How Do Computers Dehumanize Society

“I used to worry that computers would become so powerful and sophisticated as to take the place of the human minds,” expresses Lewis Thomas, the author of “The Corner of the Eye” [Thomas, 83]. A large part of Thomas’s fear of computers is due to the fact that “a large enough machine can do all sorts of intelligent things beyond our capacities” [Thomas, 83]. However, computers cannot replace us; he realizes computers cannot do some of the things that we can do, like being human. We like to be equivocal, imaginative, and self-conscious. Computers are the complete opposite of the traits that define us as human; or as Thomas states it, “they are not designed, as we are, for ambiguity” [Thomas, 83]. As witnessed by history, the present, and soon the future, it would be self-evident truth that computers will not take over us or be “us”.

The advancement of technology has changed tremendously to the point where everybody depends on it. Technology can be utilized for personal use, education,isolations, relationships and so much more, where in Reclaiming Conversation by Sherry Turkle, discusses how detrimental technology can be through her studies and others sources. In chapter, Four chairs, Sherry Turkle mentions how the utilization of machines is influencing humans negatively. Therefore, the use of artificial intelligence is unsuitable for children and adults.

Computers in general give people the ability to complete tasks that would have taken days or weeks to complete with the clicks of a few buttons. As technologies continue to grow the amount of adjustments that will be needed to make will be astronomical. However, society is aiming to help people gain the skills needed to push mankind further. In Davidson’s essay, she discusses how computers and technology can be put to many applicable situations. While working with her students, the “Duke students came up with dozens of stunning new ways to learn [and] almost instantly students figured out that they could record lectures on their iPods and listen to them for leisure” (Davidson 52). This advancement took a few weeks at one college campus in the United States when the technology was still being developed. Now, students have adapted to begin working across the globe to further society with new ideas for applying these technologies. These students now work diligently to make technology as effortless as possible so that their programs will be what will be used in the future. Gilbert discusses how when people are judged by a panel of others they tend to feel worse about themselves but, when dealing with computers people are only judged by one computer which tells them

Most people in today’s society have been affected by how simple technology makes our lives. Considering they’re hand held computers, it makes sense. All of this technology at our fingertips has also brought upon its negative outcomes. Technology has created a false world that we consume ourselves with on a daily basis.

Technology has made it easier for us to fix our mistakes but not learn from them. Turkle had met professors at MIT when students had transitioned from slide rules to calculators. The teachers had all exclaimed that students had become sloppy. “Professors insisted that required students maintain a mental sense of scale, whereas those who relied on calculators made frequent mistakes in orders of magnitude.” We are too quick to have technology solve our everyday problems instead of resolving it ourselves to better understand our mistake in the first place. We no longer question or have interest in how technology can handle our tasks, but wonder what else it can accomplish on its own. “When people say that something is transparent, they mean that they can see how to make it work, not that they know how it works.” Turkle states “For never has our world been more complex, hybridized and global.” Since we become so dependent on items to make our daily lives stress free, could mean future generations will not know the mental exercise of resolving a conflict without computers. We have become accustomed to waking up and checking the bright screen first thing in the morning. Some individuals prefer this interface to

Ray Bradbury is famous for writing many novels and short stories based on technology and its effects on society in the future. A common theme that reoccurs in many of his pieces of literature is: how the abuse of technology can have devastating effects on the well-being of society and how it can dehumanize all of mankind. Ray Bradbury feared that technology would take over every aspect of life and stop people from thinking or contributing intellectual ideas the world. In recent years, social media has taken away the ‘social’ aspect of communicating with others. Our society has never been so disconnected with each other than it in 2016, compared to previous year.

“We can see only a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” Alan Turing, a forgotten hero, said this when challenged with the prospect of technology that could think for itself. This figure hidden in the shadows of history has impacted every aspect  of society. Because of his accomplishments in the realm of computing, the vast majority of the population has handled an electronic device. Turing, truly a catalyst for social change, who society tried to bury because of his homosexuality, a crime of gross indecency in the United Kingdom until 1967 is responsible for the electronic-reliant population the majority of humanity lives in today (“Alan Turing: Creator of modern computing”).

The more advanced technology becomes, the more of a toll it has on our daily lives. Lee Siegel states that “we shop, work, play, love, search for information, seek to communicate with each other and sometimes with the world online. We spend more time online than ever before. Yet people are not arguing about this startling new condition." It is my belief that due to the control technology has taken over society, technology is ultimately detrimental to society as a whole.

The next trait that bears importance to the computing professional is justice, also within the moral category. Justice, while slightly ambiguous, can be generally described as the desire to ensure fairness within society. While this can be interpreted in various ways, it is important to view it in the context of modern computing. With computing we see the rise of many easily accessible pieces of software, from social media to health care enrollment sites. We have a duty as professionals to ensure that our creations exist to benefit those around us, not to try and prey on those we have power over. For example,

Sherry Turkle’s expository essay, “How Computers Change the Way We Think,” outlines the changes in society because of computers. The author classifies five ways in which the computing revolution has negatively impacted the way people think and work, while stating that the changes can be reversed. An authoritative Turkle uses academic vocabulary and personal stories to show the readers that computers cause today’s students to think less critically of many aspects of life. She states, in great detail, how modern people fail to defend their privacy and deliver powerful ideas because of computers. The reader finds himself/herself sadly agreeing with the author.

The belief that the control over both death and life in society is dehumanizing and not beneficial has increased, but those that view this idea tend to not see how beneficial the processes really are. Many people consider the fact that controlling the birth of the next generation to be cruel and dehumanizing. This case can be made, but so can the case for the benefits found in the use of technology to bring about the next generation. Many of those that see the processes used by technology as dehumanizing tend to overlook the joy that technology may give a family. With new techniques such as the ones described on page 93, both men and women can have their sexual prowess aroused, and even create life when deemed impossible. Of course many

Some people may say that the world does not rely too much on computers. I do agree that computers have done some wonderful things. They make it to where deployed soldiers can see their children and wives from anywhere as long as they have a web cam, advanced computer-based systems are used to examine delicate organs of the body. Some of the complex surgeries can be performed with the aid of computers, but I feel that the bad outweighs the good. People that don’t agree with me don’t think about the children that spend so much time on the computer that their grades start dropping at school, the children that fall prey to pedophiles, or the children that commit suicide over cyber bullying. Those people don’t think about the people that get their identity stolen right out from underneath them.

Despite how sophisticated and capable the brains of individuals are, people have become so reliant on calculators that students today are unable to perform basic math in their heads without using a calculator. It is so ironic, to think that what used to be done easily by our ancestors with their minds and the aid of an abacus is now all done relying on a machine which understands only ones and zeros. In no doubt will this trend continue as generations today have already become too reliant on technology. As Atkinson states the reality of technology replacing humans is truly inevitable and only a matter of time before the society realizes and accepts the

Computers have been around for many years and have helped our society grow and communicate with each other from long distance. According to Claudia Miclaus from “The Harmful Influence of the Computer,” computers are commonly used everywhere such as in school, at home, businesses and so on (Miclaus 1). Though the computer is very helpful to our society, computers can actually cause mental and physical health problems as well as social disorders. Most people that use a computer often are in danger of risky serious mental and physical health.

I. Computer 's are an integral part of our daily lives. Just about anywhere you go, a computer is present. Hospitals, banks, even the gas pump you frequent, relies on computer 's to figure out how much gas you pump, how much it is per gallon, and where to get that money from. As you can see from this line graph, computer 's are in more demand than ever peaking at 350 million sold in a year. (Computer Sales Statistics)