Jasmine Inthavong

ENG 112

October 13 2019

The Evaluation of Technological Advancements

Technology has had a major impact on society now more than ever. Society has been able to

grow and flourish as a result of technological advancements. Over recent decades, technology has

advanced at an exponential rate. An example of this would be the evolution of phones. From rotary

phones to payphones to flip phones to Iphones, phones have changed steadily in a span of just a hundred

years. ​The purpose of every technological invention that is created is to benefit the lives of all of

mankind. This reinforces that technological advancements have had a positive impact on society and that

it is seen as being almost always beneficial. However, in the long term it may not be as beneficial as some

people think. There are both benefits and drawbacks to technological advancements that most people

don’t realize nor do they realize that there are many different types of technological advancement.

When people usually think about technological advancements they think of it in terms of it being

in one field or spectrum. Most people think of advancements in technology in relation to the engineering

field. Although this is true, there are many more different types of technological advancements. One of

the main technological advancements that are used daily in the community is in the healthcare field. In

relation to healthcare, there has been a great amount of technology that has evolved over the years.

Instead of having to do everything by hand, healthcare professionals are now able to type patient

information on a computer. In the past healthcare professionals wrote all patient information by hand,

making it a more lengthy process. With technological advancements over recent years, it is now a faster

and more effective way for both the patient and the healthcare professional. Most patient information

today is electronic, so it is easier for healthcare professionals to be able to transfer patient information. An
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example of a system that is used in healthcare today is Epic Systems. This system is one of the biggest

providers of health information technology and is used mostly by U.S. hospitals and health systems in

order to access, organize, store and share electronic medical records. Another type of technological

advancement that most people don’t think of is​ global welfare. Global welfare is the health, happiness,

and fortunes of people worldwide. Each country has their a different state of development they are

currently in. The United States would be considered as a developed country while Brazil would be

considered as a developing country. In order to help global welfare, there has been the implementation of

technology in areas that don’t have access to it. However, there have been unforeseen consequences as a

result of this. Another type of technological advancement that people don’t think about is technological

advancement in relation to how it affects people cognitively. Technology has been such an important part

of people’s life that they have become entirely dependent on it. This makes arises the question as to

whether or not this would affect human thinking and human intellect.

When it comes to technological advancements, the first thing that people think of is all the

benefits that come along with it. Technological advancements in healthcare are beneficial to society. In

relation to healthcare, “technological change brings benefits in addition to costs—increased longevity,

improved quality of life, less time absent from work, and so on.” (Cutler 11) With technological

advancements there has been an increase of medical care cost over time, but this does not necessarily

mean that technological change is bad or negative. This comparison brings up the question as to whether

or not it is worth it in relation to cost. Some of these benefits include lower infant mortality and better

treatment of heart attacks due to technological advancements, although the cost of these treatments are

quite expensive. As stated by Cutler, “ recognizing that there are other benefits to medical care, we

conclude that medical spending as a whole is clearly worth the cost.” (Cutler 12) Along with

technological advancements, ​new technologies lead more people to be treated for disease. When treatment

for diseases is effective, getting it to more people is beneficial. This in turn helps with the health of all
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people in a community. Longer life as well as the improved quality of life is the most important benefit of

technological advancements in the healthcare field. ​Another benefit of technological advancements is that

it has played a key role for people to overcome their disadvantages. “​Technological advancement has

been a defining feature of the modem industrial economy. While such advancement is often portrayed as a

process in which tech-savvy individuals prosper while low-skilled people are left behind in a digital

divide”. (Saving) In actuality, those who lack strength or mobility can use machines to lift objects or

move from one location to another, those who lack dexterity can operate machines that perform manual

labor, and people who can’t read can perform tasks by touching pictures on a computer screen rather than

typing. Technological advancements have helped to reduce the need for physical skills and people who

previously lacked the requisite qualifications to work have been able to become employable.

Technological advancements benefits workers of all skill levels in relation to job hunting. This process is

often often cumbersome and time-consuming. People who were in search of work usually had to travel

from city to city or spent days in libraries shifting through copies of major newspapers to find jobs.This

process of finding work could take months or even years for people. ​Today the job-search process has

become much faster for workers and companies alike and now millions of resumes are put online for

potential employers to see. ​In relation to education, there are some positive aspects for technological

advancements. With the internet, education has been transformed. ​There is more knowledge and

information available online than ever before, “be it history or math, languages or chemistry from

kindergarten kids to adult students in community colleges they have everything available at their

command.” (Jagyasi) Children are smarter than ever before and it may be due to technological innovation

and progress made in the information sector and computing.

