Nevertheless, not all of us reach the benefits of it, and sometimes we perceive our lives affected by its mismanaged power. Still, we have the potential to define what technologies are truly needed and how we want them to be applied, but to achieve this we must generate more positive and beneficial new practices on our relationship with technology.
Conscious consumption: Most of the technology we use daily is regulated, yet few of us take the time to read the norms and small print of the things we buy and use; some of the products we innocently accept are causing irreparable damage to minorities, creating modern slavery and depleting natural resources. These actions violate the principles of sustainability and human rights. If we adopt more conscious habits of consumption the companies that create products will also adjust to our more sustainable standards. Hopefully, they will stop releasing new phone models every week and protect our planet and people living on the margins.
“We need to ensure that we create standard processes to test and evaluate the impact these technologies will have on the people.”
Transparency and dialog: Nearly all the big technologies have global consequences; therefore there should be a global dialog to ensure that these technologies and their related policies benefit all people and not transnational corporations. Additionally, we need to ensure that we create standard processes to test and evaluate the impact these technologies will have on the people. Technology is today’s most marketable product and we need to keep an eye on it, to ensure we’re not feeding another horrible monster like pharmaceuticals.
The democratization of science: Instead of politicizing science, we should be looking for its democratization, this means that citizens engage actively with science and technology, therefore it becomes popular and participatory. It is in our hands to become analysts, scientists, creators and researchers, so we encourage rigorous politics that serve the public objectives and invest in our own ideas to bring technological innovation out from within our communities instead of passively waiting for ethical technology to save the day.
Suppress anthropocentrism: Technology doesn’t have to destroy the world, there are other ways we can do things, a radical shift to sustainable tech is not only the smarter option but the only one. It is possible to escape from toxic anthropocentrism and support nonhuman biological beings in order to make more balanced societies. Ethical choices will lead us to inspire connections and identities to empower citizens, not to manipulate and distract them from what’s really important: community and connection.
By all counts, and with proved results we can rely on technology to extol the greatest facets of intelligent life and it is in the duty of all to ensure we gain wise at the same time we develop the next technologies that will shape the world.
Editor’s Note: This essay was written by Dara Nicole Díaz Ríos, winner of the 2020 YuJa Essay Scholarship Contest. Learn more about Dara here.
