DaniZaffina

Zaffina1

English091
Mrs.Felbeck
10/13/10

DoWeHaveControlofOurLives?
Wehaveallseenandevenhavegottenexcitedaboutnewinventions,suchasGoogle
Glass,inotherwords,havingtheinternetinourglasses,selfdrivingcars,andsmarthouse
appliances,butwhilebeingenvelopedinallofthisexcitementandthenewnessofitallwedon't
tendtothinkabouttherepercussions.Technologywasmeanttoaidusinoureverydaylivesnot
takeoverourlives.Suchascellphonesweredesignedtohelppeoplekeepintouch,nowpeople
havebecomeslavestothemwithsocialmedia,gamesandtexting.Societyneedstorealizethat
wearegoingtoofarwhenitcomestotechnologyandifitisn'tstoppedtheremaybeserious
consequencesforfuturegenerationsandtheadaptationsforsurvivalwemaylose.
Humandependencyontechnologymaydisableourabilitiestotakecareofourselvesin
thefuture.Evennowmailinglettersandmakingactualphonecallsaregoingextinct.The
convenienceoftexting,videochatsandsocialmediahavehinderedoursocialabilitiesalready.A
BritishstudyconductedbyindependentmediaregulatorOfcomfoundthatbetweentheagesof
15to24yearolds"96percentusesomeformoftextbasedcommunicationeitherthrough
socialnetworks(73percent)orthroughtraditionaltexting(90percent)onadaily
basis"(Grandoni).Notonlyisourusageoftechnologybecomingaproblemstartingwithlackof
exercise,changeinmoodsandtheriseofantisocialdisordersbutourtrustinthemis

problematicaswell.Inthearticle"Technologyadangerousdependency?"authorRobertHart
referstoawomanrecentlyonthenewswho"blindlyfollowedhersatnavover900miles,fortwo
days,beforedecidingtoquestionit."Manybelievecomputersaremuchmoreaccuratethan
humansandcreatelesserror,inthinkingthispeopletendtotrusttheirdigitaldevicesmoreso
thanfriendsandfamily.Thiscausesastrainbetweenrelationshipsandweakhumanrelationsare
unnaturalforthehumansspeciesthatrequiresocialinteractiontostayhappyandpromotemental
health.
InventionssuchastheGoogle"Autocar"aretakingimportantresponsibilitiesawayfrom
humans.Ifwehavecarsthatcantakeusplaceswithoutourhelpatall,housesthatcanlock
doorsandturnofflightsforus,wehavealreadybecomeslavestoourmobiledeviceswithout
needingthemtobeattachedtoourface.Arewereallytheonesincontrol?,orareourelectronics
theonescontrollingus.Mostpeoplecouldn'tevenimaginegoingthroughawholedaywithout
usinganytypeoftechnology.Whetheritbeacellphone,navigationsystemorcomputer,Robert
Harttellsofhisexperiencewitnessing"aPhysicalNaturalScience[major]reachforacalculator
toadd17to15"(Technologyadanger).Ifsomethingweretohappentoourelectricityor
technologyworldwideourwayoflivingwouldbechangedcompletely,becauseourlivesareso
basedaroundtechnologyitisquestionableifthehumanracewouldsurvive.
Howfarwilltheseinventionsgountilwelosecontrolofourlivesalltogether?Machines
donothaveemotions,norcanweproducerobotsortechnologytohavehumaninstinctsand
emotions.Ifwecouldthemachinewouldbecomeflawedjustashumannatureisandmistakesor
malfunctionscouldbepotentiallycatastrophic.Itisascarythoughtofaworldranbymachines,
andisincreasinglybecomingareality.Aswespeakengineersandscientistsareworkingon

creatingrobotscapableofwalking,talkingandperforminghumanfunctions.Themost
dangerouspartofthisisthattheonlyreasonweareworkingontheseadvancesissimplybecause
wehavethepowerandtechnologytodoso.Thismeansthatthereisnomorallimittowhatmay
bedevelopedandhowitmaybeused.Dueto"theriseofautonomyinmilitaryrobotics.Robots
couldoneday,potentiallyverysoon,[even]makedecisionsonlifeanddeath."(Technologya
dangerousdependency)Thisaddressestheissueofmoralityinlettingmachinesmakedecisions
thatrequirehumancompassionandjudgement.
AlthoughwearecrossingthelineintechnologicaladvancesIamnotsuggestingwestop
usingtechnologyaltogether.Ofcoursetherearemanywaystechnologyisbeneficialtous.For
example,"Theworldbusinessandtradehasbecomeveryfast,easierandmorereliable".
(tnark.org)"Thisisduetoeasierconnectiontodifferentcountries,Transportationandaccessto
ticketsonline,ATM'sandonlinebankingtomakeeasiertransactionsandadvertisingorbusiness
promotion.Technologiesimpactonushasalsoaidedusthroughlearningandeducation.
Technologyhasallowedmoreinteractiveclassroomswithprojectors,3dimagesandprogramsto
helpimprovethelearningprocessgivingusawidervarietyandspecializedtypeofschooling.
This,however,doesnotmeanthattechnologyshouldinanywayreplacetraditionalschoolingor
classroomsetting.Childrenneedvidallessonsonbehaviour,interactionandcompassionthatcan
onlybetaughtbyhumans.
Lettingmachinestakeovermorehumaninstinctualtasks,suchasparentingand
importantskillsmaytakeaverynegativeeffectonfuturegenerations.Throughouthistorywe
havebeenwarnedofwhatcouldhappenifchildrenwereraisedbytechnology.Oneexample
wouldbeRayBradbury'sshortscifistory"TheVeldt'whichgruesomelyforetoldthe

consequencesofparentswhoallowedtheirchildrentobetakencareofbytheir"happylife"
smarthome,thisincludedaninteractiveroomthatcouldbecontrolledbythemindsofthe
childrentodisplayandgivethemtheexperienceofanysettingorsituationintheworldincluding
madeupplaces.Whentheparentssuggestabreakfromthesmarthousethechildrenreact
violently.Whenseekingexplanationfromthechildrenspsychiatristthefatheristoldthat"[He
has]letthisroomandthishousereplace[him]and[his]wifein[their]children'saffections.This
roomistheirmotherandfather,farmoreimportantintheirlivesthantheirrealparents".(Ray
Bradbury,"TheVeldt")IntheendtheparentsarebrutallymurderedbytheVeldtcontrolledby
thechildren.
Technologyhasaverydangeroussidetoitdespitetheaweandexcitementitcreates.The
humanraceneedstostopandthinkaboutwhattechnologywearedevelopingandhowour
dependencyonitmayalterourfuture.Itisveryimportantthatwenotforgetournaturalabilities
totakecareofourselvesbeforeturningtomachines.Weshouldheedthewarningsofwriters
suchasRayBradburyandlimittechnologynowbeforetechnologystartslimitingus.

WorkCited

Bradbury,Ray.RayBradbury'sTheVeldt.Woodstock,IL:DramaticPub.,1988.Print.
Grandoni,Dino."TextingDominatesAsTeensAndYoungAdultsMakeFewerPhoneCalls."
TheHuffingtonPost.TheHuffingtonPost.com,18July2012.Web.19Oct.2014
"HowTechnologyHasAffectedOurEverydayLives."NewTechnologyReviewRSS.N.p.,n.d.
Web.17Oct.2014.
"TechnologyaDangerousDependency?"TheCambridgeStudent.N.p.,n.d.Web.18Oct.
2014.