Was there a time when technology had an upper limit? Or at least when it felt like it did? I remember the days of DOS commands and 9600 baud modems, back when computer viruses were a rumor and the Internet was a collection of message boards. A long time ago, wasn't it? I find myself becoming more and more dependent upon my computer to communicate with the outside world. I'm typing these words on my laptop, while I sit in my room listening to music through my computer speakers, and talking about business with one of my friends over AOL Instant Messenger. Believe me, this isn't a complaint. I love the technology that lets me keep in touch with people whenever I need to. But it's starting to worry me all the same.
The more advanced computers, cellular phones and broadband connections become, the less I actually know about them and their capabilities. Do you know what the fastest computer on the market is? I don't have a clue. What about the fastest in existence, or the fastest that can be built? I have no idea. The smallest? Again, no idea. I think I remember reading about computers small enough to be implanted in the brain without any problem, but I could be wrong. So what about the smallest cellular phone? The smallest camera? The narrowest flat-screen monitor or television set?
I don't know.
I don't know what we can do these days, how fast or small or powerful our gadgets can be, and because I am a paranoid, I worry about this. We have amazingly complex and precise tools these days. We can perform microscopic surgeries. We can paint with brushes that measure one-fiftieth of a hair's width. Where is all of this going? Will there come a day when a computer can enter my body when I get a flu shot? Will I eventually be able to accidentally ingest a camera? Or inhale an ambient microphone? And when that day comes, how long will it be before the general public knows about it? A year? Two years? Am I a bad citizen for being suspicious of my government?
Honestly. Ask yourself: If the government had a way to monitor you by placing a camera or microphone on your person without you ever seeing it or being aware of it, and they deemed you a subversive, do you think they might go ahead and install one? The laws currently allow for it.
I'm not saying this WILL ever happen, but I want to know when it becomes a possibility, either from the people running the country, or anyone else. Technology is volatile stuff. We'd do well to keep an eye on it.
I've no doubt it's keeping an eye on us.
Write to Jonathan at tenement_cellar@msn.com
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