Posts Tagged ‘Technology’

1. Does this year’s hottest ‘toy’ require parental guidelines?

   Published on Thursday, October 21st, 2010
   With the iPhone being hailed as one of the best baby-sitters ever and a firm favourite with many young kids,  is there a need for the developers and marketers of such products to be issuing advice on appropriate use for younger audiences? 

   In the case of online time, child development experts tell us that too much time playing with technology devices prevents growing minds from other valuable life experiences and such time should be limited.   And with more high tech products and devices coming to market, naturally, more time is going to be spent on them.

   Certainly in many other categories there is an implicit moral responsibility to support safe and appropriate use of products.  So what of the case of the iPhone, which many children love every stolen second of.  My own children like nothing more than commandeering my phone, and, as a mum, it was one of the main benefits I extolled to others almost immediately after getting one.

   Not since the invention of the television has there been a device so easy to distract children with.  But, for example, during a car trip perhaps I should be using the journey as an educational opportunity, rather than simply being happy that they are happy.  On the other hand, the learning opportunities provided by a device like the iPhone are also rich.  So parents face yet another challenge and plenty of potential criticism.

   To date, there appears to be little credible research done in this area and one assumes the lead needs to be taken by those who are developing such products.  For now I am more than happy to occasionally allow my iPhone to be commandeered, but rest assured, we will continue to play I Spy and 21 Questions as well.

2. Will New Zealander’s need to rethink their stance on GE foods and Nuclear Power so we can keep up with the rest of the world?

   Published on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
   First off, I need to state that I am a complete fence sitter when it comes to GMOs and Nuclear power. The way I see it is that in an ideal world, we would enjoy the potential benefits while we fully manage the risks. But reality is always less simple.

   It has occurred to me of late that in the not too distant future, New Zealanders are going to have to think quite seriously about the potential of GMOs, nuclear power and other technologies that will enable us to meet our carbon emission targets, growing power demands and attempts to stay in the game, let alone keeping ahead of it.

   British scientist Dr Robert Winston has said that we need to be more open to new technologies so we can keep pace globally. He’s not wrong. Last week at the annual Food and Grocery Council conference, two of the keynote speakers highlighted changes that may need to take place if we are to feed the world and ensure human intelligence keeps pace with computers. 

   If GMOs are the only means of preventing billions of people starving to death, it will be pretty hard to keep it in the box. Then on the flip side, movies like Food Inc paint the food industry as giant manipulators of the world in order to reap the profits. Are we equipped to reconcile these positions and at the same time solve these very real problems?

   Honest and transparent communication will become even more critical, but often the truth is too boring. We truly need a media who report, not sensationalise the realities of these positions. With shrinking newsrooms under increasing commercial pressures and the more experienced journalists often being let go, this is sadly less likely to happen. Perhaps the emerging social media sphere will evolve into a forum based on true expertise?

   New technologies always raise new questions. Would a science that enabled a paraplegic to walk be halted because it breached our moral ethics? Currently there is already a scientist in Europe who uses himself as a human guinea pig – or should I say android, to test mind driven robotic implants. 

   The reality of new technologies being able to solve some very serious and imminent problems is upon us. And as clean, green nuclear free New Zealand, how well are we informed to be able to manage these dilemmas?

   As the Hon Maurice Williamson pointed out, had we invented Viagra we would be sitting very pretty economically. But we didn’t! So what’s next? Which companies will have the intestinal fortitude to take on people power for causes that they believe are for the good of the people? This is an interesting dilemma but who is debating it?

3. No nonsence nanoscience

   Published on Friday, September 25th, 2009
   What a week when we’ve just witnessed the miracle of our very own John Key on Letterman , and a scientist tells us that immortality is only 20 years away.

   The 61-year-old American, who’s been right before, says that at the rate our understanding of genes and computer technology is accelerating, new nanotechnologies will be capable of replacing worn out organs inside a couple of decades.

   If that’s not tempting enough, nanotechnology is also being attributed with the ability to extend our mental capabilities to such an extent that humans will be capable of superhuman wonders like being able to write whole books in a matter of minutes.

   But wait, at a recent liability symposium  nanotechnology was highlighted as an emerging risk, despite the fact material and particles on a molecular or atomic scale are already in daily use in consumer products. 

   So nanotechnology, where small appears to be the new big, heralds in exciting new boons, but also signals some potential and as yet not-even-imagined pitfalls. 

   For example haven’t we been down this road before is with asbestos. This former wonder product has a fatal legacy and has delivered a hefty bill to the insurance industry because of mesothelia disease. This illness was unknown when the product was released for use.

   So while some scientists may look forward to a world where humans have cyborg limbs thanks to nanobots, our suggestion is to tread wearily when claims of immortality are bandied about. Imagine going to hospitals to have a new liver dropped in like some car part….wait there could be something to this.