Will it Help Us or Hurt Us?
In the future, technology will become so advanced that we may rely too much on it, it will start to rule our lives. In some cases, this will help us, but is that a large enough advantage to give up societal interactions? The future of technology will bring as many negative side effects as it will positive ones. We will have to learn to counteract the negative side effects, we will have to keep our humanity. Some side effects of technology are already showing in present day. The most impactful damages of technology will include, the loss of jobs, the loss of interaction with society, and the loss of physical exercise. The positive effects of technology in terms of everyday devices, space exploration, and prosthetics include making life more convenient, allowing us to explore the universe further, and being able to replace lost/missing body parts effectively. There are plenty of pros and cons, but technology will advance no matter what, society just has to overcome these difficulties and try to evolve with the technology while still acting as normal human beings.
It’s Definitely Going to Hurt Us
There have been many complaints of some of the side effects of technology being shown already. The newer generations are forgetting the common etiquettes of being around others, as they are constantly glued to their phones or computers. The entire nation is struck by unemployment, all because everything is becoming automated and human workers are simply unnecessary. With technology doing everything for us, with cars taking us wherever we want and entertainment allowing us to sit still for hours at a time, obesity is a rising problem throughout the world and people are not getting enough physical activity. In the future, not only will these problems persist, they will grow. More and more people will become affected by these problems as time goes on.
It is a fact that machines can do things much faster and more efficiently than humans can. Companies all over the world are realizing this and a huge percentage of people are going unemployed simply because a robot could do their job better. In fact, The Telegraph, a newspaper in Britain, let out an article that states that 35% of jobs, around 10 million, will be eliminated by technology and robotics in the next twenty years. So, as technology becomes more advanced and can perform a variety of different tasks, more and more people with lose their jobs. Humanity is digging its own grave, wire by wire.
The newer generations are constantly accused of being rude, of being anti-social. Many people nowadays are not comfortable looking in the eye of the person they are talking to, simply because they are not used to it. And to be honest, it is not surprising that this is a problem. These days, there is so much social media and so many convenient ways to interact with each other that it is not surprising that face-to-face talking seems to be a problem for many people. In unfamiliar settings, people are more comfortable staring at their phones rather than going out and talking to people In fact, a study done by Ohio University states that pedestrian cell-phone related injuries have doubled since 2005. Technology has created a bubble around each and every person, making them oblivious to the events happening around them. In the future, this problem will only get worse. The advanced technology will just make it much easier to disappear into the bubble. The technology will become so human-like that there will be no need or want for human contact. There are already supercomputers which can act and adapt similar to we do. In the future, this technology will not be only for large companies, it will be a commodity. Everybody will be able to have a device that they can talk to and treat like a normal person. When this is the case, not only will people retreat deeper in their bubbles, they will not even feel the need for human interaction. We may not be robots, but oftentimes we feel more comfortable with machines than we do with other people.
These days, around 35% of adults in just America are obese. That number has the potential to double in just the next 15 years. When everything we need is just a tap away, there is no need to get up and move. We are programming technology to not only take our jobs in the workforce, but also in our own homes and lives. Everything will become so easy that we will barely need to get up and walk around for anything. Cars will be made to fly themselves, groceries will be picked up for you, technology will become so realistic and enthralling that people will want to stay inside for long periods of time. Oculus Rift’s virtual reality headsets have already made it so you do not need to leave the house. In the future, when the technology is made even more realistic and ridden of all its bugs, people will be able to do whatever they want without leaving the comfort of their home. If we continue on this path, we will disable ourselves. We will become so reliant on technology that we will not be able to live without it. Laziness and obesity is already a problem, but looking at the speed at which we are advancing, they will become very big issues very quickly.
The Technology Might Even Be a Good Thing
With all these negative effects being discussed, one thing will always be true: nothing will stop us from advancing our technology to bring on these negative effects. We, as humans, are extremely curious people, and now that we have gotten a taste of the wonders that technology brings about, we cannot stop. However, this does not have to be a bad thing. If we learn to counteract the downfalls of technology, which we can most definitely do, there is no limit to what we could do. We can make our lives so much easier and exciting with the advancement of everyday devices, as we already have. We can explore so much more of the universe, and solve countless amounts of problems. We can save lives with advances in medical technology, illnesses and disabilities will become a thing of the past. We have only scratched the surface when it comes to solving problems, there is still so much more that we have left to accomplish, and given time, there is no doubt that we will be able to.
These days, everywhere we look, we see cell phones, computers, games, and countless other devices. Everybody would agree, there is much more that we could do. For hundreds of years, people have wanted to fly, and in 1903, the Wright Brothers did just that. Millions of people now fly everyday in airplanes, but soon, it could be much easier than that to fly. Flying cars are predicted to be on the market as soon as 2020, and ten years after that, these cars will be as much of a commodity as regular cars are right now. The wonders that we see in science fiction movies will not be wonders anymore. Holograms, life-like robots, intuitive machines will become commodities that everybody will be able to afford. Hundreds of professions will benefit from the ability to have hands-on experience without moving a finger. Virtual realities will improve education, with students able to go on virtual field trips without ever leaving the school. Medical students will be able to practice surgeries without having an actual body to practice on. However, that will not matter because the technology will be so realistic that it will be as if they are actually have the experience in person. Just like people in the past would never have thought to be able to connect with people around the world in as intimate a way as video-chatting, there are countless ideas that we right now cannot even fathom being possible. In the future, when one door is opened, ten more will be visible to step-through. There are simply too many possibilities to imagine.