The drawbacks of technological advancements are usually not noticed or talked about. One

drawback of technological advancements is that there are cyber threats that come along with it. As

technology advances, so does cyber threats. “Today​, cyber threats are risks to governments, corporations
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and many other institutions as well as individuals.”(Kilaz) An important part in cyber defense is

manpower. This is because it takes longer to train cyber defense personnel compared to conventional

military branches and there is a scarcity of cyber human resources. Everyday on a global scale military,

energy, and many other sensitive government networks, websites and critical IT infrastructures are being

attacked through cyberspace. Cyberspace is a network system where data is exchanged, modified, and

stored. In cyberspace there are many threats that stem from nation-states, terrorist organizations,

organized crime groups, and individual cyber criminals. These threats are extremely dangerous because

they could have the ability to obtain personal information from the government, corporations, institutions,

or even just a community of people. Another drawback of technological advancements is that it can

negatively affect people cognitively in relation to education. The age of digitalization comes with

challenges for both individuals and in communities. ​Technology has been seen as a form of ​substitution of

all characteristics of life. An example of this is in the school system. Today it is common in schools for

students and teachers to have computers, with the goal to improve the learning process and make it more

attractive. The traditional way of learning is rapidly replaced by new technological approaches due to this.

Students of all grades now speak less and instead choose to type more on their computers; they don't

remember things as well as they use their computer to find all the needed answers or solutions for their

work. “As a result, a weakening of cognitive processes, abstract vocabulary, reflection ability, critical

thinking and imagination occurs, as psychologist Patricia Greenfield states.” (Petraşuc 118) ​Another

drawback of technological advancement is that it negatively affects global welfare. Looking at

globalization in relation to technological advances in information technology, it has not had a positive

impact on the economies of developing countries based on a Human Development report. Technological

advancements have helped to improve the standard of living in industrialized countries, unfortunately,

most people don’t realize that this causes developing countries to lag further behind. Some studies have

come to the conclusion that the investment of technology is an important factor in improving the
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economic welfare of all countries. However, one important factor about these studies is that they have

treated technology investment as an independent variable explaining growth in economic welfare. “I​n

most developing countries, there are not many opportunities for a technological unemployed individual to

undertake the necessary education or training to win a place in the new technological job market.”

(Fazel)The most important thing to take out of this is that a​ccording to the well accepted rules of growth

theory, new technology doesn’t guarantee increased productivity and economic growth.

With the advancements of technology there are both benefits and drawbacks. Technological

advancements have helped to improve learning techniques and innovations in many fields. However,

these benefits may not outweigh the drawbacks that come along with technological advancements.

Works Cited

Cutler, David M., and Mark McClellan. "Is Technological Change in Medicine Worth it?"​ Health Affairs,​

vol. 20, no. 5, 2001, pp. 11-29​. ProQuest,​

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https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/204631162?acc

ountid=10163, doi:​http://dx.doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.20.5.11​.

Fazel, Shokoofeh. "Advances in Technology and Global Welfare."​ Humanomics​, vol. 19, no. 3, 2003, pp.

36-40​. ProQuest​,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/203023182?acc

ountid=10163, doi:​http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/eb018887​.

Jagyasi, Prem. "Are the Innnovative Technological Advancements Making Us Smart Or Lazy?"​ProQuest,​

Oct 18, 2017,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1951969866?ac

countid=10163​.

Kilaz, Ilker, Akif Onder, and Murat Yanik. ​Manpower Planning and Management in Cyber Defense.

Academic Conferences International Limited, Reading, 2014​. ProQuest​,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1859443945?ac

countid=10163​.

Petraşuc, Ana-Maria G., and Daniela Popescul. ​The Dark Side of Digitalization: Information and

Communication Technology Influence on Human Learning Processes. v​ ol. 2, "Carol I" National

Defence University, Bucharest, 2019​. ProQuest,​

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2213790762?ac

countid=10163, doi:​http://dx.doi.org/10.12753/2066-026X-19-085​.

Saving, Jason L. "The Effect of Welfare Reform and Technological Change on Unemployment."

Economic & Financial Review​, 2000, pp. 26-34​. ProQuest,​

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https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/196534871?acc

ountid=10163​.