Wiring the world for wisdom as well as technology

We live at a time when technology as vastly outstripped our wisdom. Devices and instant access can create the most amazing good in society if we understand the human mind that directs internet communication. To do this, we need to develop more wisdom in individuals who use the technology. I define wisdom as the ability to make the right decision in the situation; a combination of mental perspective and moral judgment.

I was lucky enough to hear Sam Johnson speak a few days ago. He is now referred to as Sam Johnson (activist) by Wikipedia. His use of Facebook and Twitter to raise an army of thousands after the earthquake in Christchurch is now legend in New Zealand and around the world. Gathering a student army, Sam effectively by passed bureaucracy to deliver help through a channel that also created the ability for thousands to offer their personal contribution during the crisis. We all want to be able to contribute; now we can, because we can all be informed and in connected through technology.

The same is true for customers. We have been empowered by the internet! I have used the Facebook pages of two companies to get immediate results. In the past, I would have struggled to find a person to voice my complaint. When I did find a person or department, It would take hours to get through (if ever); ‘press one for this press 2 for that…’sorry to keep you waiting, we do care about your custom’ – yeah right! Now, I simply go to the appropriate Facebook page and place my comment. In both cases, I had my complaints resolved within 24 hours. Unreal.  But wait – there’s more! In one case I received a voucher for free product and in the other, they solved another two niggles that had been annoying us for some time but just weren’t bad enough to complain about!

The internet and social media get results. It seems to me that the huge shift here is the breakdown of that old ‘divide and rule’ power that a few people have always had over the rest of us. Imagine if there had been Facebook during Hitler’s time. Do you think that thousands of ordinary, good people would say nothing if there was an avenue for them to hear that others were also unsure about the way things were going? We are released by the knowledge that others feel and think the way we do – and get courage to act. We are no longer isolated and without perspective. In modern war, we now see the people using what Sam calls ‘the tools in our pocket’ to find perspective and justice. People are still being killed, but is it better that they feel a sense of control over their own destiny and that others around the world hear real accounts from ordinary people – rather than political and media ‘washed’ information? Wasn’t it the direct communication via TV that created the horror we all felt about Vietnam when we saw pictures of real people suffering. That awareness created the popular movement that forced the end of that war eventually. TV is slow now by comparison;  personal devices have enabled masses of individuals immediately - in real time.

However, nothing is all good or bad; whatever can be used for good can also be used for evil; technology has no moral compass. That is our job – to think and to judge right and wrong. We need to develop our human skills as quickly as our technical ones and that is difficult. There are many examples that counter my earlier praise of social media. Young people committing suicide, thousands turning up at parties and trashing the scene, hotels using Facebook pages and review sites to damage their competitors’ trade by communicating false information.  Recently, there has been much debate around security ‘leaks’ around the world and whether this has benefited democracy or damaged security. I don’t think that the answer will be black and white. We are in a grey area here.

What I do know is that we are in a potentially exciting time when the whole concept of democracy is being reviewed by all of us who use technology. Information is no longer the tool of a few, but we all have access.  However, it could be an extremely dangerous time, if we don’t develop our thinking and sense of morality.  We all need to be aware of the power and responsibility that goes hand in hand with crowd access. Shouldn’t developing people’s wisdom be as much a priority as technology?