Global IT outage should trigger reset button on technological change

The recent global IT outage, that brought crucial services to a halt for a period, should be cause to pause and reflect regarding the pace of change. Fortunately, the problems caused were overcome but things could have been far worse. The outage was likened to a COVID style phenomena, at one point, in terms of potential impact. These type of problems in the increasingly automated world are becoming more commonplace. Hospitals were recently hit by a cyber attack. The movement of most activities to online status has been going on apace over recent years. Service providers seem keen to make the move to save money and cut staff. Users like the convenience. There are though many who are not happy with the dash to virtual reality. Some don't want to pay bills online. Many want to still use cash, not plastic cards to buy everything. (Notably, the recent outage stopped some cards working for periods - a boost no doubt for the cash economy.) The rush to automation means it is more and more difficult to speak to a human being. It seems a deliberate policy by some companies to restrict the access. It is surprising how difficult it is now to even find a telephone number for many services. Some providing public services seem content to hide behind higher and higher technological barriers. A lot of the public just want another human being to speak to. All of this can make life more difficult, not easy for people. Anxiety levels are raised by these experiences. Mental health suffers. It is often said that older people are particularly effected by the dash to automate everything. But the growing concerns about where we are heading are an intergenerational thing. The recent technology problems are a warning of further difficulties ahead. If the whole infrastructure on which humanity depends is held in these technologies, what happens if a nuclear style cyber attack manages to seriously damage or disable the whole lot? The lessons need to be learned. This is not to say that online services have not been beneficial or should stop. Just take a breath and reassess. Better to be safe than crash over the cliff driven by the market forces orientated bottom line obsession. People can also make their own individual stands, like using cash, going to human staffed checkouts at supermarkets, using companies that do provide personal service and making opinions known to policy makers. Change is happening, it is really a case of how quickly it moves. Change is not always for the better. People certainly need to take back control, otherwise we are all heading into a very insecure, potentially devastating world.