Are computers, the internet, smartphones, etc., good? They can clearly be used in ways that are bad.
If we want to reduce the bad and make them better, we need means to assess their value. The fundamental basis for assessing technology is freedom, more specifically liberty, prosperity, and wellness, the three fundamental freedoms. All human culture can be measured and judged in terms of:
Liberty is freedom to do and say what, go where, and be who one wants. It is civil freedom from coercion and oppression.
Prosperity is freedom to own and benefit from the product of one’s efforts. It is economic freedom from exploitation and privation.
Wellness is freedom to live; personal freedom from disease and harm.
Tech is highly relevant to these freedoms. Privacy and surveillance are issues of liberty. Prosperity today depends on owning and selling “content,” including the ability to create and use it. A vast universe of technologies exist for exercise, medical, and other activities that nominally contribute to one’s wellness.
The practical challenge is to ask, “How is this good for my liberty, prosperity, and wellness? How can it be better?” And to act accordingly.
Do social media liberate you? Do emails and spreadsheets make you more prosperous? How do robot surgeons, MRIs, fitness trackers, and doorbell cameras keep you well? What are the costs and trade-offs? Do you have to give up liberty for prosperity? Prosperity for wellness? Does your tech enable you to optimize and increase your freedoms? If not, what do you do about it? If so, is it enough, how do you make it better?
Ironically, the way to overcome this challenge is to engage others—it is social. Ask the questions above of and with others! Not only do we learn to use tech for good (and well) from others, it is social connection that maximizes the benefits of tech while minimizing costs (and risks). Effective tech development is a inherently social endeavor. Who knew!?!
Define and focus on purpose together—what you want to achieve and why it is important and valuable to you—to get good tech. Defining one’s purpose enables more effective engagement with others. Defining shared purpose with others is necessary to set objectives against which to assess technology’s goodness. It is also critical for mobilizing resources to effectively adapt and adopt tech to purpose. Aligning tech with purpose is a team sport!
Leaders drive and facilitate social activities, including investment in and use of tech. By definition, effective leaders make tech usable and useful. Whether we are buying a smart watch, deploying new servers, learning SQL, or using a web app, our decisions about what tech to use and how to use it are shaped by others. Coincidentally, leaders also shape freedoms by establishing rules, roles, and resources for others.
Leaders must understand how to directly link tech to goals and values, including the three fundamental freedoms. Constituents, customers, patients, students, and other stakeholders must hold leaders accountable for making these connections. All of this requires an inclusive planning process that is as much about learning as it is planning.
People, enterprises, and communities that do this will get more benefits from tech. Those that don’t will get more problems and pay more. The next level of tech benefits—including avoiding tech when appropriate—requires new levels of learning and planning.