Problems with Technology

The change in technology that has taken and continues to take place over time is mind-boggling. 20 years ago the thought of a computer being a necessity would be preposterous but now the thought of not having one is. The advances in technology began with needs for survival but last I heard an iPod is not necessary for daily survival. Is technology moving to fast for us to keep up though?

Technology is a problem because we cannot do without it, and our use of it clearly makes us both better and worse. Human beings are--among other things--technological or tool-making animals. (Times) We use our brains and our ideas to find ways to make our daily lives more easier, and in doing so change ourselves. Although we are proud of our technological success we also wish to free ourselves from the burdens and consequences. So we find it almost impossible to judge how much and what kind of technology would be best for us. In principle, we should be free to accept or reject various technological developments. Technology, after all, is supposed to be means for the pursuit of whatever ends we choose. But, in truth, it might be our destiny to be moved along by relentless technological progress. We don't have much evidence of significant numbers of human beings resisting technological changes for long periods of times, except for the Amish. (Creative Destruction)

The question of whether modern technological development has been beneficial or detrimental to human beings is perhaps the most asked question that faces our society. If technology is harmful, then we need to minimize or eliminate the danger. If technology is not the source of the problems and concerns that are frequently attributed to it, then we need to find another cause for the social and psychological pressures faced by our society, so we can fix these problems. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, people have made complaints about the harmful effects of technology. (Heidegger, Martin) These factors indicate that problem of technology changes our society and culture, whether consciously or subconsciously.

The effects of technology on the environment are both obvious and subtle. The more obvious effects include the depletion of nonrenewable natural resources (such as petroleum, coal, ores), and the added pollution of air, water, and land. The more subtle effects include debates over long-term effects (e.g., global warming, deforestation, natural habitat destruction, coastal wetland loss.)(CNN) Each wave of technology creates a set of waste previously unknown by humans: toxic waste, radioactive waste, and electronic waste. One of the main problems is the lack of an effective way to remove these pollutants on a large scale expediently. (Ambrose, Stanley H)

Another problem is if the advances in technology are just moving too fast. Some Microsoft employees have admitted that nobody understands what some components of Windows do but they're afraid to take them out because it might break something. The people who wrote that code have retired or died and nobody left understands it. The same thing happened when Honeywell bought GE's mainframe computer business unit decades ago. Many key GE employees were laid off and Honeywell ended up with a number of software components that nobody at their company could understand or fix, yet, which their business depended on. We don't select managers for how effective they are,