Can technology conquer evil?

[OpSomBlood]

Bear with me, folks...this one might seem a little scrambled.

I was thinking about Abu Ghraib, and how the people in the War Room never accounted for the prevalence of digital cameras in the field while planning their "interrogation strategy."

It got me thinking...we now live in an era where blogs are getting out the truth on world events faster than the corporate media ever does (or is willing to, depending on if their advertisers are affected). We have the means to raise money for causes and candidates that are important to us at a rate unheard of ten years ago. We have the ability to read our enemies' newspapers while a war is going on. We see images and video of events as they are happening on the other side of the planet.

And two years from now, it will all be ten times more advanced.

This might seem a little broad, but is technology bring us closer to justice in the world?

[POed_Ex_Repub]

1. I think no

It will also make committing crimes easier, it's a double edged sword.

[samhonk]

2. I'd thought similar things -

but to me it looks more like an arms race. For instance, one thing that made the Vietnam War so justly unpopular here was on-the-spot TV coverage, which hadn't been available in previous wars. Now the warmongers have figured that one out - co-opt the reporters. But now we have the digital cameras and all, which seem to be causing trouble for the PTB - but I'm guessing that the cameras would have been no trouble if recording the Abu Ghraib proceedings weren't all part of the plan; the only thing they didn't count on was how hard it is to contain digital media.

I don't think technology is bringing us any closer to justice, but I do think that it helps justice get out from under the iron bootheel, if people with a sense of justice have access to it. Luckily for the whistleblower, the warmongers are always preparing for the previous war.

[LittleApple81]

3. I would believe that it will work to CONTROL people and reduce freedom.

What is it that they use as an excuse for the roving wiretaps? they cannot wait for approval because they want to stop crimes before they happen...WE WILL ALL BE POTENTIAL CRIMINALS SUBJECT TO SURVEILLANCE.

[OpSomBlood]

4. Yes, but the flip side of that scenario...

...is that we have the means now to expose the truth instantaneously and on a global scale about such infringements of liberty. The people conducting such surveillance wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for long.

I see how it is a double-edged sword...but the more I think about it, the more I believe that advancements in communications help the cause of justice.

[LittleApple81]

9. Nope. Too few rich powerful people. Too many poor powerless people.n/t

[parasim]

5. Technology helps everyone...

... both "good" and "evil".

[lanparty]

6. No ...

Anything that can be used for good, can also be used for evil. Any opportunity to good implies an opportunity to do harm.

Only strong morals and integrity can bring good. Though, being equally equipped with technology helps!!!!

[Eric J in MN]

7. I think the torture is gong on right now.

I don't believe that the release of the digital photos stopped the torture.

I think it just made the US miliatry more cautious about cameras, and that they are still torturing people at the prison near Baghdad Airport and at Guatanamo.

[OpSomBlood]

8. But would we even know it ever happened without the digicams?

n/t

[Eric J in MN]

10. No, but how does our knowing about if help, though? (nt)

nt

[starroute]

11. Technology can't stop "evil" -- but it can empower people

Years ago, I read a theory that over the course of history, the degree of personal freedom has depended upon whether the ultimate sources of power are primarily in the hands of the people or primarily in the hands of the rulers.

In the Middle Ages, the superweapon of the time was the armored and mounted knight, and the serfs were helpless and oppressed. But as longbows, crossbows, and finally guns made it easy for even a peasant with an affordable weapon to topple a knight, the absolute power of kings and aristocrats faded. By the time of the American Revolution, a "well-armed militia" appeared to be a sufficient defense against tyranny.

But then the pendulum swung back again. Tanks and airplanes and high-tech weapons are well beyond the budget of your average citizen-soldier, and as a result the power of governments has grown increasingly onerous. It's time for the balance to be restored.

Asymmetrical warfare -- guerrilla warfare, terrorism -- is one way of fighting state power with relatively low-tech weapons. But for many reasons, I suspect the real reversal is going to be in the area of information and not the area of armaments. We are helpless as long as they know everything about us and we know nothing about them. The more we can set information loose, the freer we will be.

Of course, that won't happen without a struggle. The powers of repression are already gearing up with everything from overt censorship to "intellectual property" laws and "digital rights management" to keep knowledge out of the hands of the people. Are you ready for the information wars to begin?

[OpSomBlood]

12. Kick.