F.A. Hayek and Scary Technology Policing at U. Chicago
5:55 pm in Education, News by Rachel Davison
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“We are probably only at the threshold of an age in which the technological possibilities of mind control are likely to grow rapidly and what may appear at first as innocuous or beneficial powers over the personality of the individual will be at the disposal of government. The greatest threats to human freedom probably still lie in the future.”
Friedrich A. Hayek
As much as I love technology I also see the terrible potential for misuse.
Yesterday’s story from the University of Chicago (Hayek’s former employer) is just one example:
“A student at the University of Chicago says an innocent status update on Facebook led to an investigation by university police.
Joseph Dozier, a third-year political-science and classics student, posted a comment on his Facebook page on December 6 saying “Dreamt that I assassinated John Mearsheimer for a secret Israeli organization—there was a hidden closet with Nazi paraphanelia [sic]. Haha! 
” Mr. Mearsheimer, who has been one of Mr. Dozier’s instructors, is a professor of political science at the University of Chicago…”
“Mr. Dozier says a police officer called to question him about the post the next day and said he would need to remove the post or it would be reported to Mr. Mearsheimer. The student contacted the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a nonprofit group that focuses on free-speech issues, which told the news media about the case on Wednesday and has posted documents online, including a screenshot of Mr. Dozier’s status update and a rough transcript of the officer’s call based on Mr. Dozier’s notes about the case.” <more>
It is a scary huxley-orwellian future if we cannot cultivate a society that values liberty over safety. (HT: Ben Franklin)
If you would like to read more on whether technology will foster or suppress a free society I highly recommend looking to the Mont Pelerin Society 2008 Hayek Essay Contest:
In The Constitution of Liberty Hayek says that “we are probably only at the threshold of an age in which the technological possibilities of mind control are likely to grow rapidly and what may appear at first as innocuous or beneficial powers over the personality of the individual will be at the disposal of government. The greatest threats to human freedom probably still lie in the future.”
Has Hayek’s gloomy warning been borne out by events, or has technology become more a force for liberating people from government?
You can find copies of the winning essays here.
