Is Development of Technology Determinative? - Paper Example

Introduction

Do we control technology or it controls us? For many centuries, technology has undergone a tremendous transformation due to the ingenuity of human beings. However, emergence and ubiquity of the internet over the last decade has created a new technological trajectory never witnessed in history of technological growth. The possibility of artificial intelligence taking over the computing world in the next few years has made technology even more exciting than before. The recent technological developments have prompted many observers to argue that technology controls humans. Despite the strength of this argument, it has been undisputable over the years that technology expands within the abilities of human control.

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Technological expansion may not necessarily be a product of human abilities but gene machines and other forms from which humans imitate and put them into technological products. In her comprehensive article, Blackmore (2010) argues that humans are mere imitators of what technology has influenced. In the article widely termed as controversial, Blackmore promotes the idea that technology is responsible for passing information from one generation to the next while vehicles (who are humans in this case) live and die. In other words, ideas are limitless within the human existence and only those that get the attention of humans are exploited to create new technological tools (Frank, 2015). In essence, the argument is founded on the premise that the existence of technology is responsible for the expansion of new technological innovations. This position appears to negate the belief that humans entirely drive the expansion of technology. However, overwhelming evidence suggests that new technological innovations result from the efforts of human beings.

A technological innovation must originate from a certain location which is human in nature. A new technology is a product that extends from the reach of its maker or producer (Frank, 2015). As humans, innovations are part and parcel of our mind and people chose the type of such products to bring into the world through imagineering. Eagles make nests and such process of building nests can be regarded as bird technology (Frank, 2015). For instance, technological innovations such as electronic cars have an origin in the sense that somebody somewhere conceptualized an idea on how to drive a car without using fossil fuel. Additionally, Tim Berners-Lee created the Web due to his ability to create value from computing-it is what was in his mind that came out as a Web, revolutionizing how people communicate around the world. For this reason, it can be said that technology would expand to the extent to which human ability allows it to do so and not otherwise.

New technology is a creation of humans since it seeks to respond to the human needs in their efforts to sustain themselves on earth. Everyday technology scientists seek to design better ways of solving problems in society in a manner that creates more value and satisfaction to the people in need(Frank, 2015). That is to say, it is the need in human beings that drive acceleration towards the creation of new technologies. For instance, it is the need by human beings to have a convenient platform through which they can both make calls and send files through their email addresses that culminated in the development of products such as such as smartphones (Olson, 2012). Accordingly, these phones have enabled to quickly send files such as photos just by the touching a button on their screens. Equally, it is the desire to reduce errors in refereeing decisions during football matches that world governing body, FIFA, introduced a video assistant referee (VAR) in the 2018 world cup to improve the quality of the matches. The highlighted cases are a testament that the desire for new technology comes from humans as they strive to achieve perfection in their dealings in life on a daily basis.

The power humans have over the expansion of technology can also be seen in their ability to tame the negative consequences their technology introduces to the users. This can be seen in the creation of passwords and anti-virus systems that seek to protect personal information from unauthorized infiltration. Notably, following recent misuse of client data, Facebook announced that it would enhance its privacy technological tools to ensure that the data privacy of the users is protected from malicious access and use (Schomer, 2018). The tightening of data privacy rules would entail instilling new security technologies on its website. As such, the new technology would originate from Facebook scientists and not the platform as a social networking site.

Conclusion

As a conclusion, extant technology provides a platform on which new technologies are expanded. Thus, the lack of earlier versions of technology cannot result in the creation of new technological innovations. However, technology originates from the human mind. It imagines and creates new technology to satisfy the needs of the people as well as address the security and safety challenges of their time. Any absence of people would result in stagnation and obsolesce of current technologies. Therefore, expansion of technology occurs within the limits of human beings' ability and control.

References

Blackmore, S. (2010). The third replicator. The New York Times [New York].

Frank, A. (2015, November 16). Can we control our technological destiny or are we just along for the ride? Retrieved from https://singularityhub.com/2015/07/12/can-we-control-our-technological-destiny-or-are-we-just-along-for-the-ride/#sm.000fwi3fkx5pdtm113q23hiw44w9i

Olson, P. (2012). Father of the web ranks its impact on the world. Forbes.

Schomer, A. (2018). Facebook moves to protect users. The Business Insider.