S1E49 - Andy Ihnatko - The Balance of Technology

We met with tech journalist and commentator Andy Ihnatko for a big picture assessment on technology’s influence on society.  Ihnatko is riveted by this moment — when the precedents of our society’s origins and founding documents failed to envision the questions and ethical quandaries posed by Artificial Intelligence.  We must balance the opposing forces.  Privacy, accuracy and data usage are challenged in unforeseen ways.  We cannot deny that more work will be done better as AI gets layered into the existing tools that we already use to further boost our productivity and creative expression.  Regulation too soon can crush new industries, but internal industry researchers who inform voluntary guidelines can be influenced or silenced. Giants like Apple, Google and Microsoft can bring an ever-improving experience to the consumer, but when do they cross the line and hurt the consumer through their market power?  Kids can discover a vast world beyond their borders, but tech can also negatively impact their brain development.  The Internet brings us more ways to live and work, but the Digital Divide and surveillance makes the powerless even more powerless.  Ihnatko echoes a sentiment we often hear on Grey Matter, that we must practice deep interest and care for our fellow humans.  Let us remain vigilant that we’re using tech to solve a problem or create an opportunity.  Join us.

Biography

Andy Ihnatko has spent his journalism career exploring the shifting intersections between science, technology, public policy, and humanity. He served as The Chicago Sun-Times' technology columnist for two decades. Andy's perspectives on tech news can be heard regularly on Boston's NPR station, WGBH, as well on his many podcasts. When major financial donors to The Metropolitan Opera hiss "check to make sure that one bought a ticket" to a lobby usher, they're often pointing at him.

Conversation recorded on September 1, 2023.