Simultaneously, many in the health field believe that cutting-edge medical research poses threats not simply to health but to the safety and existence of humanity. The documentary interviews several renowned technology industry experts who warn of technology’s dangerous potential for society.
Kenzie Lyons is a patient who has undergone trial treatments for several complex health issues. Instead of getting better, her health deteriorated. “I was harmed by medical technology,” Lyons says.
The experts in the documentary claim that the pharmaceutical and biotech industries are not always helping outcomes in patients’ health and warn that technology should not be embraced without understanding its implications. They say that whether in digital, biotechnology, or surveillance technology, our society must learn to navigate these advancements without relinquishing our humanity.
Health experts cite that advances in technology are usually considered a good thing. When most people hear the term “progress,” they don’t think about progressing in the wrong direction. However, the film notes that laws and ethics have not kept up with the speed of technology development. With advancement comes decisions on how and if new technology should be applied to the real world.
The EpochTV film discusses transhumanism, citing that this belief seeks to use technology to recreate human beings. Instead of using technology and science to cure disease, transhumanists aim to make functioning people better than healthy, almost superhuman. Reshaping human nature and human life is something only an elite few with monetary abilities can pursue, which puts the elite in control and makes the rest of the world their subjects. The film argues that this is dehumanizing and could create human rights abuses.
The documentary addresses the issue of artificial intelligence, citing censorship and how algorithms and AI are as biased as the information fed to them. It examines society’s reliance on technology and how the online world can track and control our data, speech, and thoughts. If people get their news and information from a newsfeed on social media, then social media has complete control over the news and narratives. During the pandemic, Twitter controlled and dictated what constituted fact, fake news, and even science.
The film discusses how freedom of speech and information is primarily controlled by Big Tech and, along with that, our data and identities. The experts argue that transparency, accountability, and freedom of debate are crucial to a free society that offers everyone opportunity and fosters growth.
The documentary discusses how conflicts of interest in the medical industry threaten public health. The featured experts believe the government agencies in charge of public health have failed in their mission to protect and enhance public health, citing overmedicating, unethical trial treatments, and approval of products that later prove to be harmful. The film explains how research intended to help humanity eventually becomes commercialized and turned into products. Marketing those products is driven by profit rather than ethics.
Regulatory capture refers to how public health regulatory agencies become financially driven to act in the interest of the corporations and industries they are supposed to regulate. The film shows how corporations rush products to market with regulatory agencies’ full backing and approval despite massive conflicts of interest. For example, most of the FDA’s funding comes from the pharmaceutical companies it is supposed to regulate. This is mainly through user fees, which companies can pay to expedite the FDA approval process for their products. Those fees make up more than half of the FDA’s working budget. So, the film asks, how can the FDA regulate an industry it relies on?
The EpochTV documentary argues that because some seek money and power over doing good, there need to be safeguards to protect health and humanity. Those featured in the video say that there are consequences to everything they build, and it’s essential to think about potential risks and benefits and anticipate what can go wrong. This doesn’t require being anti-technology but pro-safety, pro-ethics, and cautious. Simply because something can be done doesn’t mean it should, and just because technology is more advanced doesn’t mean it helps people. According to Alethea Wieland, a biotechnology regulatory expert, biotechnology is “the biggest scam of all time, and we’re living in it.”
