Slate magazine has an an awesome article that perfectly captures the way technology can change society, both for good and for ill, often in unanticipated and surprising ways. Using the example of the cell phone camera, the article showcases how the technology has delivered on the promise and the peril of merged devices. Philippe Kahn gets the credit for the invention. As the article notes:
Kahn regards his invention with paternal pride: "I built it to document the birth of my daughter. For us, it has always been a positive thing." So he was taken aback recently when, with the Saddam-hanging video circling the globe, an interviewer compared him to the inventor of the Kalashnikov. First there was Prince Harry's Nazi costume, then the shaming of Kate Moss, then the Michael Richards racist explosion, but, for some, Saddam's hanging marks the low point for Kahn's creation. A camera on a phone has only aided the perverted, the nosy, the violent, and the bored.
That's not exactly fair, but it's not exactly wrong, either. As Kahn told Wired in 2000: "With this kind of device, you're going to see the best and the worst of things." The best would include photo caller-ID, amateur sports highlights, and the quick citizen snaps taken in the wake of the London bombings. Yet, despite the fun and occasional worthiness, the cell phone camera has launched a thousand jackasses. One representative example: Sportscaster Sean Salisbury was suspended by ESPN last month, reportedly for showing female co-workers cell phone photos of his "equipment."
It's a well-written piece, and worth considering as we look at the other changes taking place via technology, also for good or ill. Citizen journalism is good, blog fueled smears, not so much so. Increased access to information and perspective, good, an overall decline in the actual creation of reporting, not.
On my bad days, I want to curl up and become a Luddite. Then I remind myself that tools are just tools, not good or bad. And in general, technology enriches us more than it impoverishes.