I don’t really disagree. I’m not a luddite and I don’t advocate for turning off the internet. Computers are certainly here to stay. It’s an extremely complex issue, and I don’t have all the answers, or even know how to phrase all the questions.
I do think society needs to take a proactive role in deciding how it wants to interact with technology though. There’s a certain laissez faire, almost defeatist attitude that you see from a lot of the tech crowd, that goes something like “technology will do what it does, and it will change our lives how it sees fit, and we are powerless to stop it.” But if that was the case, we couldn’t have gun control laws, or environmental protection laws, or restrictions on nuclear technology. Technology may continue to develop, but it’s still up to us how we choose to use it.
> technology will do what it does, and it will change our lives how it sees fit, and we are powerless to stop it
I too see this attitude from technical people. To be clear: I do not hold it. Like you say, I favor regulation in the vein of gun control, environmental protection, etc. Left alone the tech market will consolidate and rob users of as much power as possible; it is simply the most profitable way of doing business.
To be more specific: I am a proponent of bills like S.2710 - Open App Markets Act (https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/271...), which among other things requires operating systems to "... allow and provide readily accessible means for users of that operating system to ... install third-party apps or app stores through means other than its app store". Though I would also want additional provisions, like not allowing OSes to reserve special privileges for first-party or blessed third-party apps, eg iOS restricts third-party apps from running JIT code, preventing browser competition on the platform.
The problem is that people want short term gain and don't see the long term loss.
Regulation won't happen for technology, the government doesn't really have an incentive.
They are already spying on anyone so they don't need anything else.
Gun control regulations are great to make people more reliant on the government and environmental protection laws are great for charging extra taxes; what would a "less technology" regulation accomplish? Nothing, it would be counterproductive.
The government wants you to ping you every phone cell you go nearby to.
I do think society needs to take a proactive role in deciding how it wants to interact with technology though. There’s a certain laissez faire, almost defeatist attitude that you see from a lot of the tech crowd, that goes something like “technology will do what it does, and it will change our lives how it sees fit, and we are powerless to stop it.” But if that was the case, we couldn’t have gun control laws, or environmental protection laws, or restrictions on nuclear technology. Technology may continue to develop, but it’s still up to us how we choose to use it.