We Are Worried About the Wrong Technology

 

There is a great deal of discussion about artificial intelligence, how it might take over the world, eliminate jobs, become dangerous, or somehow escape our control.

Those concerns are not entirely unfounded. We should pay attention to how AI is developed and used. But we should also remember one important fact: We created it. And throughout history, humanity has often proven to be its own greatest danger.

I have written before about my thoughts on AI. I believe it has a legitimate place in our lives and could become a true partner if we learn to work with it responsibly. But that is not what I want to talk about today. I think we may be worried about the wrong technology.

Do you remember payphones? More importantly, do you remember the gradual transition from cellphones being convenient to their becoming practically mandatory?

Today, it is increasingly difficult to function without a cellphone. We use our phones for banking, workplace authentication, medical appointments, navigation, travel, communication, and access to countless services. In many cases, owning a cellphone is no longer a choice. It is the price of participating in modern society.

But as phones became more necessary, consumers lost control over them.

Do you remember when you could remove and replace your own battery? When you could insert a memory card instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a phone with more storage? When a phone did not cost as much as a computer, or, in some cases, a used car?

Those options did not disappear because consumers stopped wanting them. They disappeared because manufacturers discovered that limiting repairability and upgradeability was more profitable.

Now, when a battery begins to fail, many people are pushed toward replacing the entire device. When storage runs out, we are encouraged to buy a more expensive phone or pay for cloud storage indefinitely. We may purchase the hardware, but increasingly, we do not control it.

Television followed a similar path.

There was a time when you could buy a television, plug it in, adjust the antenna, and watch local programming, news, sports, and major public events. Free over-the-air television still exists, but the broader viewing experience has become fragmented across cable packages, streaming services, premium sports platforms, and exclusive network subscriptions.

One subscription became two. Two became five. Then certain shows and sporting events moved to platforms we did not have.

Want to watch a particular football game? You may need another service. A championship, major tournament, or special event? That could require a different package. Even after paying for several subscriptions, you may still discover that the one thing you want to watch is unavailable unless you pay again.

This is not technological progress working solely for the consumer. It is technology being used to turn access into a recurring charge, and while we debate whether AI might someday control our lives, we should pay closer attention to the technology that already does.

Phones have become essential identification devices. Software we once purchased is now rented by the month. Appliances increasingly depend on apps and internet connections. Features already installed in vehicles can be placed behind subscription fees. Books, music, movies, and other digital purchases may remain available only as long as a company continues supporting the platform.

We are slowly moving from ownership to permission.

That may be the greater danger, not that machines will suddenly seize control, but that we will continue surrendering control a little at a time because each individual change appears convenient.

Convenience is rarely introduced as a loss of freedom. It arrives as an improvement: faster, smarter, easier, more connected. Only later do we notice that we can no longer replace the battery, repair the device, watch the program, use the feature, or access the files without paying someone again.

I do not claim to have a solution. This is simply an observation about how much has changed, and how quickly we accept it, and these are not memories from some distant technological age. Most of these changes have occurred within the past two decades.

Perhaps the question is not whether AI will eventually take over our lives. Perhaps we should ask how much control we have already surrendered to the technology we use every day, and how much more we are willing to give away.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

#ArtificialIntelligence #Technology #DigitalOwnership #RightToRepair #ConsumerChoice #SubscriptionEconomy #TechDependency #DigitalFreedom #PlannedObsolescence #TechnologyAndSociety #Innovation #FutureOfTechnology #FoodForThought #WeAreWorriedAboutTheWrongThing