How is our general outlook for the future of digital and information technology? Are we heading towards a dystopia, utopia, or something in between?

Submitted by mega_lova_nia t3_11ms70g in Futurology

From years of my life, i have observed the rapid development of digital technology. From having to connect to the internet using telephone cables and using bulky computers to having it all in the palm of my hand. From having to send letters or pay expensive fees to call to people from out of town to chatting in rooms with them in a matter of seconds. Digital technology has become more and more accessible with more features being added to ease our lives even further. However, with great upsides comes downsides.

right now, our personal information is able to be spread across the globe, sold by greedy companies who wants to earn a quick buck, or breached by interlopers who would do the same. In my country, our problem is so bad, you might just say that our people's data is open source. Drama makes buzz and it is exploited throughout social media to boost engagement. Even the news would make you question whats right and whats not. We've heard about these things day after day, perhaps even experienced it which makes it even worse.

Because of this, i want to ask, where are we heading in the future when it comes to technological advancements? From what i see, it's easy to say that we're heading towards a dystopian nightmare where the government or the corporation puppets everything. However some folks that i have discussed with about this told me that it won't be as bad as i might think it would be and all of this badness is just a cycle of life with ups and downs. We have good privacy practices that will mitigate some of our personal data problem and to combat internet drama exploitation we can just go outside and touch grass. However, these aren't really good proof that we're not heading towards a bad outcome. So, where are we heading according to global technological advancements and treatment towards it? Do we have failsafes to prevent these sort of things? If we do reach that dystopic future, what should we do? If not, what should we do next?

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thedoctorstatic t1_jbjrtc4 wrote

How will you know if it is a dystopia if your neural implant says it is utopia?

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Rofel_Wodring t1_jblcp2k wrote

Honestly? It's unclear. If you asked me five or even two years ago -- I'd vote for dystopia.

But AI is advancing extremely, extremely quickly. More quickly than I'd ever dreamed. The billionaire overlords just straight up might not have the time to deploy their infinitely loyal robot cops in a way to employ control. Because AI advanced so quickly that rank-and-file nobodies can deploy comparable resources against the overclass.

I especially claim this because I don't think the future of AI will look anything like we've seen in classical sci-fi. It'll be less like Terminator or the AI movie or even The Matrix and more like... more like a cheesy isekai anime. This is because distributed intelligence is advancing much more quickly than the unitary intelligence we have so many AI characters from.

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So I don't know where this is all going to lead. It might lead somewhere really bad. But I can guarantee you that if humanity does meet its end (and it's not in the next decade), it won't be from traditional calamities like disease or nuclear warfare or even climate change.

When Chat-GPT4 comes out next week, I think THAT will be the turning point for other people realizing that our old politics and perspectives won't serve us.

EDIT: GPT-4. Okay, so much my timeline up by a few weeks.

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Rofel_Wodring t1_jbld7b0 wrote

Replying to Rofel_Wodring (#2,196,078)

I can still think of a lot of ways this can go very, very poorly. For example, we hit a computational bottleneck way earlier than space colonization allows us to expand -- with all of the resource crises that enable, especially since intelligence will now be a resource.

Regardless, the dystopia won't look anything like it did in classic sci-fi movies.

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scpDZA t1_jblz8jk wrote

All depends how much financial insulation the individual has. For the poor, things will seem horrible, for the rich there's no real problems. Same as it ever was.

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Strict_Jacket3648 t1_jbm27h7 wrote

When the super rich are spending million trying to convince the public it's scarry, that's when I think Utopia.

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aarongamemaster t1_jbmkqn6 wrote

It wholly depends on how the technological context evolves.

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To be honest, it'll be one of those 'went bad at first, but -despite some of the things we implemented to prevent what happened before again- are walking towards a light in the tunnel' voters.

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A significant part of it depends on how we rationalize the fact that technology determines rights and freedoms. If we continue to see rights and freedoms as static entities, then dystopia is the endpoint. We have a chance if we see rights and freedoms as fluid constructs, dependent on the technological context.

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Basically, we have to accept that one way goes into utter hells like the setting of the webcomic GENOCIDE Man (which follows what is essentially Super!Interpool... with the duty to kill ideologies wholesale with all that it entails) or Reign of Steel (a GURPS RPG setting that is Terminator with the serials filed off, oh and the machines already won) or go into something far more acceptable like Anno 2070 and 2205...

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PatternParticular963 t1_jbninnp wrote

Listen to Queensryches 1988 Album operation mindcrime. Apperently the mood Was the same 30 years ago

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Chaos-Knight t1_jbpw3uj wrote

Dystopia implies we're still alive. Death by AI is the most likely outcome at the moment.

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LoveFearLearn t1_jc2ms6l wrote

It can be difficult to predict with certainty what the future will hold, but there are certainly a variety of potential outcomes.

On the one hand, digital and information technology have the potential to enable significant advances in areas such as healthcare, education, and environmental sustainability. For example, artificial intelligence and big data could lead to more personalized healthcare and more efficient use of resources. Similarly, online education and remote work could improve access to education and employment opportunities, especially for those in remote or underserved areas.

On the other hand, there are also concerns about the potential negative consequences of digital and information technology. These include issues such as data privacy, cyber-attacks, and the potential for automation to displace workers and exacerbate economic inequality. In addition, the increasing prevalence of social media and online communication has raised concerns about issues such as online harassment and the spread of misinformation.

Overall, it’s difficult to say whether we are heading towards a dystopia, utopia, or something in between when it comes to the future of digital and information technology. The outcome will depend on a variety of factors, including the decisions made by policymakers, the actions taken by individuals and organizations, and the development of new technologies and their impact on society.

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