Running with Scissors

Super Power

Some superheroes were born with amazing abilities. Superman was born on Krypton, but upon arriving on earth, that birthright gave him superhuman strength, X-ray vision, and the ability to fly. Wonder Woman was born an Amazon warrior with phenomenal speed and strength. Other superheroes had ordinary births but gained extraordinary abilities through accidents. Peter Parker became Spider-man through a spider bite. Bruce Banner became the Incredible Hulk after an accidental overexposure to gamma rays. However, there is one other type of superhero that inspired young comic book readers: the self-made superhero. Bruce Wayne became Batman, gaining phenomenal abilities through his high-tech gadgets. Tony Stark became Iron Man, gaining super strength and the ability to fly through his specially designed exoskeleton.

We ordinary humans can relate to the self-made superhero. We are all susceptible to the lure of technology because it is a powerful amplifier of abilities. We see further with a telescope. We pound harder with a hammer. We cut faster with a circular saw. We compute faster with a calculator. Technology has become central to our modern world because it has been helpful, but also because it makes us powerful.

Super Danger

Technology can be a helpful power amplifier -- but don’t go too fast with it or you could get hurt. Hurrying to finish up an important document, have you ever neglected to save it and then lost everything when the computer crashed?  Ever pounded your thumb instead of the nail?  Ever sent a rather sensitive email to a large group that you intended for just one individual?  

We all have experienced technology’s power gone awry. A few years ago we rented a power washer to clean off a few things around our yard, intending to spiff up the deck, a brick patio area, the front sidewalk, and so forth. Some of the dirt, grit, and moss that collected over time looked like it might be rather stubborn, so we opted for one of the more gas-powered units with a higher pressure. While we were working through our list of items to clean, my wife washed off a few tools. She held them in one hand and sprayed them off with the other. The concentrated washer spray caught just a small area of the top of her hand, which stung so briefly she hardly noticed. Later, we saw that it had caused a significant bruise and damage to her skin. That pressurized water was a powerful tool that took its toll before she had a chance to react. 

The summer before the power washer incident, we were camping at a state park. While sitting around the campfire in the late afternoon, we watched a pickup truck roll past with the characteristic low rumble of a diesel engine, towing a large fifth-wheel camper. The driver stopped to let out the rest of the family so that they could direct. He then angled to back the camper into the lot while his family called out directions to ensure he didn’t back into a tree. Suddenly a loud pop cracked through the air. As the pickup had sharply turned, the front corner of the camper had pushed into and then through the back window of the pickup. Fortunately, the safety glass broke with a pop but without shattering. That pickup truck was a powerful tool that took its toll before anyone had a chance to realize the danger.

  

We’ve always known at some level that we must be careful with technology. When we were young, our mothers scolded us about running with scissors --  if we stumbled, the sharp points could suddenly become unintentional and perhaps even deadly weapons. Our heavenly parent also instructs us to be careful with our technology, such as our house and our possessions.

“When you build a new house, make a parapet [low guard wall] around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.” (Deuteronomy 22:8)

“If a bull gores a man or woman to death, the bull is to be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible. If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull is to be stoned and its owner also is to be put to death.” (Exodus 21:28-29)

Running with scissors -- going too fast -- is often our problem with technology. Perhaps we are going a bit too fast when the convenience of electronic purchases lulls us into permitting companies to retain our credit card number in a centralized database. It is convenient for us if our store already knows our numbers. It is also a convenient one-stop shopping store for cyber-thieves. Perhaps we are running too fast when we let young people start driving before their brains have fully developed, before their reflexes have fully matured, before their judgment and risk-assessment abilities have grown sufficiently. Perhaps we are running too fast when we use genetically modified foods. Have we taken enough time to evaluate the long-term health effects of a diet of foods that have had their DNA jumbled?  Perhaps we are running too fast with our rapid consumption of energy generated by fossil fuels, not recognizing the impact on the atmosphere until it has become quite significant -- or even past the point of no return. 

Slowing Down

Scissors can be beneficial, but they can also turn deadly if we run with them and stumble.

