Weaponized Technology Requires Wisdom by Creators

[Arthur Hanson]

The ability to weaponize technology is something that must be taken into account by creators of new technologies for as our societies become ever more entwined with technology at every level the dangers as well as the benefits can no longer be considered as an afterthought. As not only our physical, but our intellectual and emotional lives become ever more dominated in everything from an individual level to whole societies, cultures and countries the dangers and impacts of abuse will become ever greater. Much abuse has already come forward in the use of deep face videos, crypto currency problems of all types and seizing control of vital control systems among others. We are already seeing this happen even accidently in the 737 Max control systems. It is past time that these problems must be dealt with and much of this the best place to start is at the source which involves semis and software. The one advantage of starting with semis is that many of the most sophisticated and therefore have the most potential for abuse, misuse and danger are created by just a few manufacturers, so this is where the most effective preventive measures should be taken. There are as many ways to deal with this as there is imagination. The earlier a problem or danger is dealt with the better and I can't imagine a better place to start than the SemiWiki community that plays such an important part in making new technologies as beneficial as possible, with the least risk of danger or abuse. The use, benefits, dangers and abuse of technologies must be taken into account from inception as our lives and the world are ever more impacted by their spread. SemiWiki is an ideal place to get the semi industry thinking for it is at the inception of new technologies that benefits, problems and dangers are best dealt with. For a start, my definition of the greatest good is something that maximizes the potential of those it comes in contact with throughout not only its life cycle, but the life cycle of its creations. It is far better that the industry deals with these issues at inception, than with lawyers in the court room as in the 737 Max case.

Any thoughts, opinions and solutions solicited and welcome.



The link below is but one example of the challenges before us.

The world’s top deepfake artist is wrestling with the monster he created

Hao Li has spent his career perfecting digital trickery. Now he’s working to confront the problem of increasingly seamless off-the-shelf deception.

www.technologyreview.com