How do we prevent the malicious use of technology Can we (original) (raw)

Wicked Problems: Threats and Opportunities

Wicked Problems: Threats and Opportunities, 2022

Wicked Problems also known as irregular conflicts are defined by “contradictory and changing requirements, multiple stakeholders, many interdependencies, and problems that keep evolving.” (Kramer 2011) Conflict contexts are by their very nature complex and require comprehensive analysis to understand, design and implement responsive interventions. These interventions which should ideally aim at addressing the root causes of violent conflict are best carried out by those who live within the context, who through hard work and various confidence building measures, have gained trust and credibility with the different “sides” of the conflict. However, because irregular conflicts are so dynamic, it is necessary to adapt to their pace by not only understanding the conflict but keeping up with changing forces and factors that affect the conflict. This therefore means that both threats and opportunities exist which can be identified and utilised to make a difference. The process of identifying the threats as well as opportunities to transform these irregular conflicts into more productive rather than destructive states may seem like a tall order in the heat of episodes of violence; but the approach of multi-track diplomacy, inclusive and bottom-up approaches has been shown to bring about more productive outcomes and sustainable cultures of peace in conflict affected communities. With the exponential increase of wicked problems all over the world at every level, this presentation aims not only to highlight the challenges and threats they present but also how we can leverage evolving opportunities even within the most complex conflict contexts.

Modern Technology and Conflicts

In further attempts to illuminate the paradoxical human growth scope within the fields of Modern Technology, Dr. Kelly NGYAH, presents the implications of modern development innovations and marvelous technological achievements, which, though built as ideal elements for human progress, still, much misery and suffering is caused by these same development wonders. The Document further intrigues on the countless communication possibilities of the cyberspace makes which has made it possible for instantaneous interactive connections between persons, ideas and structures where ever and whenever possible. However, it is very shocking that, though these links are helping to build a solidarity focus between the various concerned elements, there are, at the same time, acting as a medium wherein very strong separatists and discriminatory ideologies become materialized into wide spread violent encounters and conflicts. As such, in order to highlight where the problematic surfaces, the document briefly examines the nature and concept of the cyberspace and its potency in initiating or building on some social deviance aspects which have the potency of modifying the psychosocial behavioural patterns of individuals, institutions and rules considered as, conflict instigator elements from an individual perspective and within the international order. Notwithstanding the mentioned detrimental effects of the cyberspace on global peace, the document also highlights the probable counter-conflict/peace growth measures necessary for improved human safety.

Technology and evil

Social Epistemology Review & Reply Collective, 2019

Steven James Bartlett in his book The Pathology of Man analysed human evil. Considered in a clinical rather than a religious sense, evil refers to human violence, cruelty, enslavement of other species and destruction of the environment. Bartlett's ideas are presented and then applied to technology, in particular the technology of repression. Implications include the need for a normative treatment of technology.

Wicked Problems or Wicked Policy Problems and the Coping Strategies to Ameliorate

Wicked Problems or Wicked Policy Problems and the Coping Strategies to Ameliorate, 2019

This paper aims to identify the features of wicked policy problems and the strategies to mitigate them. The discussion over strategies to solve wicked issues laid examples from Tanzania context. Besides, the strategies’ disadvantages have been discussed too. The paper concluded with suggestion to stakeholders that they should adopt these strategies in a way that is possible. Traditional methods to solve problems begin to fall short over time as Kuhn (1962) suggestions on his notion of the need for scientific revolutions. Specifically, the paper offers information and understanding of the wicked issues related to policy to the stakeholders.

Political Violence and Technology

Throughout history, technology was used to enhance or multiply political power. One of the most common ways for this was technological enhancement of material basis of violence – weapons and other technologies facilitating more effective use of force. This feature of technology was recognized as useful by political actors, both those representing the state and those opposing it. Political thought, however, did not consider technology in general and technologies of violence in particular, to be of interest, until two world wars drew its attention to this problem.

