Technology Is Helping Make History

Posts on this forum often review the newest technologies that impact behavior and mental health. From mindfulness and self-help apps to new brain stimulation techniques, the Psychology Through Technology blog covers cutting edge tech from a psychological point of view. Sometimes I complain about the fiddly annoyances that technology brings with it, such as retrieving lost passwords and proving that “I am not a robot.” However, in today’s world challenged by a global pandemic, climate change, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, these pet peeves seem trivial. Let’s instead look at the bigger picture of how technology is making history and changing our world in unexpected ways.

We already know that technology changes lives. From motorized wheelchairs to speech synthesis, from the Internet to WiFi, technology enhances mobility, data sharing, and communication. Today, it’s the data sharing and communications that are changing our world and making history.

Some have speculated that Twitter played a role in getting the word out during the “Arab Spring” that involved a series of anti-government protests that spread across much of the Arab world in 2010. Social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube. and Twitter were widely used to critique governments and rally protesters from Bahrain to Tunisia. Of course, these platforms were also used to spread negative images about the protesters. Like any tool, social media can be used by all sides in a conflict for messaging or propaganda. Further, it was cyber hackers who shut down government websites in Tunisia. These information wars continue in the recent war in Ukraine.

Ukraine lagged behind much of the world in Internet access, even before the Russian invasion. Online access is being degraded by attacks on infrastructure, however, Ukraine took some early steps to protect its digital systems. To limit access to its networks, Ukraine’s government ordered phone carriers Kyivstar, Vodafone and Lifecell to shut down network access from Russia and Belarus.

The Ukraine government needs to communicate with its people, as millions of refugees are forced from their homes, while other brave citizens defend their county. As the Russian army attacked Ukraine’s TV and communications towers, new connections are being provided by Starlink — a satellite-based internet subsidiary of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket company. A StarLink satellite has been moved to operational orbit and is providing internet service in Ukraine. Ukrainians with StarLink stations can access the internet using small satellite dishes to stay connected and communicate from anywhere. Satellite-based internet is critical during a war in which cellular and fiber-optic cable is being knocked out. This is technology making a critical difference that could help determine military and government outcomes in a war.

What about the Russian people? What information are they allowed to receive?

Millions of people are flocking to platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter for round-the-clock updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Yet these platforms are facing a stream of disinformation and propaganda from the Russian state-backed media outlets. European governments have urged the social media platforms to suspend Russian state-controlled media and oligarchs' personal accounts. Others have called on social media platforms to censor any material that glorifies or justifies violence, war, and genocide.

The ideal is that the internet gives citizens access to the information which will allow them to positively influence their governments and policies. We are far from this ideal, and yet the hope is there that greater access to information and images will ultimately lead to greater openness and democratization. In the meantime, prepare to read continuous reports and rebuttals, challenges to information and sources from all sides.

In our modern world of technology, information is weaponized. In the fog-of-war and a backdrop of potential misinformation, we must remain vigilant as consumers of information. Technology is changing what we see and hear from around the world, and in this context we must be thinking critically about what is real, and what isn’t. We must also remain aware that each of us contributes to this dynamic by the type of information we consume, believe, and share.

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