Government's Involvement in Technology

Brandon Russell

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June 7, 2011Government's Involvement in Technology

A technological revolution has been taking place in our world since the discovery of electricity. We are all products of this rapid change by the advent of computers, cellphones, internet, and television. Information can now be sent at lighting speeds across the globe which has caused new advances in medicine, technology, science and everything in our walk of life. However, the government hasn't been as quick to catch up to these technological advances and it has caused the government to lose standing in it's security and effieceny of it's own documents. The world, which used to be run on paper documents has now switched to a electronic format due to convenience, archival purposes, and security. The government has, as of late, used this technology in a positive light and allowed everyday citizens to utilize these services to expedite their own goals. However, what are the consequences of these actions for placing things in a open format on a device? Has the government done the right thing by trying to make everything digital? These things were all major concerns, but technology, at this time, had proved itself more useful than harmful. However, a dark side of this technology came to light due to the unveiling of a service known as "Wiki Leaks" in the past few years. "Wiki leaks" is a non-profit organization which takes classified information from electronic sources and allows anonymous users to post it on their website. Users are encouraged to post files to Wikileaks to allow transparency in the government. Technology has caused the government to become more efficient, however the effects of this could be devastating to national security. Technology has caused positive and negative effects with government business and procedures.

The government has used technology to speed up the filing of forms and documents. Many of the fee's and papers can now be efiled. This includes, but not limited to, taxes, immigration documents, military benefits and a slew of other government programs. Veterans are now able to submit their documents to receive healthcare, Americans are allowed to submit their income taxes online or allow other businesses online to take care of them. Immigrants are allowed to pay and file for immigration documents online, and the military is able to backup files to a server which is easily accessible. Another one of the ways that the government has utilized technology is by using cloud computing. Cloud computing in this sense is being used to allow the government to all utilize the same technology amongst each other. A site has recently launched known as Apps.gov that allows any government employee access to software that would take a long time for everyone to be able to use. Utilizing this, everyone can have the same updated software at the same time. Another way that the government is planning to positively use technology is by lowering health care cost by investing in electronic information technology systems. These systems would allow universal electronic medical records that would greatly reduce the cost of government spending and private health care spending. Technology would also be used in the government to modernize Public Safety Networks to allow first responders and emergency response systems to be on the same page. The governments idea of technology is that it should connect and simplify the process of many tasks.

Although the government has done well with utilizing technology, it was not until Wiki leaks was founded by Julian Assange that the government began to see the dark side of this new technology. Assange was born in Townsville, Queensland in 1971. His parents ran a major theater company and had moved at least thirty times before he was fourteen. In his spare time, Assange would hack computers and he was charged with more than thirty counts of hacking and other computer crimes. When Assange grew up, he attended the University of Melbourne but dropped out due to personal ideals against the Pentagons Defense Advanced research