„Only in the madhouse are we allowed to think. On the outside our thoughts are explosive. We must either stay in the madhouse or the world must become one. “ „What has been thought cannot be taken back.“ (The Physicists – F Dürrenmatt) – Can technical development be allowed to continue without bounds?

Barbara Marten - 28.09.2019 @ 11:08

Hi, this is my translation on the article "Kann der technische Fortschritt grenzenlos weiter gehen?" by Seriana Schwyter. Hope you enjoy and best of luck reading!

sofia olsson - 15.11.2019 @ 15:23

Could the technical progress continue without limits?

by Seraina Schwyter (translation by Sofia Olsson), VKS Växjö/Sweden

Have you ever reflected on how technical innovations influence us as humans? How it has actually changed the living situation for the general population and how far that change realistically could go? 

Today’s technical innovations just keeps developing at a very high velocity.  A life without technical and electronic devices almost seems impossible at this point.  With the rapid technological advances, we have come to a point where we could, with the help of for example atomic bombs theoretically eradicate the entire population of the world. Similar situations took place during the second world war, where many were frightened of the power of nuclear weapons. For us, this means that with the technical progress of today will end after humanity is extinct.

Furthermore, there are a lot of people who are concerned about whether the everyday use of technology and electronic devices is resulting in humans increasingly losing themselves to the technical world, thus neglecting their sense of origin and basic needs. A big developing technical area is regarding robots and their potential ability assume our role as human beings.

In my opinion a very important point when discussing this subject is the manufacturing of all the smaller technological parts that help the progress. The industrial manufacturing is resulting in toxic pollutants. As most of us know pollutions are a big factor in the environmental debate and a big reason for our ozone layer breaking down. These problems will require a solution at some point or the whole world as we know it will go under. These threats have raised the question of inhibiting other planets but even though the production of equipment for living on another planet is in full swing, the technology might not be ready in time.

In the novel “The Physicist” by the Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt he talks about how our scientific and technological discoveries have both allowed us to dominate the world but might also put our world in a state of complete chaos. The book was written in a time where the world was split and the concept of human destroying its own race with nuclear weapons or war was not so farfetched.

Closely related to all of the negative outcomes there are positive ones as well. We humans have evolved tremendously with the help of technology and so the question remains, does the technological progress have limits or can it go on forever? 

https://www.inhaltsangabe.de/duerrenmatt/die-physiker/

https://www.xlibris.de/Autoren/Duerrenmatt/Kurzinhalt/Die%20Physiker

Thank you for the interesting article.

We've got so far with our technology, we achieved things, that people 100 years ago thought they were impossible. We were able to land on the moon and to send a space station into the orbit. All these things are great achievements of mankind, but they had their negative sides too. The rocket, which sent the first humans to the moon was built by Werner von Braun, a German engineer who also build the V2 Rocket, a weapon for the Nazis. Later, in the cold war, the development of rockets was primarily for the cause of being able to reach every part of the world with a nuclear warhead. This nearly led to a nuclear war in 1962.

But now about the robot topic. I've played a quite interesting game about this topic. It's called Detroit: Become Human and it is set in 2030, where so called androids do nearly all the work humans don't want to do. They do all the work in the household and are basically slaves. But it seems that they are developing own thoughts and a consciousness, and they don't want to work for the humans anymore. So, they start a revolution against their "masters".

Of course, we are not yet capable creating such androids nowadays. But artificial intelligence is developing fast and we should really be careful with those things, because they could be dangerous for us.

Greetings

Amaur

Amaury Mammet - 01.01.2020 @ 10:42

Hi Seraina and Sofia,

You mentioned very important issues in your article. That is true that technical innovations are really useful in our lives and we could probably not do without them. As you said, there are good and also bad aspects of developing technology- it can be used for the good of humanity or to the detriment of it. Electronic devices should help us in everyday life and make it easier, but they should not be treated as reality and must not replace our relations with other people.

I agree that the production of new technologies pollutes environment, but also throwing away old devices is harmful- they should be recycled and as many parts and materials as possible should be reused during the production of new items. In my opinion that would be the best solution.

The novel - “The Physicist” by Friedrich Dürrenmatt- really interested me. It shows well how hard it is to be a researcher/ an inventor: he dreams from the beginning of his scientific life and discovering/ constructing something meaningful for humanity, and when it happens, more trouble starts. Doing these jobs is really responsible, because something dangerous can be discovered/ invented by accident. That person has to decide what to do with his discovery: to risk showing it to the humanity, although it may become the cause of woes for some people and might be used in a bad way, or to hide research results/ inventions and wait for better times when it is sure that these things will be used only in a good way and for good development of humankind. In the novel one of the physicists tried to hide his research and he did not want to share it with others, but when finally, he did it, it was his mistake.

We cannot say who exactly should limit technological progress but certainly researchers and inventors should consider whether their works will bring more good or bad for the world.

Damian Stępak - 07.01.2020 @ 13:39

Thanks for the article and I really enjoyed reading. Actually I do not know how to think about technologies. I mean there are plenty of disadvantages... we spend way too much time on the internet, using social media, forget our surroundings and more. Robots and computers even start to replace people in factories who work (for example) at assembly lines. Many people lose their jobs and it is going to get harder to get a job.

Of course there are advantages too faster working, high efficiency etc.).

Nevertheless, I think the new technology causes more damage than helps the society.

Pia Boje - 07.01.2020 @ 15:55

Dear Seraina and Sofia,

thank you very much for giving us an insight on your thoughts and fears about technological innovations.

Having thought about the dangers and disadvantages of technology, it is for sure and certain, that  I too am scared about the overly technolized future.

Sure, there are a lot of new possibilities, chances and hopes. But just the mere thought of a roboter replacing me in every area of work and life, gives me goose bumps. As for this, I am very happy that nowadays we have strict regulations and ethical codes. Furthermore, I believe that technologies and humans can live peacefully together, as long as no limit is trespassed that could depict a danger for humans.

Best wishes,

Catarina

Catarina Becker - 07.01.2020 @ 16:19