Cork Views: 'The technology created to connect us is in danger of dividing us'

I realised that I would never be able to keep up with the world in early 2020.

I was prepping to sit my Leaving Cert, and just before my pre’s, my Irish teacher taught us a hastily prepared definition of the coronavirus as Gaeilge. There was a chance in our orals that we’d be asked something topical, and with the speed the virus was spreading, she was sure it would be a contender.

Needless to say, as covid impacted all our lives, I never sat my Irish oral - and that is one of the very few blessings to come out of that year.

The onset of the pandemic in 2020 was the catalyst for rapid-fire change in the way we connect as colleagues, friends, partners, and human beings.

But the very technology that had been created to connect us is now in danger of dividing us, six years on.

Now, I’m all for using a card - but it was always going to be easier for my generation to adapt to a so-called contactless banking system.

I had grown up with a family computer in the house. I inherited my mom’s old iPhone 4 when I was 13, and grew accustomed to trouble-shooting problems I had with it by myself. But for most people born in the generations before me - they have automatically been placed at a disadvantage.

Younger generations have the problems of not knowing how to live life without a screen in it, and becoming desensitised to its dangers, but on the other hand, my grandparents require help when sorting out the technology behind their Revenue accounts, insurance, and banking.

When flying recently, my gran relied completely for her digital ticket on my mom’s phone, because she couldn’t understand how to download it herself.

In an attempt to make people more self-sufficient, the digitalisation of every day minutiae has also essentially robbed people of their privacy.

Both my parents and grandparents require help when handling sensitive information over the phone, and I’m sure there are many people like them being taken advantage of simply because they were never taught to keep up with how fast technology is growing.

Modern day society does not tolerate failure or mistakes of any kind. From a very young age, you are expected to know how to behave online, how to keep yourself safe online.

The fact there is no room for trial and error with technology also leads to increasingly convincing scams that you cannot be reimbursed for - I myself was scammed out of £200 last year.

Nobody is immune when Artificial Intelligence (AI) is involved and is adapting itself so quickly, with few laws in place to control what it has access to.

Recently, AI has evolved particularly in the form of videos and photos, and is treated by some as a strange sort of oracle for information.

It can also frequently give you incorrect information, as it pulls from so many sources at a rapid speed.

It’s quickly become a knee jerk reaction for us to automatically consult AI when we probably could figure the answer out ourselves - and in that way, AI is making fools of us.

I’m not saying this to fearmonger - I am saying this because we are being taught to rely on something that has the power to be incredibly destructive, and the majority of people are simply none the wiser.

You deserve to know and understand what you have been told to “just get used to”.

I will never say that technology is not a good thing, but as human beings, we can be overly ambitious and ignore potential dangers when we try to expand something far too quickly, without thinking about the consequences.

Self-service tills mean there is no need to pay to employ a human to work. The same goes for a secretary, a waiter, and writers of all kinds. For some, a conversation with someone at the till may have been the only one they would have all day.

Many see no point in being polite to an AI, so our social skills too are being diminished by this uncontrolled technology boom.

The resolution does not lie in the complete destruction of all modern technology, because technology has the potential to do a lot of good. People with disabilities have many more tools to help themselves thanks to technology, you’re just a video call away from seeing long distance friends, and though a bit disconcerting, it’s possible to watch Mass from home if you are unable to attend in person.

The key going forward is for us as a society to ensure there is always an alternative to a ‘contactless’ method.

Both cash and card should be accepted everywhere, there always needs to be an option to speak to someone in person, and AI needs legislation that prevents it from providing instructions that can cause harm.

We also need to do our bit to distance ourselves from AI. I know it can seem the quicker, easier, and cheaper option, but we need to remember that we actually can solve small problems on our own as human beings.

It’s how we ensure our children grow up safer and smarter, how we protect generations unfamiliar with the dangers of technology, and how we keep things like the arts - and this very paper - alive.

Art - film, television, music, crafting - they kept many of us sane in lockdown. Don’t forget their importance in your life now.