Technology In Oryx And Crake

Bould is suggesting that technology is affecting how people function, and that people are no longer individuals because they are having to fit into society norms.

Technology diminishes our empathy. In the last paragraph of, “Attached to Technology and Paying a Price,” the author says, “We did not go out to dinner, we just sat there on our devices.” Technology demands your time. Almost always the time that is given up is family time.

Medical advancements are very important for extending the quality and quantity of life, however a strong moral compass is needed to make sure, in the name of science, ethical and moral science are not crossed. Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, and the movie Gattaca propose a technologically advanced society that challenges these ethical and moral views. Although Brave New World and Gattaca relate in the aspect of genetic discrimination, they differ in the limits and powers of technology and the effects of human spirit.

In the novel ‘Feed’, M.T Anderson proposed a human can have a small chip placed in the head, that feeds them the best deals, and latest trends, as well as providing all the functions laptops and cell phones used today could provide, and in having this chip implanted in their heads, it encourages buying the best bargains and purchasing the latest products, and keeping up with the trends that are changing daily. Throughout the Novel, Anderson plays with the idea technology as negative effects on society. He shows a society where people’s ability to think is decreasing, as is their emotional capacity, where corporations run the system and have let the environment suffer because of it. He shows a society where advertising and consumerism are driving the human race, and reducing people’s humanity.

Many generalizations are present throughout this chapter that weaken Carr’s argument. This quote is just one of the few generalizations, “The intellectual ethic of a technology is rarely recognized by its inventors. They are usually so intent on solving a particular problem or untangling some thorny scientific or engineering dilemma that they don’t see the implications of their work. The users of the technology are also usually oblivious to its ethic. They, too, are concerned with the practical benefits they gain from employing the tool” (Carr 45). As stated before this quote is a generalization. Carr is generalizing with the assumption that inventors are usually so intent on solving a problem that they aren’t focuses on the benefits or consumers, which isn’t very true anymore. Many inventors who create products are now looing for the benefits that its user or consumer will get. Therefore this quote can confuse the reader.

One company, OrganInc Farms, aims to improve the artificially formed pigoon through implementing, “a rapid maturity gene [that] was spliced in so the pigoon kidneys and livers and hearts would be ready sooner, and now they were perfecting a pigoon that could grow five or six kidneys at a time” (23). Through this attempt at “perfecting” the pigoon, OrganInc Farms promotes the importance of reaching an idealized version of living animals. Through inventing, and then accelerating the adaptation of the pigoon, OrganInc Farms transitions biological changes from an event outside of human control to an academic pursuit. This change signals a societal increase in control over natural surroundings, and a commitment to the advancement of humanity through the use of technology.

“In the last 50 years, up to 100,000 Americans lost their lives due to inactivity leading to some sort of conditional disease such as heart disease [including the laziness within people of society]” (Wise 12). So many people have died from becoming lazy, doing nothing but go on their phones, devices, rather than doing everyday things. Technology has changed the way society approaches life, always depending on it rather than themselves and others. The society today consists of nothing but TV screens, telephone, smartphones, iPads, and items the 19th century would consider a dream to lay hands on. A book written by Bradbury presents lack of effort people put into their lives and society; Bradbury predicts how the future will become later on in the society. Becoming more similar to the laziness and ignorance in the novel, Fahrenheit 451, the society today struggles the society today struggles with dependency on technology which results to lack of social interactions with one another and failure in becoming literate with books.

Technology may not be everything it seems. Although worldwide use of various devices and applications has revolutionized the way we live and our culture in a powerful and helpful way, there are many ramifications to be considered. The consequence to this revolution of culture and way of life is carefully observed and portrayed by M.T. Anderson in his novel Feed. Anderson uses the literary art of satire to create characters that are exaggerated versions of people today to reveal their uncontrollable obsession with technology.

