Technological Advancements and Its Impact on Humanity Author Mr.Pratik Rajendra ButtePatil. B.Tech-Agricultural Engineering (Final Year) Abstract This paper sketches an overview of Technological advancements which have shown a substantial growth concerned with each and every field of humanity whether it be the communication systems, astronomy, nuclear powers, medical fields, automobiles, electronic devices of daily usage or the computers. Everything of the technologies has its uses and abuses over humanity; both of the views are taken in the account…. Introduction Relation of technology with humanity Humanity or Mankind has evolved from the essence that separates humans from beasts: the ability to use the mind for reason. Reason is the ability to analyze, create, deduce, and formulate. It is reason that enables human beings to strive to invent; it is through invention that mankind has developed society and created a better world. we could say that technology is the sum total of instrumentally useful culturallytransmissible information. Technology, a word with Greek origins, is defined as, “the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area”. Technology is a word used to collectively describe or portray the advancements, abilities, creations, undertakings, views, and knowledge of a singular group of persons: we as humankind. When we speak about the relationships between technology and humanity, it is evident that we have to deal with the interrelations between some very complex phenomena: technology, science, society or systems of societies, and systems of rights of a universal nature.The discovery and development of a large number of powerful energy sources-coal, petroleum, electricity etc have enabled humanity to conquer the barriers of nature. All this has facilitates the growth of fast modes of transport, which in turn has transformed the world into a global village. Technology and Humanity: A Positive Side As the old adage states "NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION" i.e. necessities tend to spawn inventions and each invention is annexed with the need of betterment and transmogrification. Newer and newer advances are happening All of the biggest technological inventions created by man - the airplane, the automobile, the computer - says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness. Mark Kennedy by the day. Technological change is in large part responsible for many of the secular trends in such basic parameters of the human condition as the size of the world population, life expectancy, education levels, material standards of living, and the nature of work, communication, health care, war, and the effects of human activities on the natural environment. Other aspects of society and our individual lives are also influenced by technology in many direct and indirect ways, including governance, entertainment, human relationships, and our views on morality, mind, matter, and our own human nature. Technological development has provided human history with a kind of directionality. As technology advances, it reverses the characteristics of every situation again and again. The age of automation is going to be the age of "do it yourself". Without the needed technology a lot of people would struggle with their health. In addition it saves many innocent lives Secondly, the advanced technology improves industry by making it more effective and, what is vital today, safer for environment. Thus the speed of improvement is huge and unpredictable. Systems which is further extended to mobile communications and the GPS, the semiconductor devices that drastically reduced the bulk of the aborigine (primitive) Vacuum tubes and could fit 100's of gigabytes into one's pocket, the fast and "intelligent" supercomputers. The advancements are also accompanied by the reduction in the time, effort and cost for production of any material ranging from the microchips to the state of art automobiles or from the sophisticated devices to the mega structures coupled with ease in design and development. Needless to add that these advancements also invigorate economic development as the effective use of technology reduces the material production cost and the overhead charges which generate savings in the economy and thus lead to national development Technology... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. C.P. Snow Advancement in Technology: A Darker Side Problems and potentials often go hand in hand; problems can be turned into opportunities Every elements of the universe exhibits two faces, one is constructive side and other is destructive side. Technological advancements have shown a substantial growth concerned with each and every field whether it be the communication systems, astronomy, semiconductor devices, automobiles, electronic devices of daily Society has become more and more usage, bio-electronic devices, building and dependent on technology. So much so that we architectural design techniques or the sometimes lack the willingness to think before computers we act. We become impatient if it takes more than a few seconds to download a copy of the morning news paper. We expect immediate responses to our email, and we expect someone to answer their cell phone whenever and wherever we call. Technology is making us so bust that we can cant even find time to spend with our closed one’s. it would be surprising to know that people are in contact through chat and online messaging though they are in same city because they think its more faster and effective but they are forgetting that meeting personally can never replace online chatting. Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons. R. Buckminster Fuller Under the estimation, populations of 65 years old or over will occupy 24 percent of the global populations in the year of 2030, it will even be as high as 30 percent in certain nations. 