What does being on the verge entail of ?
An insight into how evolving technologies have transformed our beliefs and thoughts

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By: Manahil Waqas

 

We hold the verge in our hands. The smartphone, once predicted to be a revolutionary concept that made communication across miles possible, is now the primary boundary controlling the diktats of past and future democracy. It’s a physical object, sure, but its presence marks a precarious transition: from a public sphere rooted in shared facts to an untamed landscape of algorithmic tribalism. For me, “to be on the verge” means to witness the tension between applications as a means to connect people and as an architect of polarization.

Growing up in a country where people’s political preferences are fostered through sensationalized talk shows and one-sided Twitter dialogue, polarization has always been around. Though the realization only hit in 2023, when Twitter was banned and Wi-Fi connections were often disrupted when protests would take place-in order to delude the public into believing that society is stable on all fronts-to make them believe that innocent civilians are not being killed, abducted, or kidnapped. I witness the fear from those times ingrained in people to this day, when my parents remind my aunt consistently that she should not be expressive about her political views on social media. This fear is global - a study conducted by Oxford University, along with the Technical University of Munich, reported that 65% of people expect to receive abusive criticism when expressing their views on online platforms.

The presence of such extreme attitudes could highlight that people are not aware of what their true beliefs are. As voiced by Yuval Noah Harari, in his book 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, he asserts that technology does not face the same ambiguities as us. Hence, we simply follow in its footsteps, which could be the reason as to why Author Nathan Schnider states that outrage and division present on social media garner more of our attention, as that is what is promoted by the algorithms. Algorithms that produce the same results all over the world.

However, these results are not always in touch with the moral realities they are designed for, as expressed by Virginia Dignum in her book, ‘AI Paradox’,. Thus, showcasing that humans are still left with some power that can overpower the turmoil technology has caused in their world. This power is their choice.

American historian Timothy Snyder believes that history reduces our magnitude of shock when reacting to current events, as events synonymous to those took place in the past as well. In 1999’s Pakistan, the military took over the headquarters of the central news channel to allow for the new military dictatorship to come about in peace. While a similar system is in place today, the dictatorship now operates in the shadow of a self-proclaimed democratic government. Citizens are aware of this as they have seen, heard, and read about it enough.

 

Yet, they remain unresponsive. Thus, technology is no longer responsible, as it is being allowed to pave the way. Being on the verge is demanding, but if utilized, such feelings can evolve into catalysts for needed change.