Technology is not neutral

There are critics who tend to argue that technology in itself is neutral and more so that the essence on the neutrality of technology is based on their position that views on technology are based on how humanity chooses to apply the technology at hand. With this in mind, technology can therefore be considered as amoral. Therefore the option of people to apply the technology acquired for repressive ends other than for the optimization of human capacity can only be our option responsibility. In essence technologists should strive to present technology as neutral. Technological determinism can be described as the freedom of man to use the technology at his dispensation based on will to do good or evil.  This is referred to as the instrumental perception with regard to technology.

On the other hand, there are critics who hold onto the view that technology is no neutral. Proponents of this school of thought argue that no single individual can apply a given technology to realize a certain end without being influenced by this technology and more so essentially being used by the same technology. Such theorists present the argument that people tend to be conditioned by the technological advances and more so interactions among the peoples and technology as presented by the contemporary environment. Thus, such theorists describe technology and its development as neither being neutral, evil nor good. This is essentially do to the notion that the application of a certain technology regardless of the end to which it is applied does bear both negative and positive outcomes. Such outcomes are a possibility regardless of the intended use of the technology.

This can further be supported by the fact that there are some technologies that tend to dictate on the ways it is used. This technical aspect of technology serves to shape the purpose of people while using a given technology. One can therefore argue that technology is in itself a force, independent in its own right but having a degree of effect on its users an thus cannot be referred to as neutral. Technology can be designed to have effect on social political and economic aspects of a society. Such designs can be intentional or otherwise and appeal to certain social circles and even given social patterns such that influence on people accessing the use of such technology have different perception on issues that are different from perceptions of individuals with no access to that technology.

Technology is not neutral due to the reason that it is as a result of a social interactions in political and philosophical processes among institutions thus producing a social product incorporating the interactive processes. As such the argument is further supported by the fact that no scientific process is as a result of a lack interest in a given scientific endeavor. Therefore, technology can be considered as a means to achieving an end but with some inherent form of influence depending on the degree of interaction with an individual and the society at large. Technology therefore translates to dictating the way people and society go about doing some things. Technology cannot be regarded as neutral since it is basically a human tool that can be applied by some individuals against other individuals thereby presenting a society’s cultural inclinations to certain values.

Technology is dehumanizing

Since the age of civilization human beings have been influenced through organized societies with the primary aim of carrying out tasks as a socially collective organism. The means as to which these organized societies influenced mankind to achieve a given end differed from community to community. These may have been physical or otherwise with the outcome that is essentiality to alter human behavior towards controllability. This was basically dehumanizing people in a society so as to realize some form of efficient society. It is worthy to note that human beings have only the tendency to accommodate such influence up to a given limit. When this limit has been surpassed, a myriad of problems tend to plague such a community ranging from rebellion, mental health complications, strikes, low birth rates and many other similar problems that lead to the collapse of a society.

In the world modern world, technology has presented and continues to present societies with means with which mankind can be modified to r4aise their level of tolerance to dehumanizing aspects of the society as an organization. In the contemporary society, there have been increasing incidences whereby more and more people have been diagnosed with clinically diagnosed mental and emotional depression. This continues to be developed in the modern world such that rather than rid the society of factors that translate to these unfavorable outcomes, technology is being advanced to produce anti depressant medication for the society.

Technological advances have changed the centuries old adage spare the rod and spoil the child with regard to education. In centuries past, children unresponsive to education techniques being applied were physically reprimanded while exceptional students were rewarded with a heart pat on the head. Advances in technology have brought about certain developments that can essentially effectively control the development of the brain among children. This is itself another dehumanizing aspect as a result of technology such that the natural development of the brain as defined by natural factors is by passed through the application of scientific theories and techniques. In recent years there has been the increased development of specialized learning institutions. Specialized learning institutions apply the techniques developed through the scientific discipline that is psychology to the effect that children are motivated to develop a deep interest in learning. These institutions are designed to produce children who have been condition to accept and align themselves with the characteristics accepted by a society’s organizational system. These are basically brought about by the need for parents to address issues concerning the welfare of their children and thus are not due to some degree of coercion by an organizational structure or system.

