How to Cope with the Promises and Perils of Technology

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”, these are the quotes of the famous German physicist Albert Einstein in relation to how the world has become overly reliant on technology. As a result, we have taken nature for granted while also ignoring the adverse effects of technology. The making of steam engine, the usage of fossil fuel and the creation of chlorofluorocarbon are all technologies which has benefited us greatly and are continuing to do so, but like everything on this earth there are always negatives to counter the positives This is the balance that we must find between nature and humans.

W asks, Can technology "embody specific forms of power and authority" (19). He reviews the ideas of Kropotikin, Morris Hayes, Lillienthal, Boorstein and Mumford on his way to answering his question. For example, Hayes states that "deployment of nuclear power facilities must lead society toward authoritarianism" because of safety concerns (19-20). W believes "that technical systems of various kinds are deeply interwoven in the conditions of modern politics [and further, that the] physical arrangements of industrial production, warfare, communications, and the like have fundamentally changed the exercise of power and the experience of citizenship" (20). Indeed, "human ends are powerfully transformed as they are adapted to technical means" (21).

If customers do accept one of the cost-saving cloud services solutions, what barriers exist to prevent new competitors from rapidly entering the market and eroding eLoanDocs’ market share?

Look around you, anything from the chair that you are sitting on to the phone in your pocket existed thanks to an engineer. We currently live in a world sculpted by the work of technologic professionals. As the significance of the choices made by engineers increases, it has become more and more important to ensure that these choices are ethically correct.Through analysis of Eric Katz’s Nazi Engineers, it is clear that societies ethics ultimately determine the direction in which society moves.

Since the beginning of the science and technology era, the impact of technology on humanity and society has been growing. New technologies are also emerging, which means that we should be responsible for what we are developing. Therefore, when we develop a new technology, we should respect ethics and take care of all the damage caused.

The defense industry is one of the largest recruiters of STEM graduates in the nation. Thousands of engineering students enter this industry and must justify the morality of their work. These engineers work on projects that affect themselves, the engineering profession, and the entire world population. This paper will look into some of the facts surrounding engineering in the defense industry, its intended and unintended consequences, and judge the work of these engineers by applying Egoism, Utilitarianism, and Kantian ethical theories.

Mankind has limitless potential. However, we often are first forced to break down old barriers. In the past humans have broken free of gravity and traveled through the skies. Then came the invention of the computer. The idea of millions of calculations performed each minute may have seemed absurd a century ago, but society’s dependence on it today can never be overestimated. The future, I believe, will be an era of power and energy.

Techno-optimist or techno-pessimist? That is the question. Technology throughout time has no doubt changed our way of life. Travelling to destinations quicker, curing new diseases, or figuring out how to cease a wide famine are examples of how technology has made advances over time. The solutions that scientists create spark a tool that others cannot live without. But what if these technologies bring out negative effects rather than their desired purpose? Sometimes, innovators create new inventions that bring unintended consequences. It could range from less communication face to face, side effects from new medicines, or pollute the earth’s atmosphere.

On February 14, 2016, the Chronicle of Higher Education published an essay by Julio M. Ottino and Gary Saul Morson entitled “Building a Bridge Between Engineering and the Humanities.” Ottino and Morson discuss the importance of the fields of engineering and the humanities. The purpose of the essay is to show how engineering and the humanities are linked together and are needed simultaneously. Even though, Morson and Ottino adopt a weak informal tone in the middle of their argument; the authors end their argument strong by successfully using ethos and logos to appeal to their audience, college and university faculty and administrators.

Even though engineers have the ability to design and manufacture things that have the potential of increasing productivity and proficiency, they can also lead to destructive inventions. Consider the state-of-the-art census machine IBM developed that sold to Germany in the 1930. These devices would allow for the collection of population data that can be studied for positive purposes. Instead, the Third Reich used it to identify Jews and other ethic minorities which lead to the Holocaust. Even though the IBM engineers had not designed the machine to be used to discriminate, they will forever hold the weight of all the lives of the people lost in the Holocaust.

With the constant discovery of scientific principles and new engineering designs, the responsibility often lies in the hands of engineers to decide what is in the best interest of the public. Millions of people around the world use products and structures developed by engineers, every day. Before accepting work from a client, it is important that engineers have a good understanding of their own personal limitations. If work is accepted that they are “not competent to perform by virtue of [their] training and experience” , there is a clear disregard for public welfare and potential for a serious safety hazard. It is again evident that the

Over 88% of the population in America uses the internet in some way (“U.S. Internet Users”). Many people question if new technology is causing people to become ungrateful for what they have. Some people believe that if nobody found problems in the technology they have, then nothing would advance to become better. On the other hand, some people believe that technology is taken for granted. These people think that certain types of technology is overused, and is causing people to become unappreciative. In many cases, technology is taken for granted despite how amazing the things we have today really are. Society is unappreciative of the technology

Breakthroughs in fields such as artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous vehicles, the Internet of Things, nanotechnologies, 3-D printing, biotechnology, quantum computing, energy production and materials science are all within the range of near-term reality. The speed of this revolution is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. It is a revolution that already is disrupting almost every industry and societal institution in every country. Imagine that whatever can be imagined, probably will be a reality.

Every object on Earth was either created naturally or by humans. Grass and trees were both here long before beings but the scenic park humans go to enjoy these amenities were created by individuals. The trails people walk on to the playgrounds kids play on have all been created by persons. This is such an abstract idea: that humans themselves are what keeps this modern world moving. A necessity for this world are engineers as their skills range from designing the parks and trails to producing suitable weedicides for the grass. The most important aspect of the modern world is the technology that is advancing it. The capabilities of engineers regarding technology that keeps humanity alive or destroy it are the abilities in which engineers can harness and manipulate energy. The energy sources include both renewable and non-renewable resources and are the vital backbones of this modern world.

The central idea I am proposing is this; the safety and health of the public will be put at risk if the same kinds of people keep political power in the future. What I mean by this is people with no engineering background or similar trade don’t have or chose not to act in the best interest of the public when their careers are on the line. On top of that the world is changing at a blinding pace: the challenges of global warming, population growth, and rapidly advancing technology, are problems the general public is ill equipped to handle, without the help of engineers in positions of power. The threats to humanity will overwhelm the political structure we currently have, unless engineers are at the helm to meet them. There are several human made disasters we have covered in the class talking about what happens when people with little to no engineering experiences made engineering decisions. For most cases only a few people were directly affected, while this is a tragedy so people lost their lives the scale of the issues has been on a smaller scale. I bring your attention to the events dubbed the Flint Water Crisis it is a much larger scale issue where thousands of people were affected by a series of bad decisions.