If I asked you who is responsible for technology, how would you answer?
When I worked for the start-up internet service provider back in the late 90’s, we were a private company. So, we were not beholden to investors, audited financial statements or any specific regulatory agency like the SEC, FDA or even the FCC. To stay in business, we had a duty of providing reliable connections to the internet, not how people and companies actually used it.
The landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996 explicitly established a national policy to keep the internet and the corresponding interactive computer services “unfettered by Federal or State regulation” to promote a vibrant free market.
It wasn’t only a U.S. based emerging technology, it was the World Wide Web (www.) And the reality was no one knew enough about the internet to put any oversight in place.
When the start-up got acquired by a larger company, I soon was put on a cross-functional team to deploy WNP (Wireless Number Portability). I knew little about wireless technology and I worked in accounting but I had the obligation to learn how it would impact the financial statements, capital, costs, revenue and competition. The entire premise of WNP, as mandated by the FCC , is requiring service providers to allow consumers to switch carriers while keeping their phone number.
How many of you still have a mobile number that dates back twenty some years? Most of us do.
I conducted a fairly extensive search and most articles and literature on the responsibility of technology date back to 2017 – 2018 and for the most part stop at 2024. It gets complex.
There are the engineers who develop and code the technology, the executives such as CTO’s/CEO’s who oversee the technology, the companies and departments within companies, institutions and government who implement the technology and the users who use the technology, both professionally and personally.
When I moved to Los Angeles and started working for a waste management company, I felt like I went back 10 years technologically. Only months after I started and one of the largest mergers in the industry, I was put on another cross-functional team to merge the two companies’ main operating and billing systems. I not only knew nothing about waste management, but I also knew nothing about these two systems.
So, I asked a lot of questions and relied on people who had worked for these companies for years to tell me if something the team was proposing to do would have disastrous consequences to both the users and the customers.
There is no guidebook, no school system, no governing authority to teach us how technology will affect us as users or customers. Technology use is specific to an industry and each industry is governed by differing authorities, rules, regulations and capabilities. Some are staying on the forefront while others remain remarkably behind.
As a professional, you do have an obligation to know and understand how technology will affect you as a user as well as the customers, clients or whomever you are responsible for in the product or service you deliver to them. There will, however, always be those who misuse or abuse the intended purpose and disregard the consequences.
Personally, you also have the responsibility to understand the technology you use and for those in your family who aren’t capable of understanding both young and old.
The classic excuse of “no one ever taught me” which can translate to “I never thought this would be my responsibility,” is no longer valid. With a search on the internet, prompt on an AI platform, a YouTube video, a book, a class, a spouse, family member, friend, colleagues, almost anything can be learned in its basic sense. You won’t become an expert, but you’ll understand enough to realize the consequences. And if you don’t know, those closest to you should know that they can come to you and you can figure it out together.
All of us have some level of responsibility.
I had an idea to write more about technology and personal investing for those who want and really need to learn more but in a fictional, entertaining way, like a mystery to solve.
Having watched every Law and Order and CSI episode, however, didn’t qualify me to become an attorney or investigative agent. The fictitious stories don’t translate to real life. Even the true crime ones with the selective editing, atmospheric filter and embellishment to heighten suspense and keep the audience engaged may not fully recognize the underlying consequences.
It would be irresponsible of me, especially right now, when the line between real and artificial has become increasingly blurred where crossing the line has become acceptable. Investing and using technology has real world consequences.
First, we need to learn more discernment of what is real and what is not.
And the responsibility of that starts with you.