From Virtual Communities to Smart Mobs

This article, by Lane Jennings, is about the future of technology, which could include wearable devices that could allow us to have access to information whenever we want/need it, and advanced surveillance systems that could process information about people anywhere and at any time. As much as these technologies could benefit society, they may also result in an equal amount of harm. This kind of access to information would raise numerous questions about rights to privacy; if anyone can get information about anyone they meet, and if people are being constantly watched and listened to, people's lives would basically be an open book to anyone who would have the information. Also, the potential harm caused by hackers getting access to this much information is hard to fathom. If the Internet now is raising problems such as loss of privacy, and issues such as child molestation, what would the future hold if information availability became as Jennings sees it? These types of problems need to be solved now, before this kind of technology expands and the problems become out of control. Technology has been changing society since the beginning of time, and it will continue to change society for as long as man exists. The thing we do have control of, though, is whether it will benefit or harm, through regulation and, most of all, awareness. Can we filter out the possible negative effects of technology and maintain the benefits?