The Impact of Technology: Exploring the Relative Merits
It is necessary to question the postulates now and then. It is a practical way to explore your honest beliefs and to consider different perspectives on some issues in life.
What helps is that we judge things continuously. It is an instinct in humans, which has helped us survive and evolve over the years. But there is a limitation to this instinct.
We stop the judgment and start building trust at some point, whether it is in a person, object, or place. When we trust something, we stop noticing its flaws and drawbacks. Even sometimes intentionally ignore it.
Also, we are all influenced by the community and the surrounding environment. These circumstances do affect our behaviors and beliefs involuntarily. It is hard to break the cycle when everyone believes in the same thing, even if it is wrong.
Thus, blind trust can be harmful and become more dangerous if it dominates a large group of people.
Throughout the ages, the effect of technology has been one of the most controversial topics ever.
Some people see technology as the solution to most of our world’s problems and the key to a better life. It is true indeed, without technology we would not be here today with all this luxury around us and between our hands.
Regardless, saving millions of lives thanks to the technological developments in different fields. It is the purpose of technology to change human life for the better.
So, does it mean applying modern technology is always the best solution to every real-life problem?
Only 50 years ago, computers were non-consumer goods due to their cost and complexity.
Over the past few decades, digital technology has taken center stage in many industries. It made digital technology see a remarkable transformation, which made it accessible to the public.
“Too much of anything is the beginning of a mess” — Dorothy Draper
Today it is simple for anyone to use a mobile device and lose the sense of time unproductively. However, knowledge access and education are easy, and communication is instant between two individuals regardless of their distance apart.
Most of the modern technology benefits are clear, but a few are unnoticeable. Some benefits of modern technology are in
Education
Digital technology has entirely changed the idea of education. It shifted the classical image of learning from being confined to an educational institution to making education public without any conditions.
Learning new skills or obtaining an advanced degree has become convenient thanks to the internet and the availability of various online learning platforms.
Even traditional education has improved with technology. By applying the concept of digital classrooms and the new interactive teaching methods. It is now convenient and time efficient for students to gain the most from their learning time.
Time Efficiency
Thanks to technology, we can accomplish more within a day.
Starting from simple day planner applications and reminders to cloud computing.
Search engines can sort millions of information in milliseconds for the best result. RSS and email newsletters can scrape many websites and give you news based on your interests. Every new technology applying the automation concept saves time.
Everyday life is now extra productive. It is possible to place an order and have it ready before reaching the restaurant, and no need to wave for a taxi, just reserve one with a few clicks on your phone. All of these small services save a long time over the day.
Employment
Unlike what is circulating nowadays, technology has created many job opportunities during its expansion.
It started new occupations, from the financial-agricultural revolution to the digital revolution. Various engineering jobs, the Data Science field, and digital marketing did not exist ten years ago. But now, it is one of the best career choices and one of the core departments in any company.
Health
The healthcare industry has the most positive impact from the technological transformation.
Saving countless lives and improving the quality of individual lives is the highest form of technological advancement.
Today, artificial intelligence can identify and predict many abnormal behaviors based on heart rhythms and CT scans. The results are accurate in most cases and were able to save many lives.
During the pandemic, remote consultation was the most convenient method for interaction between doctors and patients. People did not trust this method at the begging, but now it is the preferred practice for many of us.
Communication
As social creatures, communication is a part of our nature. As a result, our ways of communicating have evolved throughout the centuries. Besides, the telecommunication revolution has contributed to entirely changing the concept of communication.
We have become capable to sent long-range signals and messages, and now we can transfer a high-resolution live picture from one device to any place in the world.
Entertainment
The entertainment industry is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.
Now, entertainment service providers can offer personalized experiences to each user.
With the integration of artificial intelligence in almost every video streaming platform, you can find a library of digital media recommendations based on your preferences.
Therefore, the benefits of modern technology are limitless, and at first glimpse, it appears that this is beneficial for humanity without any flaws.
But what about the downsides? Is it worth it to make us reconsider our choices in technology? Or be more careful?
“We have come to assume that efficiency and convenience are always good…this is a naive approach” — Tom Chatfield
So, what are the disadvantages of technology?
Most importantly, are we putting too much trust in technology?
One could argue that some of the technological disadvantages are
Laziness
It is a fact that technology has made us lazy. Technology can often provide a more efficient way to accomplish tasks with less energy.
Some people believe it makes us more productive and allow us to focus on other tasks.
But who can make the decision? Is a task worth your time if you can make it automated?
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), students who have access to computers in schools did not get better results than the students who did not. Also, OECD claimed that computers distract children, and make them lazy thinkers.
Another example of our mental laziness is the impact of technology on our decision-making process.
We reached the point where it is not necessary to make a decision. Modern technology is designed to monitor your actions and anticipate your future interests and make a decision instead of you.
