TECHNOLOGY IN TODAY'S AND TOMORROW'S SOCIETY

By Tom Cronin and Tim Traynor

What is technology? When faced with this question, most people think of images of computers, rocket ships, and massive weapons. However, one just needs to look around to see that technology is all around us, and is part of the very essence of humanity. In many ways, technology is what separates humanity from the rest of the animal world. In the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, "The Dawn of Man" is described using the image of a pre-human being first discovering that a bone can be used as a tool. The earliest humans used weapons for hunting and constructed small structures which became shelters. Though these uses of technology seem simple to people living in a modern society, they are examples of the interdependent relationship that has always existed between humanity and technology.

Since the time technology consisted of early hunting weapons, technology has always reflected the complexities in humankind. Technology has since grown to include things such as rocket ships, computers, and weapons of mass destruction. However, people must remember that everything around them--the chairs they sit on, the electricity that powers their lights, the buildings they live in, the food they eat, the clothing they wear, their transportation, their telephones, their radios, and their televisions--is the result of technology that has developed along with humankind.

Just by looking around, it is obvious to everyone that today's modern world is significantly different from the world of the cavepeople. This great change in the way humans live is primarily due to technological growth. In reality, the thought patterns, feelings, and emotions of human beings have changed very little since the dawn of humankind, but technology had grown, and continues to grow at an exponential rate.

Because technology is growing at such an exponential rate, swift and rapid changes in technology are becoming extremely noticeable, and are affecting the way we live. A computer can become obsolete in the blink of an eye. (Bell 14) The Internet has changed the way we work, communicate, access information, and interact. E-mail has graduated to "chat rooms," which allow users not only to access data, but to communicate with others world wide. (Bern 36) People are spending increasing amounts of time working and interacting with people without leaving their homes. (Bell, 43)

At the rate technology has been growing, the possibilities are endless as to what technological changes we will see in the future. Some feel we will change to become a "digital" society, where most of our daily activities will take place via computers. These changes will remove the limitations of geography. If virtual reality is combined with telecommunications and computing technology, it will not matter whether one is in a large city such as Boston or a remote area in the Alps. (Negroponte 165)

Others think that technology will be used to make significant changes in the physiology of human beings. Currently, doctors use medications and surgical procedures to aid human functions, but even greater changes could come in the near future. The possibility of a computerized implant to assist the human brain has been introduced, and we are technologically capable of cloning the human embryo. Movies such as Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Gattaca have dealt with the issue of technological eugenics. Even though these are fictional visions of the future, it is very possible for similar societies to emerge in the near future.

Now that we are in the information age, many people are trying to qualitatively assess technology's impact. While some point out that our society wouldn't be the same without technology, others point out that technology's effects have been mostly negative. Most people agree that technological advancements in medical science, telecommunications, industry, commerce, and agriculture have resulted in mostly positive effects. However, technology has also led to mass destruction through nuclear weapons; environmental problems such as global warming, ozone layer depletion, and other effects of pollution; and the replacement of humans by computers in various occupations.

Perhaps the most notorious believer that technology's impact on humanity has been negative is the Theodore Kaycznski, the unabomber suspect. "Roughly, the Unabomber's thesis is: Modern technology transforms human society into a giant assembly line. People are trained for conformity just as machine parts are honed to make them interchangeable. 'You sit or stand where you are told to sit or stand and do what you are told to do,' notes the Unabomber." (Grossman 1) His ideas weren't that different from those of nineteenth century philosopher Thoreau, who favored living as simplistic a life as possible, but Kaycznski's antisocial behavior took credibility away from his ideas. (Grossman 1) Kaycznski's actions also deviated from his beliefs since he used technology (bombs) to get his message across, which can be best compared to fighting fire with fire.

Movies such as Blade Runner and Terminator 2 depicted dystopian and complex futures, based on technological change. These two films help acknowledge that technology is more complex than simply being "good" or "evil". Human beings are, by their very nature, extremely complex. Because humanity in itself is so complex, the technology it creates reflects the complexities that are part of humankind. For example, nuclear technology has been used for both bombs and electric power. Whether this technology is positive or negative depends upon how it is used. Since technology is a creation of humankind, it can only be as "good" or "evil" as its creator.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Bell, Art, The Quickening, Paper Chase Press, 1997, pp. 14, 43.
   
   
2. Bern, Daniel P., "Under Construction: Information Superhighway," Home Office Computing, August 1993, p. 36.
   
   
3. Brownlow, Kevin, Thought on the Unabomber, http://www.msu.edu/user/brownlow/uhp.htm (from the Internet Archive's cache), 12/8/97.
   
   
4. Grossman, Ron, "Fine line between philosophy, fanaticism," Chicago Tribune, 4/14/96, p. 1.
   
   
5. Negroponte, Nicholas, Being Digital, Vintage Books, 1995, p. 165.