Introduction
Throughout the past 70 years, humanity’s successes or failings have been explained or blamed on technology. After the Second World War, technology significantly altered the planet’s face, bringing solutions to many problems and issues, such as child mortality, long-distance communication and information sharing, food production, and others (Misa 19). At the same time, the advancement of technology gave birth to new problems, increasing pollution, causing societal atomization, causing all kinds of addictions, and inventing new ways for humanity to kill itself.
There have been arguments about omnipotent technology and whether most problems can be solved with governance or technology (Pontin). In the video by Jason Pontin, the argument is that technology cannot solve all significant problems in the world and that the issues tend to lie within the socio-economic and political systems (Pontin). The argument is sound but complete – each point is part of a greater whole. Finally, the cultural dimension is to be added to the equation to explain the failure to invent or apply technology that could solve our big problems.
Discussion
First, one must understand what technology is and is not. In simple terms, technology is a tool to solve a specific problem or accomplish a specific task. The Apollo rocket was created to reach the moon and get the craft and the crew back to Earth safely and alive (Pontin). To solve the problem of reaching Mars, the country interested in doing so would have to create better and faster rockets to carry a piloted craft to Mars (Misa 92). It would also have to be capable of returning at similar speeds. The technology levels required are within our current industry’s capabilities to invent and produce. The reasons why humanity is not colonizing Mars yet, thus, lie in the three other dimensions outlined earlier.
Regarding global issues, such as the switch to sustainable energy, the main grievances cited are economic. Solar and wind power plants are neither cost-efficient nor reliable – wind power relies on wind patterns we cannot control – only predict (Misa 71). Solar power can be blocked by clouds and is affected by seasons. It could be made more viable if more efficient ways of accumulating and storing energy are developed – that way, excess energy from abundant seasons could be stored to help homes and industries during more challenging times, such as winters (Misa 72). In that instance, technology has not yet solved the problem of renewable energy. However, once the solution has been developed, the transition to green energy will be much easier to do and argue for.
The four dimensions do not exist separately and are in a mutually-influencing relationship with others. Technology can change our cultural relations, differences in beliefs, and diverse cultural perspectives. Take technology that helps reduce child mortality, for example. This includes instruments, drugs, vaccines, and so forth. Just a century ago, people had to make many children, sometimes up to a dozen, for a few to survive to adulthood. Nowadays, most countries sport a 90%-97% child survival rate (Misa 22). These technologies are changing the culture of many nations, making smaller families sensible. Many Middle Eastern countries are following this trend.
Sometimes, technological advancement results from cultural changes rather than the other way around. The USSR saw an incredible boost to its science and gifted the world with many scientific discoveries (Parks 58). These occurred because of a cultural revolution, which threw off the shackles of monarchy and enabled ordinary people to access education (something almost unheard of in Tsarist Russia) (Parks 60). As a result, many talented scientists and engineers enabled the first human-crewed space flight worldwide, the first artificial satellite put in orbit, and many other technological breakthroughs.
Technology has a way of creating new problems and changing one’s culture and beliefs for the worse. The availability of communication devices has resulted in worldwide informational overload, which causes people to become isolated from their peers as well as numb to the problems of the world. Social media creates echo chambers that exclude critical thinking and promote false division along the lines of politics, race, class, and other societal constructs (Misa 95). Despite living in the age of communication, people feel lonelier than ever in the history of humankind.
In other situations, culture may be resistant to technological change. Even now, in the US, some people find it culturally unacceptable to submit to specific treatments because of their culture or faith. Historically, any significant technological advances have been opposed on conservative cultural grounds. This is a trend observable since the Luddite movement in England, at the very least (Misa 33).
It is up to the technology to overcome prejudice and cultural resistance and prove its worth to communities it seeks to change. At the same time, technology can be invasive and destroy cultural heritage and civilization. Colonies in Asia have seen their indigenous cultures destroyed and molded to European standards during their colonization (Misa 48). It took great effort to break out of that and establish their independence. It could be argued that technology also enabled these countries to resist the West.
Conclusion
I think technology can change the world for the better or the ill. But technology in itself is not evil. Like everything else, it is just a tool, depending on how it is used and by whom. The invention of the nuclear bomb could have spelled doom for humankind. Instead, its presence effectively ended confrontations between major superpowers, preventing the Third, Fourth, and many other future World Wars. Humanity can invent anything if the political will is behind it and the economic backbone to support it.
More often than not, the hurdles in front of technological advancement lie in the political, economic, and cultural dimensions. So long as there is goodwill and an evidence-based approach to utilizing and developing technology, the risk of changing humanity for the worse is minimized. Once we as a species are mature enough to handle the technological marvels and engines of destruction of our creation, advancement will serve for the betterment of all. Society and technology evolve together, as one cannot exist without another. If one goes in front of the other, it will invariably lead to tragedy.
Works Cited
Pontin, Jason. “Can Technology Solve our Big Problems?” TED, 2013. Web.
Misa, Thomas J. Leonardo to the Internet: Technology and Culture from the Renaissance to the Present. JHU Press, 2022.
Parks, Lisa. Cultures in orbit: Satellites and the televisual. Duke University Press, 2020.