Analysis and development of information systems
rural electric co-ops are examples of local institutions.
Carlos Andrés Martínez caro
these are some points of the technological revolution and its
impacts:
Technology for Basic Human Need : If the New World Order is
to sustain peace and justice for all, then adequate food, shelter,
health, and education must be available to everyone. Critical
priorities are clean, human-scale technologies that promote
agriculture, public health programs, and affordable housing in
developing nations and low-income groups in advanced
nations. We must remember that humanity has the technical
capacity to eliminate absolute poverty and hunger if
substantially increased international aid were directed to
sustainable development designed to meet basic human
needs.
·Our priorities, resources, and professional incentives must be
guided by human needs and ecological wisdom and move
away from defense-related research and projects that will
provide even more luxuries for the privileged.
·Resource Use and Environmental Impact—Technological
policy and design in all nations now needs to embrace the
priorities of conserving natural resources, using energy
efficiently, achieving low levels of pollution, and working in
harmony with nature.
·Economic Efficiency—Economic criteria such as cheaper
processes and lower prices are important and generally
determine technological decisions. Environmental and worker
safety regulations add to business costs, but if they were widely
accepted, no competitors would be at a disadvantage. Full-cost
accounting and new social and ecological efficiency standards
and goals would make solar, wind, and other renewable, non-
polluting technologies truly cost effective.
·Labor Intensity—With the growing threat of catastrophic
climate change from burning fossil fuels, labor intensive,
renewable energy technologies could become one of the
biggest markets of the 21st century. As early as 1979, the U.S.
Council of Economic Priorities reported that investment in
energy-efficient technologies produces four times as many
jobs as building new power plants.
·Human Scale and Relative Simplicity—, these simpler
systems are more understandable, less vulnerable to
breakdown, and have less serious consequences when
breakdowns do occur. Equipment can be locally adapted and
repaired which is helpful to people who are poor or committed
to voluntary simplicity.
·Job Satisfaction—Far too much work, especially in high-tech
industries, is alienating, extremely stressful, and spiritually
impoverishing. All work needs to provide sufficient income
support for basic human and family needs; yet true job
satisfaction requires workplaces that are safe and non-toxic.
·Democratic and Community Control—More human-scale and
locally controlled techno-systems permit wider levels of input in
decision-making, the use of more local resources, and greater
autonomy, self-reliance, and adaptability to basic human
needs and the local social and cultural environment. Credit
unions, producers’ co-operatives, community agriculture, and
Earth-Based Technologies
Human engineering needs to be guided by, and should function
in an integral relationship with, the masterful technologies of
Earth, not in a despotic or disturbing manner or under the
metaphor of conquest. In the transport system of vascular
plants, in the energy conversions of photosynthesis, in the
efficiencies of the hydrological and mineral cycles, in the
communication systems of genetic codes are technological
models of great power and elegance.
Needed now are bio-centric human technologies that are
coherent with Earth technologies, and that would enable our
agricultural, energy, architectural, and other projects to be
carried out in an integral relationship with Earth’s functioning.
Self-Actualization Technologies
Riane Eisler, who has written several books on a partnership
model of social organization, describes (personal and social)
“technologies of actualization” that deserve substantial public
and private support in the 21st century:
“There are four types of technology. There are technologies of
production, reproduction and destruction. The fourth type is the
technology of actualization, which facilitates the realization of
our highest human potentials... Personal technologies include
meditation for spiritual growth and biofeedback for self-
healing... Technologies of actualization are also social
technologies such as public education, peace conferences,
representative politics, equitable economics, democratic
families, and other human inventions for the construction of the
kind of society that can facilitate, rather than impede, the
realization of our highest human potentials: what I call a
partnership rather than a dominator model of social
organization.”
Technology—Our Destruction or Salvation?
Throughout the world, multiple and converging crises are
worsening—cultural, social, political, economic,
environmental, moral, ethical, and spiritual. Destructive mega-
technologies, such as fossil fuels, weapons of mass
destruction, and profit-driven telecommunication systems,
primarily serve narrow commercial, political, and military
interests that degrade or endanger much of the planet.