Radical Destabilizing Effects of New Technologies

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters, 1998

There is a tendency among strategic thinkers, especially in the military, to ignore or discount the potential effects of technology beyond its short-term applicability to military systems. This tendency complements a pervasive lack of interest within the services regarding the state of the defense technology and industrial base and the possible military consequences of any significant change in that industrial base.[1] The current information revolution is a case in point. The Army's Force XXI experiments and the Marine Corps' Hunter Warrior Exercise have taken great pains to upgrade the conventional industrial-age war machinery left over from the Cold War through application of automated information systems.[2] But there is little apparent interest in the wider effects of these developments and their implications for national security. In fact, attempts to foresee even the near-term future are remarkable for their conservative approach and the general belief that the future will be very much like today with a few advances in technology. Not surprisingly, there have been even fewer attempts to anticipate basic change caused by technologies whose practical applications are only now being discussed by specialists. This is a serious shortcoming because major changes in human affairs often have serious unexpected consequences. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the industrializing countries gained enduring advantages over non-industrial peoples. But urbanization, the demise of the extended family, and displacement of ruling elites (whose power depended chiefly on ownership of land) were among the casualties of industrialization. The industrial revolution also promoted democratic institutions by giving rise to a powerful middle class. It has taken hundreds of years to adapt to those changes, as spotty and uneven as that adaptation has been. Even this painful process, however, has done little to prepare us for the rapid changes now under way. The examples described in this article suggest that new technology is evolving much more rapidly than anything in our collective experience or imagination. More important, they suggest that some of the results will be economic; traditional relationships between capital and labor will change profoundly. Social effects will follow quickly as modifications in agriculture, trade, and manufacturing lead to population shifts and new migration patterns. The technologies described here can create a climate of such uncertainty that individuals and states unable or unwilling to adapt may seek outlets for their rage and frustration in violence. The same outcome may be the only recourse to those in developed nations. Change this profound would surely create serious transnational tensions. This article suggests that what we know as the information revolution is no more than the first stirring wavelet that precedes a tsunami. It further suggests that the most profound effects will stem from three of the many new technologies now being developed. They will profoundly alter our thinking about economics, manufacturing, social issues, and national security in ways we can as yet barely describe. The three fields discussed here are information systems, biotechnology (including genetic engineering), and nanotechnology. Known and potential advances in these fields can have radically destabilizing consequences in all walks of life. The opportunities and the dangers of rapid change will remain in equilibrium only if there is an unprecedented degree of economic, social, diplomatic, and military cooperation as we explore the limits of change.

Governance of Emerging Technologies as a Wicked Problem

Vanderbilt Law Review, 2020

God," 1 national security, bias and discrimination, fairness, economic equality, and democratic values. These risks need to be adequately addressed and managed if the associated technology is to be successfully adopted and integrated into society. Yet, governance of emerging technologies presents an intractable challenge. Existing regulatory agencies lack the legal authority, expertise, and resources to regulate any of the emerging technologies comprehensively, even if they wanted to. But such sweeping traditional regulation may be inadvisable given how fast the technologies are progressing, which would likely make any regulatory enactments obsolete before their ink dried. The complexity of applications, entities, issues, and stakeholders further complicates regulation. Other governance approaches, including precaution, liability, and resilience, may also have a role to play, but each is incomplete and imperfect in its own right. Governance of emerging technologies therefore presents a conundrum. No single optimum solution exists, but rather a collection of second-best strategies intersect, coexist, and-in some wayscompete. This situation seems unsatisfactory until it is observed through the lens of the "wicked problem" framework. 2 The wicked problem concept recognizes there is often no single, optimal solution to such a problem, but rather a mix of substandard solutions that must "satisfice." 3 That is the best that can be done with a wicked problem. This also may be the best solution for the governance-of-emergingtechnologies problem. This Article discusses the advantages of using the wicked problem framework to rethink the governance-of-emergingtechnologies problem. Using this framework forces the recognition that there will not be a single, effective solution to this problem. The defining