Written By Sherwood Kohn
The effects of technology have always been ambiguous.
It is a cliche that technology can be used for good or ill.
That is because the humans who use technology are notoriously ambivalent. There are plenty of mean, greedy, and just plain rotten people to offset society’s predominantly good folks.
The image of a teenager transfixed by a cell phone, oblivious to whatever is going on around him, isolated from other people or events, is common enough to disturb the more mature among us.
In such instances, one is often moved to wave a hand between the teen and his device, or to say, “Hey! There are other humans here!”
Okay, that does not really count as “evil,” unless you believe that willful isolation from other people is a bad thing.
In fact, that instance is only the more benign among many in our increasingly dehumanized culture.
As you may have heard, George Orwell’s Big Brother is already here, in the form of surveillance devices, some of which were developed as weapons (i.e. drones) to aid in protecting the nation against terrorists and other criminals, but are now being used domestically to keep tabs on almost everyone.
And then there is the computer, a spectacular communication device which hackers and marketers use to violate personal privacy, not to mention commit fraud and threaten our entire energy grid.
Of course, the internal combustion engine, like the one in your car, is a marvel of technology. It is also a grand polluter. And it is used to power not only domestic automobiles (which will kill an estimated 34,000 people this year), but military machines, such as tanks, which are obviously in business to destroy life and property.
Nuclear power is another example. Originally conceived as a medical treatment, it has the potential of generating unlimited energy, providing mankind does not use it to exterminate humanity.
It is apparent that many technological advances have their downside; some more than others. The crucial factor is people, and how they use technology.
In many cases, inventors create products that they believe will benefit mankind. They do so with the best of intentions. But as the old saying goes, hell is paved, etc. There will always be those who pervert technology for personal gain, or just for the sheer pleasure of oppressing their fellow men.
I hesitate to say it, but every technological advance, like that in art, bears the potential for wickedness. The fact that people continue to invent beneficial mechanisms and paint masterpieces is encouraging, despite the dark side of the phenomena, and clearly indicative of the divine nature of creativity.