Many scientists state that we have only uncovered 1% of the secrets that the universe holds, and they are absolutely right. However, as the power of technology increases exponentially, that percentage will also increase. Right now, the furthest we have sent a human being is to the moon and back, however, the future holds the potential to go much farther than that. We will be able to explore different planets, maybe even different galaxies. We may be able to set up colonies on other planets, which would solve hundreds of problems, from the destruction of the atmosphere to overpopulation. We may be able to master Einstein’s idea of the time-space continuum and bring H.G.Wells’ The Time Machine to be more than just a classic novel, it can become reality, The universe is literally endless, as it is constantly expanding, and we are minuscule compared to the vastness of the universe, but just exploring our solar system thoroughly may reveals wonders beyond our wildest dreams. We could make the space travel in Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game a reality. We will never be able to explore 100% of the universe, but just a small fraction of that will provide us with thousands of scientific questions and even more scientific possibilities. We are completely oblivious to the inner workings of the universe, and we cannot learn more until we advance considerably. Right now we cannot create rocket ships to go far enough to send human life to other planets, and it is possible that with our current energy sources, we may never be able to. However, if we learn how to effectively harness alternate forms of energy, such as solar energy which is currently too expensive to properly use, we can perform wonders. The extremities of space exploration may not be accomplished in this generation, maybe not even the next, but it will happen, and when it does, we will uncover marvels that go beyond our wildest dreams.
Compared to deep space exploration, prosthetics is an extremely fast-advancing technology. Robotic limbs have saved countless amounts of lives and transplants and surgeries have saved even more. Quite simply, prosthetics are artificial body parts, however, in the future, they may be so effective that they do not feel artificial at all. In fact, in the future robotic body parts could be so advanced that we would be able to control them as we do our natural body parts. In fact, there are already robotic body parts that are controlled by our brains. They are not as versatile as our natural body parts, but given time, that too can be fixed. The future of technology may be most prominent in the medical field, and we will be able to solve many medical disabilities, whose cures are mysteries to us right now. The future will allow us to learn about bodily processes and reactions so that diseases, illnesses, and mental and physical disabilities will become distant memories, problems that can be easily solved.
You Decide: Will it Help Us or Hurt Us?
With the pros and cons of technology being so interconnected, it is extremely difficult to judge which side outweighs the other. However, one thing is absolutely clear, the future will increase both the negative and positive effects that we are starting to see today. Only time will tell whether technology will help us or hurt us.
It’s Definitely Going to Hurt Us
There have been many complaints of some of the side effects of technology being shown already. The newer generations are forgetting the common etiquettes of being around others, as they are constantly glued to their phones or computers. The entire nation is struck by unemployment, all because everything is becoming automated and human workers are simply unnecessary. With technology doing everything for us, with cars taking us wherever we want and entertainment allowing us to sit still for hours at a time, obesity is a rising problem throughout the world and people are not getting enough physical activity. In the future, not only will these problems persist, they will grow. More and more people will become affected by these problems as time goes on.
It is a fact that machines can do things much faster and more efficiently than humans can. Companies all over the world are realizing this and a huge percentage of people are going unemployed simply because a robot could do their job better. In fact, The Telegraph, a newspaper in Britain, let out an article that states that 35% of jobs, around 10 million, will be eliminated by technology and robotics in the next twenty years. So, as technology becomes more advanced and can perform a variety of different tasks, more and more people with lose their jobs. Humanity is digging its own grave, wire by wire.
The newer generations are constantly accused of being rude, of being anti-social. Many people nowadays are not comfortable looking in the eye of the person they are talking to, simply because they are not used to it. And to be honest, it is not surprising that this is a problem. These days, there is so much social media and so many convenient ways to interact with each other that it is not surprising that face-to-face talking seems to be a problem for many people. In unfamiliar settings, people are more comfortable staring at their phones rather than going out and talking to people In fact, a study done by Ohio University states that pedestrian cell-phone related injuries have doubled since 2005. Technology has created a bubble around each and every person, making them oblivious to the events happening around them. In the future, this problem will only get worse. The advanced technology will just make it much easier to disappear into the bubble. The technology will become so human-like that there will be no need or want for human contact. There are already supercomputers which can act and adapt similar to we do. In the future, this technology will not be only for large companies, it will be a commodity. Everybody will be able to have a device that they can talk to and treat like a normal person. When this is the case, not only will people retreat deeper in their bubbles, they will not even feel the need for human interaction. We may not be robots, but oftentimes we feel more comfortable with machines than we do with other people.
