Technophobia

Technophobia

Technophobia: is an abnormal fear of or anxiety about the effects of advanced technology, which confounds me since, technology does so much for society. In the last couple hundred years, the human life span has gone from around forty years, to close to eighty years for most people in industrialized nations. In this century, we could see the average life span reach over one hundred years of age.
Technology in of itself is neutral, it’s how it is put to use that make all the difference. The same technology that has put men on the moon, put satellites in space, placed the space station in orbit, and so many other important technological developments is also the same technology behind intercontinental missiles. Electricity can be used to light our homes, or it can be used to execute someone, that does not make it an inherently evil technology.

What needs to be done is, when we have a concern about possible misuses of a certain technology, is put guidelines in place to insure it’s not misused. Every day, people use countless chemicals that combined in the right quantities and combinations, result in a chemical bomb, as we seen in the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing on April 19 1995. The bomb used common industrial chemicals, such as fertilizer, solvent, etc to make their bomb, do we ban such items simple because they can be misused? No, we put in rules to keep tabs on new customers who make large purchases of such items, to insure they are not building a bomb, or limit the amount of such product that can be purchased at one time by an individual. This is similar to the rules for medications that can be used in crystal meth labs.

I look at the countless lives technology has changed for the better, those who have received new organs, how now they can simply go through the belly button, throat, and other openings in the body, so as to leave no scars. How now, they are developing bionic limbs that open and close when the person contracts the corresponding muscles on their limb. They are even working on artificial limbs that give tactile feedback, so the amputee, can feel hot, cold, and a since of touch from the artificial limb. They have given many deaf people the ability to hear with cochlear implants, and are now developing artificial eyes that give some people the ability to see. The cloning of organs is right around the corner, they have been able to clone several organs, and this can save countless people, as over fifty percent of those waiting for organs die while waiting for their organs. An organ cloned from your own stem cells has the added benefit of no rejection, so there would be no need for anti-rejection medication, or a weekend immune system for the rest of your life, or the increased chance of cancer from the compromised immune system.

I find a lot of the technophobia lies in the areas of food and medicine, to alleviate fears, and to insure our safety, rigorous testing of any new technologies should be required. In either case, when a medical product or a food product has negative side effects, it is our responsibility to stand up and demand something be done. However, even when we are informed, we often do nothing. Look at how many Americans and other people around the world still smoke, knowing full well smoking causes cancer. Even after the banning of Ephedrine, you can still find similar products on the shelves in stores, and advertised in magazines, and on TV. People are aware of the phrase, if it sounds too good, it probably is, but they rarely heed its warning. Look at how many people eat the largest burgers at the various fast food restaurants, knowing all too well that, a large burger, fries, and drink is a day’s calories or more.

As far as genetically modified food, I understand people’s fears, and I feel vigorous testing is mandatory. Genetic modification happens in the wild to a small degree, and humans have done it for millennia via breeding, just look at the countless dog, cat, and hoarse breeds we have created. Of course, genetic manipulation takes this to a higher level, and there may be some unexpected results, which is why there must be vigorous testing. If that industry is failing to do so, we need to crack down on the government and that industry, but it doesn’t make the technology inherently bad or evil. If you consider global warming and how researchers say, it could mean less bio-diversity. It might be necessary to engineer large trees that can deal with the warmer temperatures, to save our forests, and to continue to have an ongoing supply of lumber. Even though we are working on alternative fuels, and many other technologies to counter global warming, there may be some problems that only genetic engineering can solve, until we can cool the planet.

Of course, we should take every step to avoid any negative impact on humanity or any life when doing genetic engineering. Just as, we should take every step to avoid negative impacts from any technology, be it the use of petroleum products, mining natural minerals, or even from energy plants coal, nuclear, etc. So maybe rather than being like Chicken Little and running around declaring that the sky is falling, those who are technophobic could better serve humanity, by the advocating least harm as the philosophy of humanity. Through this philosophy for example, the electronics industry could be motivated to use only clean processes in the manufacture of their products, and therefore the byproducts of their manufacture will cause no harm to life, human or otherwise. The same could be done with countless other industries. The space program likewise would find the lease harmful means of launching rockets, if it means finding alternative fuels, or launching most cargoes in unmanned rockets that are initially launched from a rail gun or giant cannon, which ever causes the least harm to the atmosphere. There is even hope of someday building a space elevator, which would raise cargo from the ground into space, and run of off electricity, or even using lasers to push ships into space. We can reshape our cities, our planet, and our society by adopting this philosophy. Also under this philosophy war, racism, etc could also be seen as things absolutely necessary to be eliminated as, their effect on the environment and human survival is just as severe as any technological accident, for what is war, but the absolute misuse of technology on one side or the other, and or the failure of people to come together and settle their differences.