The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) takes its time to nominate the initiatives that curbed progress, and it describes the ludditious ideas in an annual report.
ITIF points out that technological innovation is essential for progress. This means that by being up-to-date with, well, pretty much everything, humans get access to improved health, a stable and clean environment, better living standards, overwhelming access to information and more.
Despite these obvious advantages, some people allow an array of economic and ideological reasons to block the novel approaches to old problems. These are called "Luddites," after the infamous historical character Ned Ludd. He was the leader of an English group of people who, at the beginning of the 19th century, set out to destroy mechanized looms.
If Ludd's acolytes wielded sledgehammers in their anger, today's Luddites use bad ideas and policies as their destructive weapons to prevent technological innovations from succeeding. The aim of ITIF's annual Luddite award is to highlight the worst of these bad ideas that individuals or organizations promoted, out of fear, ignorance or ill will. We encourage you to vote for whichever you deem most despicable on ITIF's survey.
Here they are, in random order.
1. Alarmists Tout An Artificial Intelligence Apocalypse.
There are numerous sci-fi books and movies that tackle the theme of artificial intelligence and its possible dire consequences for humankind. Thanks to the "Terminator" franchise, the public fears every smart device, thinking it might evolve into the next Skynet.
In reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning may lead to incalculable benefits to society. Alongside Google's search algorithms there are autonomous driving technologies and personal assistants for mobile devices, such as Cortana, Siri or Google Now. Apps such as Watson vastly improve the precision of medical diagnostics, and this is only the beginning.
2. Advocates Seek A Ban On "Killer Robots."
During the last years, public reluctance surged towards the development of offensive autonomous weapons, aka "killer robots."
Although it is an obvious plus for the military to have weaponized robots instead of human combatants, the moral debate over the issue is intense. One reason to continue funding robotics is that the technology could be very handy in a myriad of civilian fields. It is actually rather common to see military technologies making their way into civilian life - the Internet comes to mind, which was based on a project of the U.S. Department of Defense called ARPANET.
For example, it is likely that a robot would behave better than most humans in heavy work conditions (think mines) or emergency situations. Even hospitals could benefit from tireless androids running around and doing simple, repetitive chores.
3. States Limit Automatic License Plate Readers.
Automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology increased the efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement in many states, according to officials. However, civil liberties groups posed the question of whether ALPR technology is a "surveillance technology" or not. Maryland, for example, passed a series of laws that balances access controls and data security with the benefits of using ALPR technology. This means that states can benefit from it, if the legislation on the matter is well-thought and put into practice.
4. Europe, China And Others Choose Taxi Drivers Over Car-sharing Passengers.
Companies such as Lyft and Uber are a legitimate threat to cab businesses all around the world. They are cheaper, more convenient and user-vetted, which means that more and more people choose them over traditional taxi services.
Following pressure from traditional taxi syndicates, Germany, France and China banned the car-sharing services, thus limiting the sharing economy models that gain lift worldwide.
5. The Paper Industry Opposes E-labeling.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiated a rulemaking process that aims to see drug safety disclaimers are made available electronically rather than in paper form. The procedure was blocked by a number of associations, such as the American Forest and Paper Association, Consumers for Paper Options and the Pharmaceutical Printed Literature Association.
Cost cuts, reduced environmental impact and ease of access were not seen as convincing arguments by the associations, which continued to boycott and eventually block the rulemaking procedure.
6. California's Governor Vetoes RFID In Driver's Licenses.
Jerry Brown, Governor of California, invoked privacy concerns when he vetoed a bill allowing drivers from his state to voluntarily install a driver's license with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags.
The tags are nothing more than sensors which use electromagnetic radiation to auto-identify objects.
The installed sensors would have made the border crossings between California and Mexico much faster for those in line with the law. Privacy advocates attacked the bill, claiming that it makes identity theft easy, and that it contributes to racial profiling and tracking of individuals.
The counter-argument is that the police officers do not require fancy hi-tech means to abuse citizens, as news headlines showed time and time again.
7. Wyoming Outlaws Citizen Science.
Citizen scientists are those members of the society who offer their time and skills to collect and analyze data for the government.
Following a water pollution scandal, Wyoming passed a number of laws limiting the access of individuals who want to collect environmentally sensitive data. For example, if you were to observe an illegal hazardous waste disposal, you could not legally collect evidence to demonstrate the problem to the public authority.
8. The Federal Communications Commission Limits Broadband Innovation.
Many neo-Luddite organizations put pressure on the communications regulator to defend what they call "net neutrality," an ambiguous concept that claims all Internet packages should get the same treatment. What this generates is an entrenched attitude towards innovation in data networks.
The FCC clarified its stance on broadband and net neutrality earlier this year.
9. The Center For Food Safety Fights Genetically Improved Food.
As the world's population increases, biotechnology is becoming one of the resources that we have to ensure we have the necessary food, feed and fiber for us and the following generations.
After more than a decade of studying the health and dietary implications, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration green-lighted the sale of fast-growing AquAdvantage genetically modified (GM) salmon. The decision was met with strong opposition from the Center for Food Safety, an organization packed with lawyers who do all in their power to stop all genetically modified food.
We guess that the fact that Earth has fewer and fewer resources and more and more people to feed is not enough reason for anti-GM activists to stop their technology-hindering actions.
10. Ohio And Others Ban Red Light Cameras.
Red light cameras help the police call you out when you cross an intersection illegally. In spite of the fact that red light cameras discourage reckless drivers and thus diminish the number of fatalities, the number of red light cameras have been decreasing since 2012.
This year, Ohio practically rendered red light cameras useless by requiring an officer to be present at the location of the camera. What this means is that it is illegal for the police to give you a ticket based solely on the camera's input.
The Big Brother scare might have convinced the Ohio legislators, but we are more scared of careless drivers running a red light.
If you are curious about the detailed stories, check out the ITIF's report [PDF].
