Bridges to the Future News
September 14, 2005
Bridges to the Future focuses on science, technology and values
Technology can enslave or liberate depending on how it's used, panelists at a University of Denver forum pointed out on Sept. 14.
"Technology doesn't control us," says Stephen Haag, associate dean of graduate programs at the Daniels College of Business. "We control technology."
Bridges to the Future, an ongoing series of issue forums sponsored by DU, kicked off its third thought-provoking year with a panel discussion entitled: "Geoslavery or Cyber-Liberation: Freedom and Privacy in the Information Age." Haag was joined on the panel by Jerome Dobson, president of the American Geographical Society; Stephen Keating, business editor for the Denver Post; and Phillip Zimmerman, chair of a national privacy advocacy group.
Panelists described how an emerging right of privacy often conflicts with evermore sophisticated electronic communication and surveillance capabilities. For instance, global imaging systems (GIS) that were developed for tracking prisoners may also be used to track Alzheimer's patients, liberating their caregivers from the worry that they'll wander off. But applying that same technology, as some companies now do, to tracking employee movements via their cell phones may revert to a kind of corporate slavery.
Dobson, a GIS expert, warned that technological capabilities are accelerating faster than policies to control them. Human tracking has become more widespread during the past few years, he says, yet there's been little debate or opposition—especially from labor unions—on how to protect worker privacy.
"Human tracking is already a grand social experiment," Dobson says.
Zimmerman advocates controlling technology with a recognized right of privacy. Although no single constitutional amendment spells out such a right, Zimmerman asserts that they all suggest one. The growing movement to promote privacy rights, he says, was set back by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the ensuing passage of the Patriot Act. Without tougher privacy laws, he says, government can continue to intrude on people's privacy in the name of national security.
"We can't let them do this," Zimmerman says. "We have to sit up on our hind legs and push back."
Haag wondered whether it was too late to control the march of technology and was skeptical of the ability of government policies to catch up. The best solution to balancing the convenience of technology with people's desire for privacy, he says, may be to spend more time teaching young people core values, including a respect for privacy.
The second installment— "Rights and Responsibilities in the Age of Terrorism" — will be held on Oct. 27 and features Amitai Etzioni, director of the Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies at George Washington University.
RSVPs are required to attend Bridges events and can be made by calling (303) 871-2357 or by e-mailing scp@du.edu.
More information about Bridges to the Future is available at www.du.edu/bridges.
