Challenge of the Digital Revolution: Mediating the Two Cultures Divide [Essay]

The introduction of new technologies and tools can no longer be viewed as having zero or neutral influence. Even the most promising innovations have side effects and unintended consequences with social implications. This reality presents the challenge of resolving detrimental results before they become potentially destructive or unsustainable.As a result, dichotomous pro and con divides over technology are often marked by polemical standoffs that are most serious when they obliterate or neglect a realistic understanding of elements requiring remedial correction. Initial objectives for individual empowerment appear to be gradually inverting towards control by digital systems, thereby diminishing human abilities and values. Human-centric and techno-centric divides are not restricted to information technologies.This article advocates for evolving the power of technology for enhancing human capabilities humanistically and not for programming and fixing people and social life.