The technology that connects us has revolutionized (彻底改变 ) the world over the past decade, changing how people interact and in many ways changing our lives for the better. However, some say the most significant development in tech is its unexpected consequences.
Robert Scoble, the chief strategy officer at the spatial computing agency Infinite Retina, said that the "biggest change over the last decade is how technology has appeared in almost every part of our lives." Everything from smartphones to TVs to daily items like barbecue grills has become available with the Internet connected. But with many of our devices "always on", a certain mistrust of technology has appeared. The FBI just issued a warning about smart TVs, saying there is the potential that "TV producers and app developers may be listening in on and watching you" via an internet-connected TV.
Meanwhile, over the past decade, a new social rule has been formed that remains almost impossible to escape: If you participate in most of the online world, your activity and data will most likely be monitored and stored somewhere, by someone.
"It's a fact of our digital life now, that everything we do online now is monitored and someone will find a way to make a profit on it," said Santo Domingo, a reporter.
As more people become aware of not only the benefits but also the threats of new technologies, Scoble said he has noticed "there's much resistance to new technology now". One example is the resistance many are putting up to facial recognition technology.
Some big tech companies have started to make changes after being faced with criticism, although some critics say it's still not enough, including lawmakers who blamed Mark Zuckerberg at a recent hearing for Facebook's ad policy. The major tech giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter have also strengthened their security and content moderation (内容审核) teams in recent years and do more to cooperate with each other about threats than they did before.
