The Unintended Consequences of Technology

The Unintended Consequences of Technology

by Chris Ategeka
Released October 2021
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119817598

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Book description

Discover the technologies and trends that threaten humanity and our planet--- and how we can rein them back in, together

In The Unintended Consequences of Technology: Solutions, Breakthroughs and the Restart We Need, accomplished tech entrepreneur Chris Ategeka delivers an insightful and eye-opening exploration of the challenges and the opportunities at the intersection of technology, society and our planet. Detailing both positive and negative technology use cases that on one hand have made humanity better, but on the other hand pose a serious threat to individuals and groups across the world, the author demonstrates how to avoid allowing powerful technologies to overcome our better natures.

In this book, you'll:

  • Discover how the forces of capitalism, greed and the myths that surround meritocracy when combined with exponential technology pose an existential risk for humanity.
  • Explore the many exponential technologies such as gene editing, 5G, behavior modification, cyberspace… that have lots of promise but also uncertainty.
  • Consider the future of humanity we wish to collectively build, and whether we can rebuild a capacity for empathy at scale in our tech tools

Perfect for founders, business leaders, executives, managers, Chief Technology Officers, and anyone else [i.e. all human beings] responsible for the use and proliferation of advanced technologies. The Unintended Consequences of Technology is a thought-provoking, must-read resource for those at the forefront of our new technological reality.

