“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology
has exceeded our humanity.” Albert Einstein’s words are exceedingly true. Technology
has unconsciously seeped into our lives, and this can have two effects.
Technology can either boost the world’s development, but it can also give way
for different people can make use of technology unfavourably. This topic
essentially assumes that there is something inherent in technology that can
cause people to become less ethical. Ultimately, technology can be
characterised in three different ways. First, its advances are sudden and
rapid. Second, it is pervasive, and can be very tempting to abuse. Third, it
confers great power upon mankind. Technology, in fact, has not made us less
ethical, but in fact can make us more ethical in some cases.
Technology is largely popular among technology,
because it is constantly changing, and provides new forms of hope, and
lifestyles for today’s people. As a result of this, people are not sure how
they should treat certain new technological developments which exists in the
grey areas. For example, the creation of the first cloned being, Dolly the
Sheep in 1996 sparked off much controversy. People were worried that the
technology created would be applied to humans, which would end up being very
dangerous. However, history has shown that our current system of ethics is very
reliable. The basic ethics in man has not altered much, as people are generally
told not to harm people, and to respect the sanctity of human life. Just
because technology changes, it does not mean that our basic ethics changes.
Furthermore, technology affirms the general sentiment that ethics is kept.
Shortly after Dolly was created, there was discussion between the developed
countries at great length. In the end, there was an agreement in the United
Nation’s Declaration on Human Cloning, calling for member nations not to
infringe upon human dignity in any way. In addition, the use of medical
technology has proved to be useful. As a result of vaccinations, the number of
people dying from malaria has dropped from 20 million to a mere 8 million, and
there has been an increase in the average life expectancy. This reflects the
strength of Man’s ethics, as people reverted back to their fundamentals before delving
into the usage of technologies in the grey areas.
Proponents of the topic would also argue that the fact
that technology is all around us allows for great exploitation. Criminals would
have more means to do unethical things, for example identity theft and data
mining using computer programmes. This means that more people will be harmed by
the lack of ethics. In addition, the fact that technology was the catalyst for such
unethical actions would mean that technology is the cause of all this. However,
the thing is that the benefits greatly outweigh the harms caused. Technological
advances have created the opportunity for us to do much more. For example, the “pervasiveness”
of information technology has allowed for the rapid dissemination of
information. The Internet has provided Web 2.0 platforms to spring out, for
example blogs, Facebook and Twitter. This allows for events from one end of the
world to be seen at the other end. The fact that technology is the one being
used shows that technology is merely a tool, and does not inherently change us.
Conversely, criminals will not stop being criminals even though the Internet is
not available for them. Furthermore, ethics is boosted through the available
technology. For example, in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake, social
activism was given a leg up when the Internet allowed them to convince others
to follow in their footsteps. Not only did it allow for more immediate aid for
the people there, it also gave rise for willing donors who do not want to go
all the way to Haiti. Evidently, the pervasiveness of technology can be turned
into a concrete benefit, instead of making more people unethical.
Some would
assert that technology confers great power upon mankind. Technology is the
means through which many people are harmed, and the degree of harm even
increases as technology improves. For instance, the creation of the atomic bomb
during the Second World War proved that technology is capable of making humans
commit unethical acts. Thousands of people were affected by the radiation for
countless generations as a result of Man’s actions, and this is clearly against
one’s ethics. On the other hand, there are many possible explanations for the
use of the atomic bomb, some of which are legitimate. When we look at the
bigger picture, we note that the bomb was used mainly to stop Japan, a country
who was also committing unethical acts. In addition, there can be different
plans to ensure that such technology does not fall into the wrong hands. For
example, smallpox, a deadly disease, can be used as a dangerous biochemical
weapon, and is thus kept into two laboratories only around the world. These
forms of check and balances can be used to ensure that unethical people are
stopped, which in itself is an ethical act.
Technology has indeed pushed humans beyond the
boundary, providing both opportunities benefit mankind and to the power misuse
it, killing people. However, as of now, Man’s ethics has held out, ensuring
that people are, in fact able to keep themselves in check. The question is –
how long will this continue?
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