Privacy
It is easy to realize the inverse relationship between privacy and technology. The more you rely on technology, the more you lose your privacy.
It is due to the dependence of modern technology on data collection and analysis.
Imagine someone who lives in a smart home. It is the representation of the absence of privacy.
Why do we need every device to be smart? By saying that, it means it will become a data collector, behavior predictor, and remote control.
It is important to note that there is no chance the collected data are 100% secured. This personal information and confidential data are stored on servers worldwide and potentially used for personalized advertising or shared with third parties.
Losing privacy by using more tech to make life easier is not worth it.
Switching off the light by the phone or connecting the heating system to an app is ridiculous. If a person is capable of performing a task but decides not to, it is just laziness.
Profiling and Surveillance
Based on the definition in the Cambridge dictionary, profiling is the activity of collecting information about someone, especially a criminal, to describe them.
In information science, profiling is the process of construction and application of user profiles generated by computerized data analysis.
Generally, this data is used for development and research purposes, but sometimes it could be misused as a malicious tool with serious consequences.
Many people do not realize the idea of profiling in the digital world. They see it as an exaggeration when risks are discussed.
But it is a proven practice in both the government and the private sector that we should be more aware of.
Imagine linking everything you do to a social credit system, including any infringement or violation. Whether you pay the bills on time, how much you follow the rules, and how you spend your time on the internet.
Then, this credit score will be considered to control your civil rights and prevent you from accessing government/non-government services.
It is already happening in real life in certain countries, and it seems to be an attractive concept for other governments.
Who imagined that we already live in a world that looks like a dystopian fantasy novel?
“Big Brother is Watching You.” ― George Orwell, 1984
Eventually, who wants to live in a place where every action is processed and categorized? Only technology will make this possible.
In my opinion, counting more on tech to get things done or sharing every personal detail on the internet is a step forward to this dictatorship.
Unemployment
Today, technology is taking many jobs away in a disturbing manner.
Many jobs and businesses do not require human involvement anymore.
Jobs like cashiers, customer service, and drivers are replaced by automated software and robots. It is a dilemma started by taking out simple jobs that do not require previous experience. To start threatening high-paying careers.
The issue is that companies and employers benefit from replacing workers with smart devices. Why would they say no to an unpaid worker who can work 24/7 without complaining? Soon every career is not immune to being automated, and the only solution to this issue is strict regulations to protect the workforce.
The negative influence on self-esteem
No doubt that technology has taken away the pleasure of small accomplishments. By making all information available with one click, we have lost the opportunity of finding out things by actually trying and failing until it works.
We are not curious as we used to be as humans, and we rely on technology for all the answers. Looking up answers online is not the same as finding the answer in a book.
Search engines are designed to give results based on cookies analysis and complicated algorithms. Similar search queries will give different results based on the account, location, and related trending news in that area.
Search engines algorithms are not neutral as expected. Usually, the search results are advertisements, trending websites, and recommendations based on your account.
Another impact of technology is giving us access to more than we should have.
Social media allowed us to share more of what was not noticeable about ourselves. That gave us a choice to only share the good stuff about ourselves, like achievements, pretty photos, and job promotions.
By sharing only attractive positive content, it became a competition. We started to feel that we were not good enough and always craving more.
Integrity
Recently, artificial intelligence and integrity have been a dilemma for many people. Questions like: Is it morally right to use AI to complete a task that has been assigned to me? Can the achievement be attributed to me? Are widely asked questions.
We have seen how students of different ages assign homework to AI tools. It was noticeable by professors that students were unexpectedly getting better grades. After repeated incidents, AI tools have got banned in some schools.
But the question remains, how can we still trust each other with this technology?
We have reached the point where it is impossible to differentiate between humans and AI. It is a huge issue when AI is used to distort news and misquote senior figures.
It appears that it is a challenging situation that will not resolve anytime soon.
Some of us have experienced and still experiencing some of these harms from technology. It is important to put on a limit when something starts affecting your life negatively.
In this case, many believe it is impossible to give up on technologies in our lives, and they are right. We can not.
But it is not the purpose. It is more of being careful with our choices. Not every new device that promotes itself as a solution is one, and not every online service is convenient and time-efficient.
Also, the fame of something does not mean it is good. Numerous popular online services often have better alternatives. The fact that a product is owned by a large company does not necessarily mean it is the best option.
Companies invest a significant amount of money in marketing to reach as many people as possible. Whether their product is needed and safe, the deceived people will buy it because it feels like the right thing to do.
It is extraordinary to be aware and not fall for the trap.
Approaches like Technological singularity, Technological unemployment were just hypotheses a few years back, but today are real-life examples of the effect of technology.
Therefore, technology will remain a disputed topic.
Some of its defects now threaten people’s careers and deep beliefs. People will react differently to these changes, and with the media stir, we might see more angry people’s reactions. That can lead to unexpected serious actions.
