asked me right now I would probably tell you it's highly unlikely. However, technology can have the ability to cause a lot of harm, and I think that's the problem. 

The topic of human nature and their tendency to use their creations for self-centered motivations is nothing new. Norbert Weiner, known as the inventor of “cybernetics,” warned about the future of machines and the potential consequences we could face if we fain ignorance. In Doug Hill's article The Eccentric Genius Whose Time May Have Finally Come (Again), he writes about how Weiner believes "humans can’t resist selfishly misusing the powers our machines give us", even if that means our planet suffers for it. Even now, there is growing concern about the influence of digital media and the internet on the masses. In a 2018 study, people expressed concerns about the dark side of digital life and the possible consequences that could arise within the next decade. 

Solely blaming the technology for these flaws, however, is not realistic. In fact, recent studies have shown that the combination of people, their implicit biases, and the building of these technologies can cause harm in areas that hit closer to home. For instance, there have been cases of commercial facial recognition technology that was found to be more accurate for white faces than for black faces. This can lead to serious consequences such as how law enforcement has used facial recognition. What is frightening is that this is real. This has happened and is more practical than just thinking a laptop will transform and come to harm you. These are technologies that were built by us. We must place the responsibility upon ourselves to hold the morality of our technologies accountable along with the individuals who help to build them. In addition, I believe it would very naive of us to think that there are aren't people in higher places pushing the boundaries of what technology can do and don't have their own selfish ambitions. There is no doubt in my mind that those types of individuals could be behind those types of technologies being built and don't see the fact that it is causing harm to others, especially people of color.  Refusing to acknowledge these perspectives will only cause us to suffer the consequences, great and small. So maybe your phone won't turn into a Decepticon in the near future, but technology can still be weaponized in more ways than one.