It’s not what a tech tool does. It’s how you use it
In every issue of unlimited, we highlight three people featured in the magazine who embody the issue’s theme. The Mar/Apr 2008 issue is an exploration of technology and media, and the many intersections between these two forces. We’ve asked three individuals to fill in the blank in this statement: “Technology will make the world a better place because….” Everybody who’s been “Unlisted” throughout the year will be invited to join keynote speakers, other panellists and you, our readers, at the inaugural Unlisted Summit, a leadership conference at the Banff Centre, from July 13 to 15. Please call 1-866-227-4276 x 244 for more info.
Malcolm Azania: radio DJ / TV host / author / journalist
My brother lives in Kenya. Not in Nairobi or another big city; he lives in a rural area, and he has internet access. So when election violence erupted recently, I knew he was OK. There still is a class dimension to technology, in that billions of people don’t have access to it, but if you live in a city like Edmonton, if you can get to a library, you can use a computer. For people who say the dominant impulse of human beings is material acquisition, I say look at the web – almost all pages are created by people who don’t stand to make a dime. It’s wonderful that technology has showcased that human nature is far more good than bad.
Technology is only a tool. A revolver doesn’t have to be used to kill people; it can be used for target practice. Technology can be used to make the world a better place by removing unsafe labour conditions and reducing ecologically destructive practices. But there is always a flip side. Every person who uses a cellphone or a computer is taking part in one of the greatest crimes of our time. Coltan, which is found in virtually all electronics, is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The war in the Congo and its spill-off effects has been compared to WWI, but it’s easier to get the resources when the country doesn’t have sovereignty over its own resources. It’s what people choose to do with technology that determines whether it improves or degrades our quality of life.
Online exclusive: Interview with Malcolm (7 Mb WAV file | 10.8 Mb MP3 file)
Hugo Bonjean: founder and CEO, Quantum Shift Media Inc.
From my desk, I see snow-covered pastures and the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Not concrete skyscrapers. I can watch the sun rise while I message our web design guy in Panama or hold a video conference with staff in Guatemala and clients in Saskatoon.
Most of us live in boxes. We build one box, a house. Then we use another box to drive to another box, which we call an office. It’s an incredibly bad design. If people can find their spouses on a social networking site, you can build relationships with staff and clients. But in order to embrace the virtual office, the corporate world will have to rethink the whole notion of control, to focus on the results rather than how and where the results are achieved.
When I left the corporate world, I wrote a book, a fictionalized story, about my transformation as a business executive who was more concerned with money into someone who wanted to make a difference in this world. People told me that it changed their lives. But books only reach two per cent of the population. I thought, there are thousands of stories like this – what if we brought them together? That was the idea for Quantum Shift: to use new media to bring solutions from around the world, inspiring people to take action on environmental and social issues. Technology has been instrumental in winning wars, improving healthcare and building economies. It can certainly be used to reduce our footprint.
Online exclusive: Interview with Hugo (16 Mb WAV file | 23.5 Mb MP3 file)
Theresa Howland: vice-president, Bullfrog Power
Today we use the same type of electricity that we’ve used for the last half of the century. In Alberta, that means electricity that is largely generated from coal. But we use it to power more appliances, more tools, bigger TVs, more things that are meant to make our lives easier. In some ways, technology is a paradox: it leads the way toward innovation and a better way of doing things – we can monitor our energy use, change the way we use it so we’re using it at the most efficient times – but it also provides us with all these other tools that require energy.
The scope of the question – “how can technology improve our lives?” – is not a 250-word discussion. Technology is so ingrained in everything that we do and touch in our everyday lives and business practices. Technology and its usefulness for information sharing and education is fascinating. Consider the scope of climate change. What a great way to find out about the innovative things that people can do. You can look at the web, blog about it, check out Facebook and use many other technologically advanced ways of information sharing. Without it, I would not be able to create cleaner electricity or let people know that it’s available to them. Technology has created my job, and I’m able to use it to do my job better.
Online exclusive: Interview with Theresa (6 Mb WAV file | 8.5 Mb MP3 file)
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