The London-based technology website www.vnunet.com has said that the Dalai Lama’s caution on the perils of IT, issued during his visit to Australia in May 2002, is among the 10 most popular stories on its website in 2002.

In a report on January 1, 2003, the website quoted the Dalai Lama as saying, “Science, technology and other material facilities in the developed world lead people to believe that their problems will all disappear. We have seen that this is not the case.”

Following is the full report that www.vnunet.com carried on May 20, 2002.

Dalai Lama warns against perils of IT: Technology not a panacea, says spiritual leader
By Chris Lee in Melbourne
May 20, 2002

Exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, has warned that technology can add to the modern confusion that clouds the universal search for happiness.

Speaking to 18,000 people at Melbourne’s Rod Laver arena, the Dalai Lama did admit that information has an important role in improving human relations.

“Science, technology and other material facilities in the developed world lead people to believe that their problems will all disappear,” he explained. “We have seen that this is not the case.”

But the Dalai Lama said that “intelligence itself is the ultimate source of power”.

Partly thanks to information “human foresight is improving which will lead to a more peaceful world”, he concluded.

The top 10 stories of 2002 on www.vnunet.com were:

  • Pirates crack Windows XP Service Pack 1
  • Samba runs rings around Win2000
  • Microsoft convicted of software piracy
  • Second gamer dies after massive binge
  • W2000 servers cheaper to run than Unix
  • Games binge ends in death
  • Dalai Lama warns against perils of IT
  • Joke website sparks terror alert
  • Burglars target ‘out of office’ emails
  • Online virus generator causes concern.

VNU publishes a wide range of IT and business titles.