Posted 2/27/08 (By Kyle Hunt)
Technology in the Age of Big Government
2/27/08 neoperspectives.com by Kyle Hunt
The United States government's involvement with technological innovation is long and convoluted. Throughout history, every successful military power has relied on innovation to defeat its enemies. Cell phones, video games, the internet, and nuclear power are just a few examples of current technologies that were originally developed and are still used by the United States government for militaristic purposes.
Innovation has not always required governmental sponsorship, however. Before the
federal government grew into extraordinary size in the 20th century, our best and brightest were
able to fund their own research and only needed the government to enforce patent laws. Benjamin
Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and the Wright Brothers were all able
to flourish in this open and free environment.
But as the government became bigger and its ambitions grew, it needed the aid of
the smartest scientists to achieve its goals. The problem is that anyone smart enough to be at the
forefront of innovation is also able to understand the implication of his work. More often than not,
the government is investing the taxpayer's money in researching and developing methods for killing
large amounts of people most efficiently. During WWII, Werner Von Broun was forced into working for
Hitler to develop the V-2 rocket that pummeled the British landscape. He was against the war and was
eventually extracted to the United States, where his work became integral in the development of our
space program. Another immigrant inventor, Albert Einstein, provided the knowledge and foresight
crucial to the success of the Manhattan Project, which provided the United States with the world's
first nuclear weapon. Einstein would later rail against nuclear testing and the development of
further bombs. In this cause he was joined by Bertrand Russell, Linus Pauling, and Albert
Schweitzer. These men possessed the great minds that could see the big picture implications of the
Unites State's government's short-sidedness. Unfortunately, they were ignored.
As the government cannot always attract the best and the brightest directly, they
rely on other means. In recent years, DARPA and NASA have held open competitions pitting independent
groups of engineers against each other to develop the next generation of autonomous vehicles and
spacesuit equipment. Engineers do not want to responsible for creating technology that brings about
the destruction of countries and their peoples, so the government finds creative ways to leech off
of their work.
Today, our biggest concerns should focus on the relationship between the internet
and our government. What was once only a small project under DARPA has now become an inextricable
part of today's society. It is redefining almost every aspect of our working, social, and emotional
lives. It also appears that the internet has finally caused a drastic change in the politics of our
country.
The internet has re-defined what "grass-roots" means. It is a tool through which truly populist movements can take hold in a country that has been so long divided. People have been given a new medium for education and unbiased truth, which has allowed for more people to gain a more full understanding of the underlying politics of our country than ever before. People who have been enlightened through free and open sources are no longer able to accept the lies and misinformation promoted through our history books, mass media, and most of our presidential candidates. The internet has allowed people to spread these "radical" ideas through their social networks, both online and in the real world. This revived interest in our history and current state of affairs could result in a government much more responsive to the will of the people, as they are able to organize and gather much more freely than ever before. If the two-party system (an obvious misnomer) is unable to adapt, then its very existence is put in a precarious position.
Although the internet has provided us with great possibilities, there is also a darker side to it and the future it may provide for us is dim. Any corporation willing to do business in China is required to comply with the country's regulatory policies and ban any information that is deemed illegal. The government of China does not want its people to have access to certain ideas and historical events, because providing people with truth and the means of disseminating it across such a large populace would be very dangerous for the continued one-party rule. Watching the CNN/Youtube debates some months ago, one could see a very similar form of censorship under the guise of letting the "people" have a voice. (This is not very surprising, as Google, owner of Youtube, is actually a Federal government contractor.) If the government was to further regulate what information is to be considered legal, certainly all of our big corporations in the US would have to comply, probably without the people of the United States ever being aware of it.
The ambitions of certain technology companies become rather scary when viewed in
conjunction with our government's actions and plans for the future. The technology industry was
abuzz for a long time about the GPhone, but some months ago we learned that instead of actually
releasing a handset like Apple did, Google would actually be releasing an operating system. Google
worked with over 30 other companies to create an open and free mobile platform, Android, that can
run on any handset. Additionally, Google is going to be bidding large amounts of money in the FCC's
700 MHz auction. Google engineers have also recently showed that they can accurately triangulate the
position of any cell phone (even if it does not have GPS). All of this coupled with the fact that
Google has bought a massive amount of "dark fiber" (unused fiber optic cable that was laid
before the bursting of the tech bubble) means that telecommunications as we knew it might soon be
coming to an end. Google will be able to provide incredibly fast, easy, reliable, and cheap service
to anyone who is running Android on his or her phone. However, this would also provide one company
with unprecedented amounts of personal information.
But we should not have anything to fear though, because Google's motto is
"Don't be Evil" and seems so user-friendly, right? Well, even if Google maintains its
integrity and never hands over private information to our government, the danger for abuse is still
there. The government can piggy-back on the innovative work of Google engineers to serve its needs.
The CIA and military use the internet to combat Al-Qaeda, which they created and which also uses
networks for means of organization, planning, and recruitment. However, I fear more and more that
our government will be turning its eyes inward in the name of national security. The implications of
this are tremendous, especially when one considers that our government has a "torture first,
charge later – if at all" policy. The idea of a pre-emptive strike against our enemies, which
was used to invade Iraq, could quickly be applied to American citizens whose data indicates that
they might be a threat against the government. Someone who has never committed a crime against this
country, but stands in opposition to its policies, could secretly be interrogated and detained
without trial. The groundwork for this action has already been laid by the notorious federal
legislation that has destroyed our civil liberties and ripped apart our Constitution. Currently, the
powers that be are seeking legislation that would give immunity to telecommunication businesses that
have illegally complied with the government's spying on its own citizens. This
would be just another instance of how the government hijacks technology that was created with the
most benign of intentions and turns it to serve its own agenda.
Technological innovation could certainly prove a great ally in the spreading of
truth and democracy. Unfortunately, it could also be the means by which fewer people are able to
oppress and enslave ever more of the world's population. Let us all make sure it is used for the
former. The world of George Orwell's imagination provides for interesting literature, but is most
certainly not a desirable future.