Table of contents

  1. COVER
  2. TITLE PAGE
  3. COPYRIGHT
  4. DEDICATION
  5. INTRODUCTION
    1. WHY ME?
    2. THE BOOK'S GOALS
    3. WHAT THIS BOOK COVERS
  6. PART I: HOW HUMANITY GOT INTO THIS MESS
    1. CHAPTER 1: Capitalism: The Cult of Self-Sufficiency
      1. A QUICK HISTORY OF CAPITALISM
      2. WHERE WE ARE NOW
      3. ADVANTAGES OF CAPITALISM
      4. THE UNINTENDED OR WILLFULLY IGNORED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF CAPITALISM IN THE TECHNOLOGY SECTOR
      5. HOW TO MITIGATE UCOTS AND REIMAGINE CAPITALISM
      6. THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISM
      7. REFERENCES
    2. CHAPTER 2: Tech-States: Are Nation-States Obsolete?
      1. A QUICK LOOK AT THE NATION-STATE
      2. A QUICK LOOK AT A TECH-STATE
      3. ADVANTAGES OF THE TECH-STATE
      4. THE UNINTENDED OR WILLFULLY IGNORED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF A TECH-STATE
      5. REFERENCES
  7. PART II: TECHNOLOGIES AND TRENDS WITH LOTS OF PROMISE BUT ALSO UNCERTAINTY
    1. CHAPTER 3: Data: What Is the Data Industrial Complex?
      1. THE HISTORY OF DATA
      2. THE WORLD OF BIG DATA
      3. POSITIVE USE CASES FOR BIG DATA
      4. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF BIG DATA
      5. HOW TO MITIGATE UCOTS OF BIG DATA
      6. RESETTING BIG DATA
      7. REFERENCES
    2. CHAPTER 4: Artificial Intelligence Will Humans Soon Be Irrelevant?
      1. WHAT IS AI?
      2. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT AI?
      3. A QUICK HISTORY OF AI
      4. POSITIVE USE CASES FOR AI
      5. THE NEGATIVE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF AI
      6. THE FUTURE OF AI
      7. REFERENCES
    3. CHAPTER 5: Blockchain: Can Trust Be Decentralized?
      1. HOW DOES BLOCKCHAIN WORK?
      2. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE ABOUT BLOCKCHAIN?
      3. BLOCKCHAIN USE CASES
      4. THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF BLOCKCHAIN
      5. WHAT'S BEING DONE TO ADDRESS THESE UCOTS?
      6. THE FUTURE OF BLOCKCHAIN
      7. REFERENCES
    4. CHAPTER 6: Conditioning: From Human to User to an Addicted “Drug” User?
      1. A QUICK HISTORY OF MEDIA
      2. ADVANTAGES OF MASS DIGITAL MEDIA
      3. THE UNINTENDED OR WILLFULLY IGNORED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF MASS MEDIA
      4. HOW TO MITIGATE THE UCOTS OF MASS MEDIA
      5. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION TECHNIQUES
      6. REFERENCES
    5. CHAPTER 7: Genomics: What Happens When Humans Play God?
      1. HOW DOES GENE EDITING WORK?
      2. A QUICK LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF GENE EDITING
      3. POSITIVE USE CASES OF GENE EDITING
      4. THE UNINTENDED OR WILLFULLY IGNORED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF GENE EDITING
      5. WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO MITIGATE THE UCOTS OF GENE EDITING
      6. THE RESET ON GENE EDITING
      7. REFERENCES
    6. CHAPTER 8: 5G: Is This a New “Cold War” You’ve Never Heard Of?
      1. A QUICK LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF 5G
      2. POSITIVE USE CASES FOR 5G
      3. THE UNINTENDED OR WILLFULLY IGNORED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF 5G
      4. HOW TO MITIGATE THE UCOTS OF 5G
      5. THE RESET ON 5G
      6. REFERENCES
    7. CHAPTER 9: Truth In the Era of Willful Ignorance: Is Trust Over?
      1. THEORIES ON TRUTH
      2. WHY DO PEOPLE TELL FALSEHOODS?
      3. WHY POLITICAL LIES ARE ESPECIALLY DAMAGING
      4. THE UNINTENDED OR WILLFULLY IGNORED NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES OF EXPONENTIAL TECHNOLOGY ON TRUTH
      5. HOW TO MITIGATE THE UCOTS OF FALSEHOODS
      6. THE RESET ON TECHNOLOGY AND TRUTH
      7. REFERENCES
    8. CHAPTER 10: Warfare: Is “Cyber” the New Gunpowder?
      1. A QUICK HISTORY OF MODERN WARFARE
      2. HOW DO BAD ACTORS GAIN ACCESS TO SYSTEMS?
      3. THE INTENDED AND UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF CYBER WARFARE
      4. ACTIONS AGAINST CYBER WARFARE
      5. REFERENCES
    9. CHAPTER 11: Work: Why Do People Work?
      1. WHY DO PEOPLE WORK?
      2. A QUICK HISTORY OF WORK
      3. WHERE WE STAND NOW
      4. POSITIVE USE CASES OF TECHNOLOGY ON THE FUTURE OF WORK
      5. THE UCOTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON WORK AND WORKERS
      6. ACTIONS AGAINST THE UCOTS OF WORK
      7. THE FUTURE OF WORK
      8. REFERENCES
    10. CHAPTER 12: Climate: Are Humans the New “Weapons of Mass Destruction”?
      1. WHAT IS CLIMATE CHANGE?
      2. A QUICK HISTORY OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE MOVEMENT
      3. THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF TECHNOLOGY ON THE CLIMATE
      4. HOW TO MITIGATE THE UCOTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON CLIMATE CHANGE
      5. AS A LEADER, WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE?
      6. REFERENCES
    11. CHAPTER 13: Ethics: Are Universal Ethical Principles Possible in Technology?
      1. WHAT ARE ETHICS?
      2. ETHICAL CHALLENGES OF TECHNOLOGY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
      3. THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF UNETHICAL PRACTICES IN TECHNOLOGY
      4. ETHICAL CONCERNS RELATED TO TECHNOLOGY
      5. REFERENCES
    12. CHAPTER 14: Restart: The Most Powerful Vote We Have: The Ballot, Money, or Attention?
      1. VOTING WITH OUR ATTENTION
      2. VOTING AT THE BALLOT BOX
      3. VOTING BY SPENDING MONEY
      4. FINAL THOUGHTS
      5. REFERENCES
  8. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  9. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  10. INDEX
  11. END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

Product information

  • Title: The Unintended Consequences of Technology
  • Author(s): Chris Ategeka
  • Release date: October 2021
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119817598