Technology and Tyranny

In the early days of the digital revolution, it seemed that the proliferation of digital technologies would lead to an improvement in the human condition but the industry fell into the hands of nihilists, communists, racketeers, looters, tyrants, and psychopaths who want to control the world and create a global digital utopia. Perhaps it is the fate of all new technologies to become a tool for imposing a new kind of tyranny. 

In his 1945 essay, “You and the Atomic Bomb,” George Orwell lamented: 

“We were once told that the aeroplane had “abolished frontiers”; actually it is only since the aeroplane became a serious weapon that frontiers have become definitely impassable. The radio was once expected to promote international understanding and co-operation; it has turned out to be a means of insulating one nation from another. The atomic bomb may complete the process by robbing the exploited classes and peoples of all power to revolt…”