Technology as villain?
QUESTION: Masters, There have recently been talk and reports from experts that technological advances would soon cause social unrest in many parts of the world (as technology would replace jobs). Are we in Danger of overusing technology? Please help us understand the issue and if possible provide us with any guidelines as how we can overcome the problem if there is one? ~Ravi, India
ANSWER: Before the invention of reaping equipment, farms required huge numbers of people to bring in the crops; in the beginning, a large portion of them were slaves. Before the invention of the printing press, manuscripts were copied by hand and only a minuscule part of society had an opportunity to learn to read. Before the invention of airplanes, traveling any distance was time consuming, costly, and available to only a few.
Each age of change increased the ability for greater numbers of people to become more aware of the rest of the world. As the planet shrinks, with no place to hide because all information can be made available almost instantaneously through news media and now the Internet, there is accountability like never before.
Instead of creating social unrest, technology is doing more to bring political and financial discrepancies out into the open. Country leaders and policies, which used to reside in dark and secret hallways, are being revealed and called to task for their actions, leading to the general public’s having a say in their own leadership.
Technology in industry is replacing jobs, just as in the above-mentioned periods of advancement, creating pools of people who must be retrained or educated to fit into the new society. Growth, enlightenment, and advancement demand the increase in knowledge and technology.
Flexibility in thought and expectations will allow all degrees of people to be integrated into a well-run society. Holding on to the past and fighting improvements will stall growth and assimilation of the new with the old. Many choose to hold off change, being “comfortable” with the present. See improvement as an exciting, potentially fantastic time, providing opportunities never before experienced.