These days, around 35% of adults in just America are obese. That number has the potential to double in just the next 15 years. When everything we need is just a tap away, there is no need to get up and move. We are programming technology to not only take our jobs in the workforce, but also in our own homes and lives. Everything will become so easy that we will barely need to get up and walk around for anything. Cars will be made to fly themselves, groceries will be picked up for you, technology will become so realistic and enthralling that people will want to stay inside for long periods of time. Oculus Rift’s virtual reality headsets have already made it so you do not need to leave the house. In the future, when the technology is made even more realistic and ridden of all its bugs, people will be able to do whatever they want without leaving the comfort of their home. If we continue on this path, we will disable ourselves. We will become so reliant on technology that we will not be able to live without it. Laziness and obesity is already a problem, but looking at the speed at which we are advancing, they will become very big issues very quickly.
The Technology Might Even Be a Good Thing
With all these negative effects being discussed, one thing will always be true: nothing will stop us from advancing our technology to bring on these negative effects. We, as humans, are extremely curious people, and now that we have gotten a taste of the wonders that technology brings about, we cannot stop. However, this does not have to be a bad thing. If we learn to counteract the downfalls of technology, which we can most definitely do, there is no limit to what we could do. We can make our lives so much easier and exciting with the advancement of everyday devices, as we already have. We can explore so much more of the universe, and solve countless amounts of problems. We can save lives with advances in medical technology, illnesses and disabilities will become a thing of the past. We have only scratched the surface when it comes to solving problems, there is still so much more that we have left to accomplish, and given time, there is no doubt that we will be able to.
These days, everywhere we look, we see cell phones, computers, games, and countless other devices. Everybody would agree, there is much more that we could do. For hundreds of years, people have wanted to fly, and in 1903, the Wright Brothers did just that. Millions of people now fly everyday in airplanes, but soon, it could be much easier than that to fly. Flying cars are predicted to be on the market as soon as 2020, and ten years after that, these cars will be as much of a commodity as regular cars are right now. The wonders that we see in science fiction movies will not be wonders anymore. Holograms, life-like robots, intuitive machines will become commodities that everybody will be able to afford. Hundreds of professions will benefit from the ability to have hands-on experience without moving a finger. Virtual realities will improve education, with students able to go on virtual field trips without ever leaving the school. Medical students will be able to practice surgeries without having an actual body to practice on. However, that will not matter because the technology will be so realistic that it will be as if they are actually have the experience in person. Just like people in the past would never have thought to be able to connect with people around the world in as intimate a way as video-chatting, there are countless ideas that we right now cannot even fathom being possible. In the future, when one door is opened, ten more will be visible to step-through. There are simply too many possibilities to imagine.
Many scientists state that we have only uncovered 1% of the secrets that the universe holds, and they are absolutely right. However, as the power of technology increases exponentially, that percentage will also increase. Right now, the furthest we have sent a human being is to the moon and back, however, the future holds the potential to go much farther than that. We will be able to explore different planets, maybe even different galaxies. We may be able to set up colonies on other planets, which would solve hundreds of problems, from the destruction of the atmosphere to overpopulation. We may be able to master Einstein’s idea of the time-space continuum and bring H.G.Wells’ The Time Machine to be more than just a classic novel, it can become reality, The universe is literally endless, as it is constantly expanding, and we are minuscule compared to the vastness of the universe, but just exploring our solar system thoroughly may reveals wonders beyond our wildest dreams. We could make the space travel in Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game a reality. We will never be able to explore 100% of the universe, but just a small fraction of that will provide us with thousands of scientific questions and even more scientific possibilities. We are completely oblivious to the inner workings of the universe, and we cannot learn more until we advance considerably. Right now we cannot create rocket ships to go far enough to send human life to other planets, and it is possible that with our current energy sources, we may never be able to. However, if we learn how to effectively harness alternate forms of energy, such as solar energy which is currently too expensive to properly use, we can perform wonders. The extremities of space exploration may not be accomplished in this generation, maybe not even the next, but it will happen, and when it does, we will uncover marvels that go beyond our wildest dreams.
Compared to deep space exploration, prosthetics is an extremely fast-advancing technology. Robotic limbs have saved countless amounts of lives and transplants and surgeries have saved even more. Quite simply, prosthetics are artificial body parts, however, in the future, they may be so effective that they do not feel artificial at all. In fact, in the future robotic body parts could be so advanced that we would be able to control them as we do our natural body parts. In fact, there are already robotic body parts that are controlled by our brains. They are not as versatile as our natural body parts, but given time, that too can be fixed. The future of technology may be most prominent in the medical field, and we will be able to solve many medical disabilities, whose cures are mysteries to us right now. The future will allow us to learn about bodily processes and reactions so that diseases, illnesses, and mental and physical disabilities will become distant memories, problems that can be easily solved.
You Decide: Will it Help Us or Hurt Us?
With the pros and cons of technology being so interconnected, it is extremely difficult to judge which side outweighs the other. However, one thing is absolutely clear, the future will increase both the negative and positive effects that we are starting to see today. Only time will tell whether technology will help us or hurt us.