A machine determines what people will buy, how they will act or look and even date which could cause people to suffer from boredom and go tired of the same stuff as always. In the previous, society is controlled by a machine that surrounds their mind with the aspects they most like. When Tilly says “You are scheduled to attend the kickoff meeting for the Davis case at eleven, which means you’ll get a lunch paid for by the firm. I suggest you go light on the breakfast, maybe just a banana.” (Ken Liu, 1), When Tilly suggests Sai what to eat, reveals people possess a lack of thought, which produces people to become ignorant by being told how to act, they stop thinking how they live their lives. Society trust in what their phones tell them is best for them and what will make them happy, they believe and let themselves manipulate by artificial intelligence to feel they are making sure they are going to become happy with the decisions they make. The idea of people controlled by technology leads to depression after some time, because makes people feel alone. In Harrison Bergeron society tells the people how they have to look, when the author mentions And to offset his good looks, the H-G men required that he wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, “keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snuggle-tooth random.”(Kurt Vonnegut) the previous reinforces the idea of a society manipulated and limited to look certain way, what the author says leads to loneliness because people can’t be themselves. People also have a lack of thought because they can’t have their own decisions which produces them to depend on

In the futuristic world M.T Anderson creates in Feed, the misuse of technology is a problem the world faces. The novel Feed describes how the world could be in the future if humans let technology rule their lives. Anderson wants the reader to realize the effect technology has on our lives, and he also wants us to understand how we are being controlled and manipulated by media. Therefore, Anderson, fearing that one day technology will surpass humanity by creating a society of idiots like in the novel Feed, warns the reader from the future our society might face if we don’t make a change soon.

Deeply entrenched within society is the idea that we are continually advancing and developing in all sorts of ways, but mainly for the benefit of human vitality. In Oryx and Crake, one of the experiments the scientists and researchers focuses on is their pigoon project, where they can “grow an assortment of foolproof human-tissue organs in transgenic knockout pig hosts” (22). The pigs are genetically modified by inserting human cells into them so they can internally reproduce the same organs as humans do, and are also inserted with spliced genes to “fend off attacks by

Mr. Kelly argues that, technologies new and old have helped humans throughout history. The use of technology has formed us and has become an extension of who we are as humans. I have to agree with his arguments. Technology provides opportunities, sometimes for a price, but we are always willing to pay it because we are naturally drawn to progression. Technology has helped humans evolve from small populations with high mortality rates to prosperous, growing overpopulated lands. Our optimistic views of the future and witnessed benefits from the use of technology, has left us with an addiction we willingly life with. Mr. Kelly said, “[Technology] is the most powerful force that has been unleashed on this planet, and in such a degree that I think that it 's become our -- who we are.”(Kelly)

Envision a world where nano sized robots can burrow themselves into your skin just by touching something or perhaps explode within you on command. Consider perchance, a world were humans have collective thoughts and can generate the processing power of a super computer. Sounds like something out of an awesome dream or a nightmare, depending on how you perceive it. These are just some of the ideas that are presented in transhumanism. Transhumanism can be explained as the belief that the human race can advance past its current physical and intellectual confines through the use of technology (Bostrom, 2014). In the current world we live in, we are limited by a number of factors, many of these include the scientific limitations and the properties of physics. On the other side of the limitations, lay the concepts of morality and ethical issues. Along with those concepts include how this technology correlates to our current world. In the novel The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, humans live alongside nanobots (and various other technology) in a transhumanist world. In this advanced world, the ideas of morality and ethics are still present within the human race. In many aspects, the morality and ethical issues that humans encounter today are reencountered in this transhuman world.

In today's world, the real meaning of technology is not understood and known by all. Technological innovations do not worry people, unless of course, they are done to things we eat or use as medications or ones that affect our lives in any way. Often we do not think of things such as seedless fruits and antibiotics as technology. However, if we look deep into the meaning of technology, it is bought about my human beings and changes the environment so our goals can be met and in such a case even fruits become technology. (Cowan 301-326)

Thousands of years ago, humans were pushing the limits of technology through agriculture in ways such as domesticating animals or making the wheel. Today our dedication to understanding and trying to control the world is leading us to engage in controversial topics and ethical debates. Curiosity is one of our race 's greatest gifts but, it is also a curse on the human population. The classic story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelly showed a scientist 's curiosity leading to a monstrous creation. This story was science fiction in the past, but in modern times it is closer to becoming a reality. Advances in technology are creating new possibilities in science, including the idea of manipulating human genes through the process of genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is revolutionizing and reshaping modern medicine and agriculture. While genetic engineering is leading to many innovations and discoveries in science, there are still questions in society regarding the ethics of testing and manipulating humans.