Many philosophers of technology have surveyed the dangers of gadgets that get out of control, concluding that we need to use a “go it slow” approach. They have advocated a “no-unless” precautionary principle. That is, we should say no to a new technology unless we have assessed the risks and have high confidence that it is safe. Let’s consider two examples: airplanes and trains 

Writing good software takes time. Writing safe software takes even more time. A modern commercial jet airliner has a variety of computer processors running software from the mundane (such as graphical controls for passenger entertainment systems) to the safety-critical, such as flight control systems. Any software related to the safety of flight goes through a rigorous process of assurance before the plane is certified for flight. This extra rigor can add a factor of 10x to the time to produce and test such software, with a similar increase in cost as well. As a society, we judge this cost and time to be worth the benefit of higher confidence in the safety of aircraft.

Recently the Metro subway system in Washington D.C. significantly reduced service as a precaution. The previous week, an investigation of a derailment incident on the blue line determined that a contributing cause was an axle that was out of compliance. To be safe, all the trains with similar axles (about 60% of the fleet) were taken out of service. The service disruption was significant, but it was prudent to protect public safety.

Humans do not foresee all consequences because we have finite abilities. We have limited mental capacity that can cloud our perception of how complex technological devices might fail in the future. We have limited imagination to anticipate the ill uses to which others might turn with our inventions.

Humans are not only finite but also fallen. We are affected by the taint of sin, and our powerful technology shows those effects. Sin is not only external but also stains us internally. “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?”  (Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago)  

Precaution is warranted because we are finite (by God’s design) and fallen (by Adam’s choice). Taking proper precautions means taking the time to evaluate a technological device carefully before fielding it for public use. Because humans often miss some of the consequences of our technology until it is too late, the more powerful the tool, the more careful we ought to be. 

Slower is better. 

How Slow Can You Go?

How slow is prudent? Occasionally there may be drawbacks if we go too slow.

Occasionally, excessive precaution may cause more harm. In some situations, we cannot afford to wait. We may not be able to wait to completely test a technology that will prevent an existing or imminent harm. While precaution ensures the cure is not worse than the disease, there is also urgency to cure the disease before it kills the patient. Racing the disease may literally be the case. If we take too much time deciding whether to bring a drug to market, some dying patients may be prevented from receiving the only effective medicine that could cure them before the disease kills them. Racing the disease may figuratively be the case. For example, even though we may not fully understand the environmental cost of large batteries in electric vehicles, waiting for longitudinal studies over decades while burning fossil fuels may put us past a climate tipping point.

Occasionally, excessive precaution may cause competitive harm. Even if we -- as individuals, as companies, or nations -- refrain from developing certain technology, someone else will invent it. Those that delay are left at a  disadvantage. Those that forge ahead do not necessarily throw caution to the wind. They may be rightly pursuing better efficiency, creativity, and freedom. They may rightly chafe at overly-cautious regulation. It takes true wisdom to discern what level of risk is warranted.

Finally, while there may be times we should not go too slow, for the most powerful technologies the best choice may be to stop altogether. The more powerful we anticipate a new technology will be, the more cautiously and slowly we should proceed -- if we proceed at all. Our finite capacity to anticipate all possible outcomes leaves us vulnerable to the impact of unforeseen consequences, perhaps at a level that we should not accept. Our fallen nature should make us question whether anyone or any institution can be trusted with truly staggering power. When we get the idea of very powerful technologies, it is prudent to seek universally agreed precautions. International treaties about such things are not bullet-proof, but history shows imperfect agreements have been at least partially successful in slowing nuclear proliferation, delaying human cloning experiments, and banning many chemical and biological weapons.

Choosing Less Power

In a world that dreams of superheroes, it is difficult to resist the lure of ever more powerful devices. Yet we can resist. After the incident with the pressure washer, when we later purchased our own device to avoid an annual rental, we chose an electric-powered washer with somewhat less power. It still does the job we need but reduces the danger. 

Too much power can also be a spiritual danger. Power can lead to pride and arrogance which can then lead to cruelty and corruption. As Christ followers, we should go the other way. We should give up power and put aside selfish desires. With John the Baptist, we should say that Christ “must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30)