New tech and new hazards

With the invention of any new technology, we have the invention of new hazards. The invention of the train is coupled to the invention of the train wreck. The invention of the airplane is coupled with the invention of the plane crash.

These inventions occur at exactly the same time. We focus on the "good" aspect of the invention and tend to ignore the "bad" aspect of an invention.

But the "good" and "bad" attributes of an invention are our construction. The invention is a change in technology, a change in our use of tools. We assign the notions of "good" and "bad" to different uses and use cases. So the invention of e-mail is "good", but the use of e-mail for spam is "bad".

If the inventor of a technology is credited with the goodness that comes from an invention, should he be blamed for the badness that comes from it? For the most part, we cheer the inventor. Thomas Edison is praised for his work on incandescent light and power distribution grids (among other things) but not blamed for electrocutions, power failures, or longer hours in the office (possible with cheap, efficient light sources).

We have a bias towards the inventor, at least when the invention has benefits, and that may be a good thing. We want inventors. We want innovation. Our ability to use tools, starting with the plough, has made life more comfortable for many people, and allowed us to expand the human population on the planet. (Some will consider this a bad thing. I argue that comfort and increased population are good things, if done in a sustainable manner.)

We also have an almost automatic disdain for people who create things that have few or no perceived benefits for society. Robert Morris is remembered as the author of a nasty computer worm program, regardless of his other work. His construct did much damage to computer systems, but more horrifying than that he brought the specters from science fiction into real life. The event destroyed our perception of computers as reliable and safe, and we Do Not Like Having Our Delusions Removed.

Morris and Edison did the same thing: they created new things. The asymmetry is in our perception of their work on society. Edison created things that individuals find useful and we as a society agree are good things. Morris created something that most folks do not find useful and we as a society have agreed is a bad thing. (Malware writers may find his work useful and even inspiring, but they are a small segment of society.)

With any new software, we construct the thing and the hazards of the thing. With e-mail comes unwanted spam e-mail. With the invention of the "Reply All" button we have the hazard of foolishly worded responses sent to more than we intend. The spreadsheet brings us fast calculations and fast incorrect calculations.

If we're lucky, we create software with more good things than bad things.