Reliance on Technology

Reliance on technology is often considered progressive as it makes human life more comfortable. Technology has benefitted humans from accomplishing daily errands to stepping on the moon. Many manual tasks have been automated. Simple everyday chores to complex operations have all been modified using technology in some form. This takeover of human tasks by machines is necessary to become an advanced species that can focus its intellect on matters that are beyond simple tasks. Human ability to think is beyond the grasp of machines as of now and I believe would probably remain that way for long. Technology only complements the human ability and helps achieve unimaginable precision in many tasks. The statement that reliance on technology would in some way contribute to the deterioration of human ability is unfounded. It’s absolutely not the case.
A quick reflection on a typical day reveals how technology has revolutionized the world and the way we live our lives. Most people commute to work in an automobile that runs on an internal combustion engine, which soon will be fully automated. During the workday, chances are high that the employee will interact with a computer that processes zillion gigabytes information on silicon bridges that are .09 microns wide only. Even far apart from each other, one can be reached through wireless networks that utilize satellites orbiting the earth. Each of these common occurrences could have been inconceivable at the turn of the 19th century.

The statement makes an assumption that an increased reliance on technology negates the need for human to think creatively to solve previous quandaries. Looking back at the introduction, one could argue that without a car, computer, or mobile phone, the hypothetical worker would need to find alternate methods of transport, information processing, and communication. Technology short circuits this thinking by making the problems obsolete.
However, this reliance on technology does not necessarily preclude the creativity that marks the human species. The prior examples reveal that technology allows for convenience. The car, computer, and phone all release additional time for people to live more efficiently. This efficiency does not preclude the need for humans to think for themselves. In fact, technology frees humanity to not only tackle new problems but may itself create new issues that did not exist without technology. For example, the proliferation of automobiles has introduced a need for fuel conservation on a global scale. With increasing energy demands from emerging markets, global warming becomes a concern inconceivable to the horse-and-buggy generation. Solutions to these complex problems require the unfettered imaginations of maverick scientists and politicians.

In contrast to the statement, we can even see how technology frees the human imagination. Consider how the digital revolution and the advent of the internet have allowed for an unprecedented exchange of ideas. WebMD, a popular internet portal for medical information, permits patients to self-research symptoms for a more informed doctor visit. This exercise opens pathways of thinking that were previously closed off to the medical layman. With increased interdisciplinary interactions, inspiration can arrive from the most surprising corners. Jeffrey Sachs, one of the architects of the UN Millenium Development Goals, based his ideas on emergency care triage techniques. The unlikely marriage of economics and medicine has healed tense, hyperinflation environments from South America to Eastern Europe.
This last example provides the most hope in how technology actually provides hope to the future of humanity. By increasing our reliance on technology, impossible goals can now be achieved. Consider how the late 20th century witnessed the complete elimination of smallpox. This disease had ravaged the human race since prehistorical days, and yet with the technology of vaccines, free thinking humans dared to imagine a world free of smallpox. Using technology, battle plans were drawn out, and smallpox was systematically targeted and eradicated.

Technology will always mark the human experience, from the discovery of fire to the implementation of nanotechnology. Given the history of the human race, there will be no limit to the number of problems, both new and old, for us to tackle. There is no need to retreat to a Luddite attitude to new things, but rather embrace a hopeful posture to the possibilities that technology provides for new avenues of human imagination.

In conclusion, Contrary to the claim above, Refraining our minds from solving the same problem that technology has provided solutions for, rather than deteriorate our ability to think, gives us an ample time to focus on more pressing issues.