LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD
What can y2k teach us about technology?
About ourselves?
The y2k phonomenon clearly displays mankind's self-detrimental traits, as well as serving as one of the best examples of why programs absolutely need to be tested.
As for the latter, the potential problems of y2k were only caught due to the fact that the programs didn't work when people tried to actually use them. This sounds obvious, but the two digit date system had already been in use for years. Originally, it was useful to save space and, more importantly, money. However, as storage became cheaper and cheaper, if people had went back and tested the date system more thoroughly, they likely could have saved the billons of dollars it cost to fix those issues on more of a time crunch on more complicated systems.
As for the human element of y2k, it shows just how fragile and tenuous our relationship is with ourselves
The potential danger didn't come from a nature, it was destruction of our own design. All it took was 2 bits of data that we omitted for us to potentially, if not destroy ourselves, then at the very least make things much harder for ourselves. This idea of humanity being estranged from itself is also seen in the panic surrounding y2k. People put hours upon hours into fixing the bug, but their world was far apart from everyone else's, and in their separation their work couldn't quell the public's fear. In turn, when their work was successful, all the important work was entierly dismissed.
If there's anything to take from y2k, its that we, as a single humantiy, need to band together to protect ourselves from ourselves
And, that beta testing is as important as ever.