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Thinking About Technology

Technology has dramatically changed the world over time. The advent of cars dramatically changed the US, as people could go places and meet others in a way that was difficult and slow before. The telephone let us communicate with people all over the world at a pace that was previously impossible. Computer technology has furthered this at a truly amazing pace, especially since the adoption of mobile devices by so many people. The flexibility in how we can integrate computer technology into our lives has been incredible.

However, each technology change brings about plenty of negatives and potential problems as well. I ran across a piece from L. M. Sacasas that has some questions we might ask about any technology, including the software we build. The start of the piece is that most of us don't think about how our work might be misused, which can lead us to dismiss security risks or moral misuse risks. We often don't consider the malicious ways people view applications.

The piece is interesting to read, but it ends with several questions that we might ask ourselves as we build something. I think a lot of these questions might not apply to our work with databases or corporate technology, but some do. I think many of them might apply if we think about the tools we use, especially AI.

Most things many of us build are re-hashes of something else. We might smooth the flow of work with better UX in an application. We might rewrite code to more efficiently use resources. We might implement features or reports in response to a business request, but we often are lightly evolving our software not changing it. We do, however, build things that others might misuse, either accidentally or maliciously.

The list of questions is interesting, but I also think we need to consider that others might use your system differently, not just from a UX perspective. Consider how they might exploit your software to achieve other aims. We may not be security experts, but others are experts and there are plenty of tools available to scan code and identify vulnerabilities. Use these tools with the knowledge that just because you wouldn't use the software in a particular way doesn't mean others won't.

Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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