Now is the time for policy-makers, business leaders, social
scientists, environmentalists and citizens everywhere to join
together to identify and implement ways that Earth-based
technologies, social technologies, and technologies of self-
actualization can help us attain our highest human potentials
and create a world that is peaceful, just, sustainable and filled
with beauty and magic.
 • Does technological development provide more positive or
Analysis and development of information systems
negative effects on the world? Why?
When we speak of the
impact of technology on
society, we always talk
about the positive effects
of technology and about
how technology has
Carlos Andrés Martínez caro
made life easy. We talk
about the Internet as an
information resource
and a communication
p l a t f o r m a n d
conveniently ignore the
f a c t t h a t a n
overexposure to it leads
to Internet addiction. We
often discuss how
technology has made life easy but easily forget
that it has made us overly dependent on it. Have
you thought of the impact of technology from this
point of view? I am sure, most of you haven't. Let
us look at this aspect of technology here.
Impact of Technology on Our Society
Think of the days when there were no computers
and no modern means of transport. Human life
was highly restricted due to the unavailability of
technological applications. Daily life involved a lot
of physical activity. Life of the common man was
not as luxurious as that of modern times, but he
was more active. Exercise was integrated into
routine physical activities. It was contrary to the
sedentary lifestyle of today, which leaves no time
for exercise and fills days with inactivity and laze.
Today we don't want to, and thanks to the
advancement of technology, don't even need to
walk, move around, or exert ourselves physically
to great extents in order to get things done. We
have the world at our fingertips.
We think of technology as a boon to society. I am
afraid; it's not completely a boon. The Internet has
bred many unethical practices, like hacking,
spamming and phishing. Internet crime is on the
rise. The Internet, being an open platform lacks
regulation. There is no regulation on the content
displayed on websites. Internet gambling has
become an addiction for many. Overexposure to
the Internet has taken its toll. In this virtual world,
you can be who you are not, you can be virtually
living even after you die. Isn't this weird? Children
are spending all their time playing online and less
or almost no time playing on the ground.
Youngsters are spending most of their time social
networking, missing on the joys of real social life.
Think of the days when there were no online
messengers, no emails, and no cell phones.
Indeed cellular technology made it possible for us
to communicate over wireless media. Web
communication facilities have worked wonders in
speeding long-distance communication. On the
other hand, they have deprived mankind of the
warmth of personal contact. Emails replaced
handwritten letters and communication lost its
personal touch. With the means of communication
so easily accessible, that magic in waiting to reach
someone and the excitement that followed have
vanished.
Moreover, we have become excessively
dependent on technology. Is so much of
dependency good? Is it right to rely on machines
to such an extent? Is it right to depend on
computers rather than relying on human intellect?
Computer technology and robotics are trying to
substitute for human intellect. With the fast
advancing technology, we have started
harnessing artificial intelligence in many fields.
Where is the digital divide going to take us? How is
our 'tomorrow' going to be? 'Machines replacing
human beings' does not portray a rosy picture,
does it? It can lead to serious issues like
unemployment and crime. An excessive use of
machines in every field can result in an under-
utilization of human brains. Over time, we may
even lose our intellectual abilities. You know of the
declining mathematical abilities in children due to
use of calculators since school, don't you?
The impact of technology on society is deep. It is
both positive and negative. Technology has
largely influenced every aspect of living. It has
made life easy, but so easy that it may lose its
c h a r m o n e d a y. O n e c a n c h e r i s h a n
accomplishment only if it comes after effort. But
everything has become so easily available due to
technology that it has lost its value. There is a
certain kind of enjoyment in achieving things after
striving for them. But with everything a few clicks
away, there is no striving, there's only striking.
With the developments in technology, we may be
able to enjoy all the pricey luxuries in life but at the
cost of losing its priceless joys.