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This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. Here is a collection past columns.

Technology won.

One proof of this victory is that it is difficult even to define what “technology” is. Technology is more like a fresh coat of paint on everything, rather than an identifiable set of products or industries. Healthcare is technology. Entertainment is technology. Schools are technology. Money is technology. Transportation is technology. We live with technology.

Technology is also at a threshold stage where the promise of what might happen in the future coexists with the complex reality of what is happening now.

We grapple with the pros and cons of the still relatively recent popularity of smartphones in the pockets of billions, online shopping, and social media megaphones that help us both build community and tear us apart. Many people are jumping into a future where computers are increasingly available. predicting cancer, beam internet connections from space, control weapons and blur the line between real and virtual.

“Oh, what now?!” the stage of technology “what next?!” phase. It is both exciting and disturbing.

It’s confusing to know how to shape the technology that exists today to best serve human needs, and also to do the same for an imaginary future that may never come. Package deliveries by drone and driverless cars were among the technologies that insiders predicted would be relatively common by now. (Both are still far from that.) It is reasonable to expect that some of today’s promised innovations will take some time, if any, to become mainstream.

What’s most unusual about this ‘what’s next’ moment in tech is that it happens in the relatively open air, watched or involved by billions of people and power brokers.

Steve Jobs and Apple envisioned the first modern smartphone mostly in secret – but people were gossiping about it long before the iPhone was released in 2007. Apple and a zillion more companies testing self-driving cars on public roads, and regulators and the public are looking over their shoulders.

This is an example of what happens when it comes to technology. no longer limited to shiny gadgets or pixels on one screen. When technology touches everything, it doesn’t sneak up on us. Perhaps technology once sounded like something magical tech elves had invented in their workshop and handed over for people to adore. There is no more. Technology is normal, not magic. And – like everything in the world – it can be good and bad.

This can be disappointing at times, but it’s also healthy. We’ve all become a little more knowledgeable about the nuanced effects of technology in our lives. Technology is neither the cause nor the solution to all of life’s problems. (Yes, the “Simpsons” cows, I see you.)

Uber and similar ride-on-demand services are useful for both travelers and those who want a flexible job. These services also helped blocked roads despite early promises to ease trafficand it may have helped popularize a dangerous way of working. Technology in our homes has helped us deal with work, school and social life over the past few years. And yet it’s so hard run a stupid printer.

Technology did not cause the coronavirus pandemic, did not invent vaccines and distribute them to billions of people. Social media has contributed to social divides in the US, but just one of the forces of polarization. Technology is probably not a magic answer to climate change or the rising rates of violence in parts of the US. help us find the community we need, but it can’t do the hard work of maintaining those connections.

I hope we are not skeptical but cynical about the powers of technology. We may believe that technology can help, and we may also bear in mind that it can sometimes harm. And sometimes technology doesn’t matter. Technology alone does not change the world. We do.

Your technology wishes for 2022

This week I wrote about my enthusiasm. more technology that can give us microdoses of human empathy and connection. I asked which technology you would like the most in 2022 and beyond. Ten Tech readers are smart! Here are some of your answers. (Lightly edited.)

Stephen Young in New Orleans:

I would pay to use an app that connects me IRL with people who share similar interests. It would be nice to open an app and see a heatmap showing the presence of people who share my interests (and want to connect) and are in public places.

(Editor’s note: You can try To meet for a similar experience, though not exactly like that.)

Mo in Vancouver, British Columbia:

I want technology that will inspire me to make time for non-tech activities that I used to love but have moved away from. Things like painting for fun and dancing around.

Jack Schaller in Philadelphia:

Processing, storing, referencing, etc. the fire hose we all receive. I want better “intelligence” built into our email client engines to intuitively sort into boxes for

Gerald G. Stiebel in Santa Fe, NM:

I would love to see technology that helps with the constant problems we have with our technology. Let us know why Xfinity went off on both of our TVs at the same time. Why is my Sony headset beeping and stopping my music or video until I reset it? Why do my apps suddenly change the way they work when there is an update that “improves” my service?

If there was a place for all this information to appear along with repair suggestions or restoring my apps and related materials, that would take away a lot of pressure from our lives, especially if we’re over 30.

Andrew in Toronto:

We all miss traveling again. Getting to know new places, meeting others and being intertwined with different cultures. IMMORTALITY in the metastore, but in the real world.

Where is the technology that can listen to what I want, understand where I am, and interpret my responses to make suggestions about things to do, places to go, and experiences that meet my need for adventure, romance, relaxation, and exploration? What algorithm is there to find things that will fuel happiness and encourage me to explore a city or neighborhood?

Judy S.:

It took me two seconds to find this technology I wanted to have: an automatic feeding machine that would take one’s old (really old) music cassettes/cassettes/CDs and transfer/convert their contents to a gigantic size [data file] It’s worth the MP3.

Aleksi V., Helsinki, Finland:

The technology I most want to see in 2022 is anything that gives us real and meaningful progress in the climate crisis. I believe there are many organizations working on projects to solve this, but I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve heard anything really influential in this area. It would be nice to see something that can give me hope again for our future.

Before you go …

• Limiting a complex year for Amazon and its hourly workers: My colleague Karen Weise an agreement has been reached this would give company employees more flexibility to organize unions in their premises.

• “Victims are really on their own.” Greg Bensinger of The New York Times’ Opinion section states that Uber’s policies deter customer service representatives from recommending that passengers and drivers call the police about allegations of sexual assault or other crimes. “Police reports can erode Uber’s carefully crafted safety image and expose the company to more lawsuits and liability,” Greg writes in his column.

• Some people get bored of Alexa toys quickly: Amazon sells a lot of voice-controlled smart speakers and other gadgets around the holidays. However, in some years, Bloomberg Businessweek a quarter of these new Alexa device owners stop using them within a few weeks. (Subscription may be required.)

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My favorite version of “My Favorite Things”* This TikTok duet from gospel singer Robyn McGhee.

*(Except Julie Andrews)

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