Based on the assumption that the industrial society as a system will continue to develop then there is a rather high probability that dehumanization as a result of technological input will have an adverse effect on the factors that define a human being. On this stand, one can argue that the humanity does indeed bear negative influences as a result of accepting technology presented to a society such as television or the internet. As studied in biology lessons, the human body has its own set of mechanisms that help it to perform as an efficient organism. Therefore, the acceptances of advances in technology influence the society to move in the direction presented by the technology which ultimately tends to dehumanizing man.

How the Bible and Koran support the fact that technology is dehumanizing

In Islam and Christianity, some aspects of technology are considered as immoral since they oppose the will of God to naturally let things be. It is important to note that in both religious scriptures, no specific phrase defines technology as immoral. Religious scholars preach that man was created n the image of God and thus contentious technological advances like cloning human beings will in essence redefine the power God has over humanity. It is however necessary to reiterate the fact that morality is defined in accordance to philosophical ethics. This implies that each and every human being with the ability to reason and the necessary intellect to discern evil from good can differentiate between ethics and morality.

Many religious scholars view technological advance in human cloning as dehumanizing. This is because the urge by scientists and technologists to come up with a genetically superior form of a human being is in itself dehumanizing as the human traits of such an individual are not present. A majority of religions, Islam and Christianity included fully embrace the human tradition that new life given to a human being is as a result of mutual consent between two human beings of the opposite sex. This is religiously accepted as a manifestation of the human character that depicts love as an emotion bringing about life through free will and reproduce in accordance with God’s will.

Science is advancing at an exponential rate and the natural conditions that present the traits in human beings that are considered as human are increasingly being challenged. This has brought about a serious need for debate as to the long term and short term implication of technology. Technology is in itself dehumanizing since the biological aspects that present human character are suppressed by the use of these technological advances. With this in mind it is sufficient to argue that technology tends to be dehumanizing as it may change the natural order of reproduction and the religious belief as to the God’s superiority over mankind. In the event that human beings are actually cloned, there is a great tendency to have such treated as inferior. The human aspect encompassed in the family aspect is dehumanizing in both the psychological aspect and social purpose of such an integral unit of human beings. Last but not least, the human ability to adapt to changes in society will be severely challenged and thus ultimately dehumanizing.

Technology does (does not) pose a grave threat to the environment

Mankind depends on the resources provided by the environment which include the air, water, food, clothing, energy and even shelter. This makes the sustainable use of these natural resources as provided by a healthy natural environment system critical to the survival and development of mankind. Information provided by available literature highlights the fact that the world experienced a rapid change in the lifestyles of societies after the Second World War. This was precipitated by the gigantic advances in technology with respect to transportation, communication and education. This propelled human beings to realign ecosystems such that they optimized the access to the natural resources made available by the environment.  After the Second World War, political and socioeconomic aspects in the management of ecosystems took center stage at the expense of the sustainable use of naturally occurring resources. The exploitation of the natural resources and more so, of the environment in favor of economic gain came to be regarded as the dark side of advances in technology.

In today’s world, the adverse effects of advances in technology during the second half of the 20^th century are being experienced all over the world. This has propelled scientists to look into means with which to ensure that appropriate technology is adopted to encompass sustainability. Climate change has brought about an increase in the occurrence of natural calamities such as drought, flooding, and other irregular weather patterns necessitating the need for application of better technology in improving the present environmental conditions. The world appetite for energy to drive the economic developments in societies has been the main cause of negative effects on the state of today’s environment. Scientists have embraced the need for commitment towards looking for ways and means with which to realize sustainable use of natural resources. As much as some scientists may argue that the natural environment has its own way of creating a balance, the need to accelerate the realization of such a balance is critical to the alleviation of human suffering. With this in mind, technology is essential to protecting and ensuring that the natural resources are used sustainably by eliminating unsustainable technology with sustainable technology.

