The role of technology should be to improve human life, but not to affect human values.

Describe a specific situation in which technology might justifiably affect human values. Discuss what you think determines whether or not technology should affect human values.

Technology is a difficult word to define. For our purposes, let’s limit the scope of the definition to a physical object, instrument or piece of machinery that helps us accomplish a task. Before that piece of technology was invented it would have been time consuming or impossible to achieve a certain end (say build a road), but with the invention at hand everything is made much easier. Part of the essence of technology is that it can have a massive impact on human life. Technology can improve or worsen our lives by influencing our health, wealth and happiness. Inventions and innovations can also throw fundamental human values into question. These values typically relate to our beliefs, traditions, and codes of ethics.

One such invention that drastically changed established human values was the automobile. Before cars became prominent, it was very difficult for people to travel long distances rapidly. Sure the wealthy could travel by horse, and increasingly by steam train, but the average individual in the united states was more or less fixed in a given region. The inability to travel, say to a neighboring city or state for a weekend, or even to commute back and forth to work was well ingrained in people’s psyche. This was normal. People didn’t want to travel around to different cities, it wasn’t necessary. But slowly, as cars became more available, this changed. People’s range of travel increased and the long established belief that interstate mobility was unattainable changed. The world became bigger, opportunities expanded, and new possibilities emerged.

In general, technology should challenge human values if it proves those values to be outdated, inappropriate, or unnecessary. With cars, people realized that they didn’t have to stay in one place anymore. The long held value that traveling from town to town for work or leisure is impossible became anachronistic. Technology has the power to modify values, often with progressive consequences.