In the digital age, the truth will also set us free

Many believe that technology emerged in order to make our lives easier, faster, and more assertive. I have a different idea. I see it as an evolving form, one in which we had no alternative. Nothing other than Darwin’s theory of evolution will work. It wasn’t us that created technology, no, it was nature evolving and manifesting itself to enhance our existence. Human evolution (and what is created by us) follows a dynamic that has a certain “life of its own.” In other words, the information seems to have an “intention.”

According to what American psychologist James Mark Baldwin calls the Baldwin Effect in his book, A New Factor in Evolution, “if animals enter a new environment – or their old environment changed rapidly – those who could respond flexibly by learning new behaviors or adapting ontogenetically would be preserved in a natural way.” Technology is nothing more than the sum of many older understandings put together to generate new knowledge.

One example, GPS, measures how long the signals take to travel to a location in question from 4 or more satellites. Knowing these times and the positions of the satellites, the system can calculate the exact coordinates of the location. To do this, GPS combines technology that already exists such as satellites, computer chips, radio receptors, transmitters, and atomic clocks, that is to say, old knowledge helping to make new technology. Yet the crucial question is: “Where will all of this take us then?”

In this moment of evolution that we are living, it seems that we find ourselves in the middle of a “perfect chaos.” Children staying in front of cell phones excessively, virtual games, virtual crimes, virtual relationships, and all of the more heinous human instincts being given a life in this new world of technology.

A mix of good things and bad things at the same time. But many bad things! As we are in the middle of an evolutionary process, or maybe, a change, this creates discomfort, in the same way that if, all of a sudden, two new arms started growing out of our bodies.

In the beginning it would get in our way, cause us pain, and we would have great difficulty adapting, yet, afterwards, with four arms and the consciousness that we went through an extraordinary change, we could, for example, do twice what we could before.

The more aware we are of this transition, the easier the adaptation will be and the comprehension of the new facts that will appear. When in the old world it was easy to commit crimes and get away with it, from here on out, it will become more and more difficult for criminals.

Do not be deceived: we are still at the beginning of the age of social networks. The biggest symptom of this is that human mediocrity continues clumsily and criminally as fake profiles, haters, spams, fake news, fake photos, racism, homophobia, xenophobia. This is because it’s still difficult to be identified. But with every day that passes, this is changing.

We are beginning to adjust, gradually, and this process is evolutionary. In a few years, I believe that to lie, commit crimes, and play tricks will become more and more difficult. To such an extent that we become accustomed to or close to the truth.

Then, as we said before, the saying that the truth will set us free will become more true, and we will become more humane and supportive. And humanity will take the real step forward that this technology is giving us.