The emergence of “true artificial intelligence” would be a good or bad thing for society?

The emergence of artificial intelligence will put a great deal of strain on the ethical factor that govern the order of things in societies and thus is a bad thing both in the short run and the long run. To begin with, the world population of human beings continues to grow steadily. Therefore the need to have machines with the artificial ability act, think and relay emotions imitating human being is rather unnecessary. Human beings are social organisms and more so interact cohesively for the betterment of their standards of living. The use of robots with human traits to carry out the functions of human beings will in essence reduce the social interaction among individuals and even limiting the availability of jobs as is expected of a progressive society.

It is worthy to note that as much as technology is accommodated to better the development of mankind such as the application of calculators, technology can in no way replace human beings such as the way in which calculators do not replace the mathematicians. The role played by technology can be expressed as that which relieves the human mind of such aspects as complex math calculation thus leaving the brain free to analyze such complex math much faster and more effectively.

Artificial only serves to alter a society’s contours with respect to socioeconomic aspects which influence the way in which human beings interact with one another. In the industrialized nations, robots have been integrated into the manufacturing processes in a number of industries. This has been accelerated by the fact that specialized human capital necessary to achieve the same output as robots do in an effort to align supply with demand is not forthcoming. It is with this perspective in mind that I argue the fact that robots are essentially not necessary. Human being have limitless capabilities and thus it would make greater sense both ethically and morally to invest more in education and better lifestyles through improved living conditions. This can provide the necessary man power from the ever growing human population to eliminate the need for robots in the work place. This is both morally and ethically correct since human beings will be motivated to advance their abilities through education and as such endeavor to live fulfilling lives and healthy lifestyles.

There is also the inherent far that artificial intelligence can run out of control and thus adversely affecting the function of a society and worse still create a chaotic environment. Emotion is a human trait that serves to advance human development for the betterment of mankind. Instilling robots with artificial intelligence that recognizes and adheres to express emotions common in human beings will create a strange environment indeed. The integration of such robots into a society will be detrimental to the natural order of things. To begin with the motivation for young human beings to develop themselves through education will be low as human society as an organization will have collapsed leaving the functions normally performed by humans to robots. In such a scenario a question arises at the function of a human being in such a society. It is therefore necessary to limit the application of technology towards the development of artificial intelligence and instead invest such resource to the education of human beings.

Can the situation brought about by technology get worse?

Technology seems to propel mankind on a rather uncontrolled ride into an abyss that is the unknown. The contemporary society has assumed a passive stance with regard to technology primarily due to the fact that technology seems inevitable. Through out this paper technology has been highlighted as bearing some independent influence on mankind and by extension to societies. The stress and strain experienced by different cross sections in a society are recipes for civil strife. The main issue with technology is that it is used by some societies as a means of exercising control against other societies.

Societies are different based on their cultural beliefs and practices and more soon the basis of their faith. When these social aspects collide with technology, the social structures may choose to adapt to the changes brought about by technology or resist such change. When a society is of the view that technology will present negative changes the common reaction will be to actively negate the integration of such technology in the society. Revolutions are known to have far reaching in effect changing the political and economic climate in any given society. Revolutions serve to undermine their social order putting place as mechanisms that dictate the development of a society as an effective organization. Revolutions also serve to put in place new social orders as envisioned by revolutionaries to reinstate the functioning of a society as an organized system. In my view, technology in itself is a good thing especially in the medical and educational fields of human development. However the inquisitive human character wants to understand how every thing in the universe works.  Education is the best means with which to accelerate human development without discriminating societies and their cultural values. This should be embraced as the driving force towards controlling the adverse effects of technology as opposed to ultimately doing away with technology.