Sometimes, you’ll hear about a cool new or upcoming technology—only for lots of people to say scary and confusing things about it.
Questioning whether or not something will be good for you is important. But sometimes, the FUD you’re being fed comes from a place of other people’s worries.
So, how can you tell the difference? Here’s what FUD is, and what you can do about it when new technology comes into the fore.
What Does FUD Stand For?
In technology, “FUD” is an acronym that stands for: “fear, uncertainty, and doubt.” It is usually used to refer to people who spread one-sided, exaggerated, or just plain false information and narratives about an emerging technology.
But why would anyone do that?
That depends on the person or organization involved. Sometimes, individuals will spread FUD because playing into that narrative will generate views. On other occasions, FUD is spread due to personal, professional, or financial reasons against wanting a certain technological adoption.
Spelling Out FUD With Recent Examples
Generally, the elements of an argument based on FUD will fall under the classical argument styles of appeal to:
- Reason.
- Personality.
- Emotion.
Fear
Also known as “scare tactics”, fear in FUD plays on the appeal to reason. These arguments will usually sound terrifying, but rely on speculation rather than hard evidence. Or, worse yet, they will provide highly-suspect “evidence.”
For example, in 2020, some said that 5G caused coronavirus and other health issues. Some pointed to maps of areas with 5G that also had high levels of COVID-19. However, cities rolled out 5G first and larger populations had more cases in many areas.
While a number of people believed this theory, it wasn’t supported by scientific evidence and slowed—but didn’t prevent—the adoption of 5G.
Uncertainty
If the fear approach is the appeal to emotion, uncertainty is the appeal to personality. In this approach, FUD dealers will point to big names in a related tech field that don’t support or believe in a technology as evidence that that technology isn’t coming.
An example here might be that Bill Gates isn’t big on Bitcoin. Gates, of course, is entitled to an opinion—just like everyone else. However, some may perceive that because he is influential in finance and technology, cryptocurrency skeptics may find it easier to argue for their point on Bitcoin not having a future.
Doubt
Doubt is usually an appeal to logic. But instead of arguing that something is true, like fear does, doubt suggests that something isn’t true. This situation often plays out in law and politics, but isn’t exclusive to those two areas.
A good go-to example for this comes with climate change misinformation. A lot of climate change deniers don’t actually deny climate change. Instead, they present it as being too complicated for the average person to understand or deal with. Circling back to a technological viewpoint, “merchants of doubt” won’t say something is unsafe—just unclear.
How to Tell Fact From FUD
As we’ve said, not everyone who raises questions or concerns about a new or emerging technology is deliberately dealing in FUD. Learning to recognize the tell-tale signs of FUD narratives can help you avoid harmful narratives, but there are also signs of genuine concerns about new technologies.
The first sign is that genuine concerns often arise from prominent figures within communities based around that technology. A good example of this is virtual reality (VR). Two of the loudest voices telling us to be careful about how we use VR come from Tom Furness and Kent Bye, both of whom have dedicated their careers to the industry.
The second sign is that people who have genuine concerns about a technology are more likely to advocate for caution than for avoidance. Reputable voices within the crypto community, for example, regularly promote guidelines like “if something sounds too good to be true it probably is” and “don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.”
How to Handle FUD
Some people like to tackle FUD narratives head-on. If you’re passionate and knowledgable about the technology in question, this can help to promote accurate narratives. However, there’s a lot to be said for leaving FUD stories alone if you aren’t an expert—because arguing with FUD points can make them even more visible. You don’t want to amplify those voices.
The best thing that most of us can do is learn how to recognize FUD narratives when we see them, and let other people believe what they will.
Overcoming FUD Isn’t Easy, but Can Be Done
Emerging technologies can be scary, and it can be difficult to know what to believe. Beware of ideas coming from all angles, but don’t let people scare you away from things that you think might be interesting or useful.
Ultimately, you need to make your own decision on new technology—based on concrete facts and evidence.
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