Perspective: Emerging technologiesWe Need to Ban More Emerging Technologies

Published 26 August 2019

With more and more innovation, there is less and less time to reflect on the consequences. To tame this onrushing tide, society needs dams and dikes. Just as has begun to happen with facial recognition, it’s time to consider legal bans and moratoriums on other emerging technologies. These need not be permanent or absolute, but innovation is not an unmitigated good. The more powerful a technology is, the more care it requires to safely operate.

In mid-July, Oakland, California, became the third U.S. city to ban municipal departments from using facial recognition technology. Meanwhile, Congress began hearings on whether and how to regulate it on a national level. In a surprising moment of bipartisan consensus, the only thing lawmakers fought about was how extensive restrictions ought to be.

Kentaro Toyama writes in Slate that this response to a powerful, potentially invasive technology is a sign of how the public and policymakers might respond to future technological developments—especially those using artificial intelligence. Not only does facial recognition allow Facebook to automate people-tagging in photos, but it also supercharges law enforcement’s ability to track down crime suspects. Ethical questions abound. As Georgetown’s Center on Privacy and Technology put it, facial recognition could lead to “a world where, once you set foot outside, the government can track your every move.” And it’s just the beginning.

On the horizon is a flood of digital innovations that could be at least as powerful, wide-ranging and controversial: “deepfake” videos showing people doing things they never did, the “internet of things” constantly monitoring private homes, manipulative virtual reality, self-driving cars overwhelming communities, and more.

“I’m a researcher studying digital technology’s societal impacts, and it’s my job to stay informed about upcoming technologies and to project future outcomes. But, with more and more innovation, there is less and less time to reflect on the consequences. Many of my colleagues feel the same,” Tpyama writes.

“To tame this onrushing tide, society needs dams and dikes. Just as has begun to happen with facial recognition, it’s time to consider legal bans and moratoriums on other emerging technologies. These need not be permanent or absolute, but innovation is not an unmitigated good. The more powerful a technology is, the more care it requires to safely operate.”