Technology, governance and the common good

The above caption depicts a scene from the poem, The Walrus and the Carpenter, contained in 'Through the Looking Glass' by Lewis Carroll. It's characterized as a good example of Victorian 'nonsense' verse, though the underlying intent was a critique of entitlement, the abuse of power and greed. Ironically, this is the image I typically get in my head, when I read about the current US Presidential election.

As a lifelong independent and political moderate, I've viewed the politcal parties as increasingly dysfunctional over the past decades, and not representing or meeting the needs of the American people. However, in the past few years I've had direct visibility on a number of the key Biden Administration initiatives (infrastructure, inflation reduction, chips act), and have seen significant progress and results from these programs. By contrast, as I'm originally from the northeast, I've had good visibility to the activities of the former president, and have known folks who worked on his casino and real estate projects that were treated very poorly. Of course, well beyond these personal inputs, there is such a large body of objective evidence of malfeasance, impropriety, incompetence, ignorance and deceipt, that it astounds me that current polling indicates a close race. So, while I don't agree with Vice President Harris on all of her policy positions, it's clear that she has the experience, expertise and intelligence to be the President, and she has my vote. By way of an aside, till now I have always viewed Linkedin in the context of science and engineering, technology and business and professional communication and engagements, certainly not politics. That said, this election will have profound implications for the future of the US and the world, hence why I felt compelled to share my perspective.

While I would not compare that segment of the electorate who support the former president as the oysters above, it is my view that the root cause of how misinformation is not recognized is due to the undue influence of technology on our human nature. Today, between smart phones, the internet and cable TV, nearly everyone on the planet is being bombarded by an avalanche of information and data constantly, often without editorial and content expertise review, inadequate context or relevance, giving us no time to process and internalize ongoing events and activities, debate and discuss and work through issues and problems.

Technology is simply a glorified tool. Unfortunately over the past few decades, we've selectively focused on the many benefits and amazing capabilities, while ignoring the many negative impacts. The current national political election in the US is a clear example. Today, we are too often not moving at human speed, but at a rate where the information conveyed is overwhelming and unfiltered, where we have ceded our decision making to systems rather than people, and we are being driven by technology, rather than using it. The American system of governance was developed and established through an extended period of debate and discussion. One wonders how this could happen today, given our short attention span, over reliance on automated searches, degradation of societal engagements, inability to think long term and prioritize the common good. The current election, reminds me of a quote from President Adams, more than 230 years ago: “I fear that in every elected office, members will obtain an influence by noise not sense. By meanness, not greatness. By ignorance, not learning. By contracted hearts, not large souls . . . There must be decency and respect.”

Whatever the outcome of the US Elections, we must collectively decide how to effectively utilize technology as the tool that it is, and not be driven by it. If the latter, then the overarching risk to the future of humanity, climate change, cannot effectively be addressed. As Andy Grove once said to a former colleague of mine years ago, 'put your efforts where they do the most good'. After more than 50 years of full time work, thats my mantra, in focusing on how to best help others.