We used to think that everything on the internet was permanent, that you should never read the comments, and that it was impossible to dry your hands sufficiently with just one paper towel. But as times change, so our thinking evolves. As WIRED celebrates its tenth anniversary, here are ten rules for a more mindful tech existence.
1. The numbers are wrong
Every technological statistic is a lie. The true number of your social media followers, YouTube viewers or online readers: all wrong. Nothing is real and everything is a fraud. Might as well ignore them all.
2. Read the comments
The comments are always terrible. They contain the worst of humanity, on its worst day. But ignoring them hasn’t worked, and now we find ourselves facing actual Nazis again. Read the comments. Stare into the abyss. Know the enemy before it surprises us again.
3. Everything is contagious
As everything turns into software, and every piece of software gains new features, it follows that sooner or later everything will be either the cause or target of a malware attack. All our stuff can get sick now. Take precautions with your digital stuff, just as your would with your own child.
4. Any sufficiently advanced AI is indistinguishable from outsourcing
If that cool AI-based service could be conceivably built with a room full of cheap interns pretending to be machines, it will have been. People are cheap, technology is hard, and treating people as technology is going to be the root of many of the ethical decisions businesses will face this coming decade.
5. Insurance trumps technology
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean it works within the rest of society. For that you need regulation, standards and, most importantly, insurance. Every major new technology, from cheap space travel to self-driving cars, relies not on engineering genius but on insurance companies’ good will.
6. The internet forgets everything eventually
We used to think that the internet never forgot. If an embarrassing image escaped onto the web, it would be there forever. This isn’t true. Old sites disappear. Links rot. Search rankings fade away. Do not rely on the permanence of data (but do not despair if something lingers, either).
7. Just because you call it disruptive doesn’t mean it is
Watch out for technologies that seem to be innovative and disruptive but actually just add an incremental veneer of technology to a declining industry. Self-driving cars aren’t disruptive. Bike lanes and office showers are.
8. Crowdsource your knowledge
The way you learnt how to do pretty much everything – from tying your shoelaces to chopping vegetables – was probably taught by someone who didn't have access to the best technique. Thanks to the internet, you now do. There's a TED Talk about how to correctly dry your hands. It's life-changing.
9. Diversity is a superpower
Every single study on the efficacy of thought, the creative process, the ability to learn, the quality of new ideas or even the longevity of a healthy brain has shown the same thing: diversity is key. Fill yourself with ideas from elsewhere and surround yourself with people from elsewhere; the weirder (to you) the better.
10. Seriously, think of the children
If we met our forebears, even from not too long ago, we'd likely find they held views that we find abhorrent today. Social attitudes change. When you make a decision, ask: will my great-grandchildren look back on this with disgust? This is both an act of moral mindfulness and a great forecasting tool for future trends.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
