J2T3W2 “Our Faith In Technology To Solve All Our Problems Is Misplaced.” Comment. Flashcards
What does technology consist of?
Nuclear Tech
- energy source
- weaponized by Kim Jong-un
- Fukushima nuclear meltdown
Information Tech
- Internet & social media
- space tech
- satellite
- AI
Genetic Engineering
- Genetic Therapy
- Stem cell research
- GM food
Biomedical
- vaccines
- medical treatment
Transport & Communication
Others
GM food to increase yield and address malnutrition
Weather and climate have long been limiting factors to human well-being. Small farmers across Africa, Asia and Latin America depend on rain for subsistence farming and to maintain their income, but unpredictable and extreme weather conditions due to climate change have made it difficult to produce regular yields.
In response to this issue, UK aid to African countries enabled the development of genetically modified, drought-tolerant maize, which increased farmers’ yield by up to 30% and benefitted 20 million people across 13 African countries.
This aid has also been used to fund scientific research for the development of crops with naturally enhanced nutrient content to address malnutrition in children.
AI to monitor hunger
The World Food Programme (WFP) and Chinese company Alibaba developed an AI-powered hunger monitoring system called “Hunger Map Live” which collects public information on weather, nutrition, and other macro-economic factors to predict and track the levels of hunger in more than 90 countries, With access to real-time data, decision makers can respond faster and provide humanitarian assistance to area that most urgently require it.
The WFP also employs drone technology to inspect areas affected by natural disasters. These drones are able to deliver high-quality aerial photos, which proved useful in 2017, when Category 5 hurricanes Irma and Maria struck the Caribbean; these photos helped decision makers identify which areas needed assistance the most.
Why technology may not solve the problems of the poor? (Elaborate: Socioeconomic inequalities impinge on the forms of technologies that are priorities and how they are eventually distributed; this means not all problems will be solved for everyone in time if at all.)
Tech can fail to solve problems where there is no incentive to develop it towards such an end, or where there is no incentive t administer it to where such problem exist.
The advancement of tech requires investment, often in the form of substantial sums of money and time.
Often, the eventual application of technology also attract the interests of entrepreneurs and companies, leading to the development of technology being motivate Dane incentivized by speculative profits.
The socio-economic class that experiences any problem plays a large role in whether its solution is prioritized during research an development. The problems experienced by those in a higher bracket often takes precedence. It is ultimately those with the superior purchasing power who naturally determine, whether consciously or norm what kinds of technologies are produced and how they are distributed. Thus, technology could very well end up not addressing any of the problems of the poor. Technology that is attractive to those who can afford it often draws the attention and the resources of many R&D sectors of companies.
Furthermore, just because the means to deal with a problem exists does it guarantee that it will find its way to the communities that are actually facing said problems. Technology is a cold and uncaring tool that does nothing on it s own to ensure the equitable distribution of its services.
SpaceX benefits the ultra-rich exclusively.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which was founded with the ultimate aim of colonizing Mars, aims to build a city on the red planet. However, Musk estimates that a return ticket would cost around US$500,000 - an amount that is far beyond what most of us can ever afford in our lifetimes.
In fact, even just building this fabled city alone would be exorbitant. At the lowest end, Musk estimates that the city would cost around US$100 billion to build, but this price would skyrocket to US$10 trillion.
While some might argue for the merits of technologies that will help us terraform Mars, especially given the dire environmental situation Earth is in right now, we must also be mindful that even if such a utopia were to one day be a reality, it is unlikely that the average civilian here on our humble little rock would ever be the one up there on a newly colonized planet.
Instead, the efforts of companies like SpaceX ultimately benefit the rich almost exclusively, hardly solving the problem of humanity
Lack of Internet access in underdeveloped nations.
With classes and work moving online because of COVID-19, many have lauded video conferencing platforms as a godsend. But internet access is not a given across all communities. In fact, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that 86% of primary school children in the poorest countries are “effectively out of school now” because they do not have the equipment required for web-based learning, unlike 20% in richer countries. Those who truly require these technological solutions and would benefit from them the most thus lack the means to acquire them.
Elderly are reluctant to learn how to use technologies effectively.
A 2019 Study by the Pew Research Centre found that 73% of Americans aged 65 and older are internet users, up from just 14% in 2000, and 53% own smartphones. However, a study by UC San Diego found that frustration with these technologies of=French made this demographic unmotivated to try learning how to use them effectively.
Benefits and Detriments of Nuclear Technology
Benefits: It can provide great volumes of clean energy. The Nuclear Energy Institute estimates that more than 476 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions were avoided by the United States in 2019 alone.
Detriments: Although nuclear weapons have, since 1945, been utilized as a form of deterrence against threats, scientific developments in nuclear technology have consistently improved the precision and destructive capabilities of nuclear weapons. This posed a problem even in the 21st century, as belligerent states, such as North Korea, had access to nuclear weapons, and did not adhere to international appeals for denuclearization. Beyond nuclear testing and threats to direct their nuclear missiles at South Korea and Japan, North Korea has continued to pour money and resources into further research and development of its nuclear weapons. In 2017, North Korea successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that could have up to 60 nuclear warheads in its inventory. In 2019, a report from the United Nations revealed that North Korea had taken US$2 billion from cyberattack to fund the development of weapons of mass destruction.