5:1, for some countries like German and Canada it can be as low as 1:1. As the saying goes in political parlance that “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The same can be applied in the case of the power given by the science and technology. The gift of science and technology have been deliberately abused by the “powerful humanity, time and again. There are natural side-effects of these gifts, but their deliberately misuse and abuse outweigh and evils of the side –effects, which could have been modified or at least minimized to a large extent otherwise. Human greed, selfish interest, lack of planning and myopic vision has all led to the abuse of science and technology. Let’s face it; we’re a stressed society. In 1986, 33% of worldwide people reported living with stress almost daily and 60% reported living with “great stress” weekly and these stats continue to swell. In 1994, as many as 20% of worldwide people reported living with “great stress” almost daily. Two things are certain. First, humans are social creatures. Communication is essential for the exchange of information and the development of both emotional and mental growth. Weapon engineering On the minus side there is weaponry which is the inseparable issue of the new technologies. Nevertheless, weapon engineering propels and provides a huge advance. Rivalry between the countries may also be ascribed to technological advancements, as the countries compete for the development of new warfare techniques and equipments.On the other hand while many people live in horrible conditions and famine governments spend a lot of money on developing weapon industry. Is it the right way? Maybe the modern technology should either stop or prevent social disproportions. The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers Sydney J. Harris Artificial Intelligence Nevertheless some people argue that science can destroy mankind. E.g.; Robots will be built to clone humans, robots will take over the world, the first genetically cloned human brain will be implanted in a robot which will enable to feel human emotions, and maybe even create some kind of robotic offspring. One thing I would also like to state is technology is only created by our minds, with our imaginations. Without imaginations, no technology would have been created. Technological Advancements: Present scenario Internet Technology Technology has made people rely heavily on the new advancements thus making them lethargic. People prefer riding a car rather than traveling in a bicycle or a bus or any other means of public transport. They don't care about the environment or the harm they do to the atmosphere by smoking out hazardous gases thereby depleting the Ozone layer and leading to overall global warming. Further, people prefer to use calculators even for small calculations which can be easily done manually. Additionally technology has become a part of their glitz and pride, and their greed has aggrandized. Another prominent technological innovation that well represents our humanity today is the Internet. The Internet is the worldwide, publicly accessible network of interconnected computer networks that transmit data between themselves. The Internet allows for us to, in some ways make the world smaller. One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man. Elbert Hubbard Do Machines Displace People From Workplace? Machines do not create jobs, they definitely eradicate the need for human effort. People make mistakes, machines do not. People get tired and cranky, machines do not. People are erratic and unreliable, machines are not. People think and act slowly, machines do not. People have very definite limitations of endurance and concentration, machines do not. But this did not mean that mechanized systems would always be dependent on human assistance. The development of artificial intelligence and advances in mechanical miniaturization has overcome these shortcomings. In the days of today’s stock markets, financial infrastructure, global news organizations, powerful militarizes, strong governments and big corporations, instantaneous communication is an asset we cannot afford to lose. The Internet allows for our humanity in modern day times to interconnect and promote globalization and information sharing. Medical Technology Perhaps one of the most vital technological advances in our society today is in the field of human medicine and health sciences. This field deals with the maintenance, prolongment , and restoration of human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease and injury. Today, modern medicine is practiced within a well-developed framework of healthcare infrastructure. Research in the field of medicine has allowed for the development of many new treatments, drugs, medicines, and solutions that have allowed for the dramatic prolongment of the human lifespan. Today, with the influence of medicine, the lifespan of the average human is only increasing. Medicine in today’s world provides the most vital of all services; it ensures the survival of the humanity as a whole. Nuclear Technology It has many vital applications in modern society, the most prominent of which are nuclear weapons, nuclear medicine, and nuclear power. The most controversial of these is, without a doubt, nuclear weapons. Even in the area of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, there are great concerns about nuclear accidents, damage from nuclear radiation and the question of safe disposal of radioactive wastes. It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity. Albert Einstein Agriculture Technology In agriculture, improvements have been When you look at the usage of nuclear technology, you must look at the situation from effected so far on a gradual basis. For example, the viewpoint of human society as a whole, and in animal husbandry, one has gone from selection and crossing, to artificial insemination, not from a standpoint of an individual. and embryo transplant technologies None of these have given rise to fears. But genetic engineering arouses fears because one moves across species boundaries. Multiplications and mutations can develop and progress rapidly in biological systems. Risk assessment is much more difficult and uncertain, compared to physical engineering systems. In biology, one also deals with systems interactions, such as in ecology, those are complex. It is, therefore, important to continuously monitor what is happening in the field, using the very same powerful techniques of biotechnology. We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special. Stephen Hawking Conclusion Needless to say that like any other aspect of development, the technological development is similar to a double edged sword which on one side can kill someone and on the other side can lead to one’s own protection. However, the decision to use it proficiently in proper perspective is one’s’ own decision and choice. If technological advancements are put in the best uses, it further inspires the development in related and non-related areas but at the same time its negative use can create havoc in the humanity or the world. Technology has, and will, change the moral fabric of humanity; it is up to the present generation to heed this warning and not allow such societal travesties of immense proportions ever to occur again Technological Advancements will continue to advance rapidly as we move into the next millennium. What is important is to ensure that these advances benefit humanity as a whole…… References: