Obama and Technology
November 05 2008 / by StuartDobson
Category: Technology Year: 2008 Rating: 4 Hot
The nation, or indeed the world, is united in celebration as America elects its first ever black president. Emotions fill you as you listen to his charismatic speeches and his crescendo of promises. Hope is the word of the hour.
Stop. Lets get this in perspective. Not only is Obama a politician, and still, therefore, a manipulator of people, but he doesn’t have all the power you think he has. I urge caution in putting all faith in him.
Politics is at last losing its grip on society. Technology, as predicted, is setting us free. The implications of the massive advances in technology predicted over the next 50 years are phenomenal, and they will have a bigger, and more profound impact on society than politics ever has.
However, that’s not to say that the new president won’t play a part in these changes. Not as big a part as I believe he could have, but still, there are some significant promises. Let’s go through some of Obama’s policies, namely those that I believe are most relevant to the technology community.
Obama’s Technology Policy Document:
- Ensure an open Internet.
- Create a transparent and connected democracy.
- Encourage a modern communications infrastructure.
- Prepare all of our children for a 21st century economy.
- Improve America’s competitiveness.
- Employ science and technology to solve our nation’s most pressing problems.
Full Detailed List here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/
Other Policies: Energy and the Environment
- Requires all new vehicles to run on bio-fuel
- Looking into clean coal
- Proposed giving US health coverage in exchange for more hybrid production
- Suggested $150 Billion over 10 years to the development of bio-fuel and other renewable sources
- Supports capping emissions and giving incentives to corporations who cut greenhouse gases
Civil Liberties
- Will expand Hate Crimes Statutes, the Matthew Shepherd Act
- Voted YES on expanding the Patriot Acts wiretap provision
- Open to Medical Marijuana
- Voted for increasing the minimum wage
- Does not support gay marriage, thinks it should be decided by individual states
- Will create a program for employers to easily verify an applicant’s immigration status
Health
- Supports giving Medicare the ability to negotiate lower drug prices
- Supports efforts allowing seniors to buy lower priced drugs in Canada and import them
- Supports federally funded embryonic stem cell research
Looking over these policies, I have some concerns about his civil liberties policies, namely the expansion of the Patriot Act. This is an issue that needs to be watched closely. I’m also concerned about the energy and environmental promises. Seeing that he is looking into clean coal, and pumping so much money into hybrid production begs the question: Has Obama not heard of Accellerating Change?
His Technology policies display the worst ignorance of Accelerating Change that I can see. Obama has a real chance to prepare America to lead the world in this coming era. However, as technology advances hit the exponential advancement curve, he remains linear in his approach, entertaining ideas that are not just doomed to obsolescence, but already behind the times. As yet I have seen little evidence to suggest that he is ready to take on the challenges set by the implications of Accelerating Change.
Let me conclude by saying that I am not Anti-Obama, I am Anti-Politics. I truly hope that a great change can be brought about by this new leadership, and that many problems can be solved. However, I would just like to remind you to stay vigilant, to not rest on our laurels and assume that Obama is going to deliver everything he promised. But most of all I want you to realise, the great changes that lie before us are not even in Obama’s hands. Technology and Education are going to change the world, not politicians. Watch how the amazing advances in science and technology increase in frequency over the next few years, bringing about untold changes to society. Look at how the mobile phone and the Internet have changed our lives – well that was just a warm up for the incredible future ahead of us.
Educate yourself on the goings on around you, prepare yourself for the implications that technology will have on your life and the world you live in, and stop worshipping the false idol that is politics.
Sources: http://www.obama-mccain.info/index-obama-mccain.php http://www.barackobama.com/issues/technology/
