Chris Ategeka - The Unintended Consequences of Technology

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CHRIS ATEGEKA

Copyright © 2022 by Chris Ategeka. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ategeka, Chris, author.

Title: The unintended consequences of technology : solutions, breakthroughs and the restart we need / Chris Ategeka.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2021] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021027157 (print) | LCCN 2021027158 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119817598 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119817581 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119817604 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Technology—Sociological aspects. | Technology—Social aspects.

Classification: LCC HM846 .A79 2021 (print) | LCC HM846 (ebook) | DDC 303.48/3—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021027157

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021027158

Cover Design: Wiley

Cover Image: © Sashkinw/iStock/Getty Images

Dedicated to my parents, my siblings, my partner, Caroline, and my son, Matt.

Thanks for making it all worthwhile.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”

—Albert Einstein

Humanity is at a crossroads. The explosion of technology and its exponential advancements are reshaping what it means to be human. As technology continues to expand, its incredible imprint on our lives continues to deepen. Our algorithmic lifestyles have completely taken over our lives. Today technologies make decisions about what we buy, the news we read, who we vote for, the jobs we get, the people we meet, and the ads we see.

Along with the benefits and victories provided by new technologies are many consequences that are alarmingly detrimental to society and to our planet.

When you take a closer look at any technology, you will find that it's a double-edged sword. If it's used correctly, it can and has made our lives easier, more efficient, and better. However, that same technology, in the wrong hands or used incorrectly, can do serious damage to humanity.

Progress always comes at a cost. Paper fundamentally changed the way information was stored and distributed, but its production, to this day, contributes heavily to deforestation. Technology, just like medicine, is not free from side effects. For example, consider that:

A technology promising a cancer-free world can cause cancer.

A technology promising us democratic values such as freedom of speech and agency can also threaten democracies.

In a world of infinite digital connectivity, millions of people still feel alone. Isolation and depression are public health crises.

Digital technology is aiding our culture to reject reason yet heavily reward outrage, untruths, and myths.

Technology has hastened humans' tendency to run our resources into the ground, metaphorically and literally, instead of aspiring to regeneration and sustainability.

This should come as no surprise, because hindsight is always 20/20. Rarely at the time of invention are creators the best judge of how their system will be used, nor do they truly know what good or harm will come of it.

Industrialization increased our standard of living, but it also led to a lot of pollution. In a similar way, technology has exacerbated the effects of climate change. The planet is in full-on emergency mode. Emissions are on the raise. Earth is turning into desert. The oceans are heating up. Species are going extinct. The Amazon is burning at an alarming rate. Ecosystems are crashing. The ice is melting. The coral reefs are dying.

We need to do something. And we need to do it now!!

We are clearly the last generation that can alter the course on climate change, but we are also the first generation experiencing many of its unintended consequences.

For most leaders, it can be challenging to keep up with the many unintended consequences of emerging technologies. As a futurist, a technology entrepreneur, and an engineer in Silicon Valley—specializing in future-think and scenario planning—it's my job to help leaders understand and prepare for the impact of the unintended consequences of technology (UCOTs).

Fifteen years ago, I would never have predicted that I would be talking about the unintended consequences of technology, let alone writing a book about them. After tragically losing both my parents, I was a kid (the child head of my family) in rural Uganda waking up every day worried about what I and my younger siblings were going to eat that day. That's as far as my concerns about life on this planet went. A lot has changed since then. With the help of a charity organization and the Helms family in Oakland, California, I was sponsored to attend UC Berkeley Engineering School. With lots of hard work and determination, I became an engineer and an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley. I focused my attention on creating products and services that bring healthcare to individuals in hard-to-reach areas. I was successful at building several companies. My work won me accolades. I found myself in front of highly influential people at the biggest platforms on Earth, like the World Economic Forum and TED conferences. It's there that my world and level of ambition opened up a bit more.