Is Technology Good or Bad?
 By Gary Shapiro, President & CEO, Consumer Electronics Association I just returned from testifying on Capitol Hill on legislation that would ease the legal ambiguity for products that can be used to record copyrighted content. Seated between the legendary Motion Picture Association of America's Jack Valenti and the brilliant Stanford University professor Lawrence Lessig, I was struck by how technology is viewed as evil by so many in the content world. They insist on the need to restrict technology so they can capture payment for every use of their content. Like Chicken Little they claim the sky is falling and technology must be controlled. Through a day of hearings before several members of Congress, I insisted that technology is not bad, but uses of it can be. Had our technologies been regulated or restricted to meet copyright owner concerns, our industry would be poorer, consumers would have fewer choices and the history of the world would be dramatically different.I said that even though speed kills, Congress chose not to restrict the speed of automobiles—so why should our products be restricted to choke technology, frustrate consumers and enrich copyright owners? I mentioned that even a fork can be used to hurt people, but forks are legal. (In fact, any product can have bad uses, but that doesn't mean it should be restricted or illegal.) Sometimes, of course, society must regulate products (like certain weapons). But why should CE products be regulated to serve the economic interests of copyright owners when cars—and guns and even baseball bats—can be dangerous but are legal. Don't Limit Innovation Our products serve important individual needs, but they also change societies and governments. Think of the role that recording and duplicating technology has played in major events. The Watergate tapes brought down President Nixon. The fax machine and the VCR helped crumble the Soviet bloc. The Internet is democratizing China despite government efforts to restrict it. And our own recent horror of digital camera images of abused Iraqi prisoners has changed the nature of the war and the perception of our nation abroad. In all cases our products changed history. Had the technologies been regulated or restricted to meet copyright owner concerns, our industry would be poorer, consumers would have fewer choices and the history of the world would be dramatically different. With all respect to the legendary Mr. Valenti, the freedom to make and build technology is as important as any other freedom in a free society. I am committed to making sure our industry fights for these rights and preserves the technology tools for democracy in the digital age. This material has been adapted from VISION -- a bi-monthly magazine of the Consumer Electronics Asssociation |
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     anshuman Unregistered guest |
"business is getting extremely dumb in front of technology, people who do business should smarten up real fast instead of acting like zealot in front of technology." my blog:- http://codemills.com/blog |
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Unregistered guest |
The advantages of technology has given us outweigh the disadvantages. Many argue that as we venture further into the frontier of technology we proceed with a slow death of society, by losing culture and ultimately a sense of self. To a certain extent this may be true, but realistically if we cease to progress we wont be able to survive. There are many examples of advantages and disadvantages some mentioned were “ Technology has the ability to create shortcuts in working and can make tasks easier also. Solid examples are cars, calculators and phones, through technology life may be faster but is also easier. Technology plays a major role in international trade. Databases, overnight delivery and faxes have opened the world market to not only larger companies but small ones too. To add to this globalization, companies and even competitors are combining and forming alliances to cut cost and increase the profit margin. Chrysler, General Motors and Ford have formed an alliance in research and development to avoid duplication. These alliances are not only with domestic companies but they also go over national lines. Companies are pushing for integration of the world economy in hope for increased profits and governments are beginning to listen. Since 1986 (GATT) General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade have taken the incitive to move towards the liberalization of international trade. GATT members agreed to reduce tariff and non-tariff trade barriers. From 1986 to the present due to GATT's lead many markets have been open to the United States increasing exports and increasing efficiency through competition. One of the most agressive liberalization groups to follow GATT's lead is APEC (Asian Pacific Economic Community). APEC consist of 18 countries that account for 1/2 of the worlds output. The three largest economies Japan, China and the United States are members. APEC leaders are committed to achieving free and open trade for the region by 2010. APEC is moving towards this goal through many means including accelerating initial Japanese tariff cuts by 50%. China will also cut a number of tariffs by 30%. Indonesia and other APEC members are also reducing tariffs sharply. What sets APEX at the head of the pack leading liberalization is it wiliness to extend benefits of membership to everyone. APEX is willing to extend the benefits of cuts in tariff and non-tariff barriers to all countries willing to make comparable cuts. This is a major incentive for all countries because the Pacific Rim is the fastest growing market in the world and large profits are to be made. |
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sunith Unregistered guest |
The goal of human life is unity with the higher self present in the core of your soul.So, i think we need to analyse if technology is helping us in reaching the goal or obstructing us. technology can be good or bad depending on the user. you can use internet to browse through bhagawadgita or bible and be benifited and at the same time you can also do things which are not good for you. |
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