Times in History When Technology Became a Threat to People

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Times in History When Technology Became a Threat to People

By Joe Burgett - December 31, 2019

“Email Hurts The IQ More Than Pot,” Said CNN

CNN seemed to get a lot of stuff wrong with this entire concept. Not just because there is no proven study that cannabis rots the brains of adults but that email would even make sense to do so. That did not stop them from publishing this in freaking 2005!! You’d think they’d put this out in the early 1990s maybe, but by 2005? Many believe CNN’s entire concept behind this was due to some type of pay off by Hewitt-Packard, better known as simply HP.

In fact, in the article, they quote a man named David Smith who was from HP! While today we know HP for selling computers which, you know, likely sends emails a lot…that was not always the case. HP was originally better known for selling printers, and that is important to note. As this new technology, email, was not even that new by 2005. Yet HP knew the continued rise of it would result in less need to print stuff out or send letters. Leading to their likely pay-off with CNN.

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A Swiss Biologist Was Not A Fan Of The Printing Press

Today, we know the Printing Press as one of the most important inventions in world history. Not only did it give rise to the media but it also allowed us to print books at a much faster pace. It could also be written in numerous languages in understandable and easy-to-read words. It used to take people years to write books, then even longer to write multiple copies of them. One would assume this revolutionary invention would be accepted by all.

Yet this new technology was despised by Swiss Biologist Conrad Gessner during the 16th Century. He felt it would lead to an information overload, and urged monarchs to regulate the trade of books. He was quoted as saying that the public would suffer from a “confusing and harmful abundance of books.” We probably should never mention the internet to this guy, like, ever. Time Travelers, are you listening to us? Never tell Gessner about the internet!!

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Chapman University Claims People Fear Personal Information Tracking

To be honest, we can understand why there is an issue regarding the idea of public information tracking. It’s not exactly new technology as we could track information on people for decades in some form or another. Yet Chapman University conducted a survey where they asked Americans about their fears. Personal Information tracking ranked 3 & 5 respectively in America’s top technology-related fields.

This could have been assisted by tech breaches at stores like Target along with online security breaches on Facebook, both of which resulted in millions seeing their personal information stolen as well as those that had the potential for theirs to be stolen. It’s not surprising that cybersecurity has become a top priority for social media websites as well as streaming services, among many more. The study found Cyberattacks to be the #1 fear people had, so we can see how personal info tracking relates.

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Self-Driving Cars Could Lead To Death, According To Many

While Google, Tesla, and many others are working on prototypes or have fully developed self-driving cars, there is still a great fear around them. We can even see why people find them to be such a threat. New technology like this is going to have problems, as self-driving cars are fully automated. This means they can be hacked or might not stop when they need to, causing possible accidents. This is not even discussing how they’ll interact with other cars that aren’t self-driving yet.

A few studies checked into this to see how people felt about driverless cars, and it seems like it is among the most concerning new technology across ALL generations. We’re already seeing autopilot or driver-assist modes in vehicles but very few fully automated models. We are not sure if these cars can make smart life or death situations many humans could. Leading to ethical issues, such as the idea of not stopping for someone even if they are illegally crossing the road.

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The Understandable Fear Of Drones

The world of Drones has become massive over the last few years. Drones were mostly an exclusive thing to the military before their commercial use became a major part of the market. They have since become a major fear worldwide, and in many ways, we can see why there is such a massive fear of them. In some nations, drones have been used to drop bombs over the years with the United States being the main nation known for doing this.

On top of that, commercial or recreational drones have been abundant in America. More than one million drones are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration. While there are several laws in place regarding drones, people feel they are still a potential threat to privacy. The FAA has yet to specifically outlaw flights over residential areas. This is not even discussing the harm a falling drone could cause. New technology like drones can be awesome, but understandably threatening.

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The Potential For Unwanted Home Surveillance Via TVs, Alexa, Etc.

One could be forgiven for assuming that there is a potential problem with some of our “smart” devices. There is a potential that many could be hacked due to their connection to the internet. Yet that does not mean they can all “see” anything going on, but hearing stuff? That is not only a possible threat, it has admittedly occurred with Amazon Alexa. It’s already proven it can “eavesdrop” on conversations. Of course, the real problem with this is not that it can eavesdrop.

Rather, WHO is doing the eavesdropping. There are special applications that can be used on Google Home & Alexa devices. Since they are controlled through voice, they easily pick up on what you’re saying. CNET found that servers for Google and Amazon were picking up convos but so were third-party types too. Even if Google and Amazon wiped their drives, we have no idea who these third-party types are. Other “smart” devices have similar issues, making many distrust them.

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A Former U.S. President Was Afraid Of Electricity

When a new thing called “electricity” made its way into places across the United States, many felt it was a major revolutionary opportunity. You could light up entire homes using it, and we’d later find electricity in use across a multitude of fields, including other new technology. Yet when electricity made its way to the White House in Washington, D.C. it was not met with a lot of love by the U.S. President at the time, Benjamin Harrison.

Harrison reportedly had a great fear of electricity and had the White House staff turn lights on and off because he was so afraid of potentially being electrocuted by it. He was not alone, as many also thought electricity could be used to do other evil, dastardly things. Like drawing in unsuspecting children or even be used to blind people, as well as rob them. Ultimately, electricity turned out to be relatively safe but critics were not wrong to point to possible danger it could be connected to.

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