Has technology caused more harm than good?
Alex John
7 replies
Replies
Maya Ben Zid@maya_ovice
A remote working solution.
Obviously, technology is a powerful tool and you can use it both ways. However, all things considered, we used it to create a lot of good. Social media, for example, led to a lot of issues in mental health, endorsing political campaigns, censorship or extreme lack thereof, and so on. However, these platforms helped promote public good, contributed to learning communities, helped level the playfield to people from different countries who would otherwise be confined to local environments, and so on.
The challenges we are experiencing with the Internet are growing pains - after all, it is less than a century old, and humanity doesn't have all the answers yet. Even so, there are organizations involved in fostering ethical, secure, sustainable, and inclusive use of technology so we are on the right track.
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Yes, we are seeing the results
WorkHub
No, as technology is a tool, its impact is determined by how people use it. For instance, nuclear technology can be used to power all cities of the world or to destroy the whole world. The outcome is determined by how people use the technology.
Distracted driving, mental illnesses, sleep deprivation, and decreased physical activity are significant harms that have increased in number because of technological advancements. But yes, if you utilize things within a proper and safe limit, technology has revolutionized the globe.
Well, this is quite a debatable question. We cannot assign digits that this percentage of benefits are there of tech and the rest are harms. Each picture has two sides.
Not at all. Let's think of a few techs over the years:
1. Power generations, heat, air conditioning: saved millions of lives from the elements
2. Water desalination, chemical treatments, etc: saved millions from dehydration and diseases
3. Medicines and medical techs: dramatically improved life expectancies through ensuring safer surgeries, etc
4. Agricultural techs: Ensuring greater access to foods
5. Telecommunications tech: Allowing us to communicate with almost anyone, anywhere.
These are just a few samplings of techs. There's so many and they've done so much for us. Just look at the quality of life today compared to a hundred years ago. Measure it by infant mortality, life expectancy, etc. Tech has clearly had a net positive effect on us.
Yes there's tons of work for us to do to protect the climate, environment, and resources. We're seeing more companies starting to address those challenges too. We'll get there!