War Against Technology

Technology has been a blessing to virtually anyone who had contact with it. Technology has also contributed to the quality of life we have. We live in times when technology is generally easily accessible, but there is still a lot of work to be done to spread new innovative technologies into an average Joe’s household. That is why many countries signed a World Trade Organization agreement which prohibits taxing of many new technology products.

While it sounds reasonable, it seems that some organizations/countries seem not to care very much about it. In this case I am talking about the European Union. It violated this agreement by taxing products including LCD monitors, cables, and satellite boxes, instead of supporting them. The question is, does European Union realize that it is impairing the continued technological development?

There are also other examples of many officials do not fully appreciating our technological advances. For example, last year the Chicago Transit Authority removed the ads for the Grand Theft Auto IV game. Grand Theft Auto is a game which involves driving and shooting in an action-arcade environment which is based on action movies. In a sense it is like an interactive movie, as it has an interesting plot and the player can make many decisions. Why would the CTA remove the ads?

I think that fear of the unknown, and having double standards is the only way it can be explained. CTA would not remove indecent posters which contain nudity and disturbing images, but it is quick to react to technologically advanced entertainment. Once people were afraid of movies, right now they are afraid of games. I hope that the war against technology will not continue for long, and that it will be easier for average consumers to have access to the newest gadgets and devices.