Tech can still do good

by Charles Naut

The end of the decade is only a few days away and if you are someone who works in the tech industry you are probably exhausted from the torrent of negative news about technology companies. There was Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal, Google's executive sexual assault allegations, and Amazon's worker abuse to name a few. The New York Times recently published an article titled The Decade Tech Lost Its Way. There has been no shortage of news on how tech has failed us.

I had a recent experience that reminded me that tech can still bee a positive force in our lives. My mother's boss just got her a Peloton and taking a live class for the first time made me feel connected simultaneously to over a thousand people from all over.

I've been spending the week between Christmas in New Years in my old childhood bedroom. My desk has been replaced by the Peloton bike and taking classes has become a bit addicting for the whole family. I've seen my mom have a recent excitement for working out that I've never seen from her before. She is part of this Peloton Facebook group where others share their inspirational stories and that is encouraging her even more. My cousin came from Manhattan to Brooklyn so he could try it out. The barrier to us working out is so low now. It has also helped me be more productive. I've been typically waking up and spending an hour in bed reading, watching video, and on social media. The last few days I have woken up and pretty quickly gotten out of bed to catch the next live Peloton class. There is no doubt that the introduction of this piece of tech into the house has been a positive for the family and hundreds of thousands of other families.

Lately it's been too easy to pile on to the negative narrative. But technology will continue to shape society and whether it does it for the better or for the worst is up to us. We must continue keeping ourselves accountable and realize we have the capacity to do better.  This has been a small but important reminder that I needed before the start of the next decade.