Tuesday, April 9, 2013

When is New Technology Too Much?

Before the end of 2013, Google Glass headgear will be available for purchase at retail outlets. This futuristic product consists of a small display situated on a frame that resembles eyeglasses. Google Glass, though, is much more than eyeglasses. You will be able to videotape, audiotape, conduct Google searches and do other cool things.  In short, it is going to rock.

The question that Google Glass poses is for the people that don't use it. Will it be too much? Should you be allowed to film and record people without their knowledge or consent? Will this tool be used by creepy people for bad things? Probably.

What limits should we place on technology? Maybe x-ray vision is the point of no return. We're way beyond iPhones that record rock concerts and children's birthdays. We are talking about Matrix-like technology that will be in wide use before we know it. Our opinion is that Google Glass will not cross any new boundaries. It is basically just a more sly way to do things that are already legal and mostly acceptable. There is already a process to handle people that tape things they are not allowed to tape. We can handle this new product but it will require people to pay more attention to what they say and do around people that they don't know well. That is a good practice regardless.

Google Glass is not a bridge too far - yet. But someday there will be a technology that is going to raise some serious ethical and legal concerns. And that day might be sooner than you think.

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Little Rock, Arkansas

North Little Rock, Arkansas