Challenges of Technological Change
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The statement by Kenneth E. Boulding points to the anomaly that progress can have its limitations and can introduce regressive elements into the society it has been deigned to serve. Boulding evokes the image of human progress as a matter of evolutionary drive from the primitive to the more advanced, but always considered to be in a forward direction. Such an evolutionary process has infused human actions and relations for centuries, and especially in our own time we think of scientific advancement as progress on a grand scale. It should be apparent to us all that the pace of technological change has been accelerating as we have reached a point where communications and other scientific advances have made it possible to disseminate ideas, refine them, and produce entire new technologies at a pace unheard of before in human history. We are now facing a major shift in terms of computer technologies, the proliferation of cyberspace, refinements in artificial intelligence, and the complex of control systems to which Boulding refers. What Boulding asks is what this shift will mean for our existing political and economic institutions, and he believes that it is difficult to predict the outcome.Boulding is right both that technological change challenges our political and economic institutions and that it is difficult to predict the outcome because such massive change has unintended and unforeseen consequences. What is less certain is the nature of these changes. Boulding acc
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ion sets, coffee makers, microwave ovens, videocassette recorders, and hand calculators, not to mention toys and games. The arrival of the computer age was so rapid that we have not yet managed to cope with all the changes or with many of the consequences. More and more people are concerned about the issue of privacy, for instance, in an age in which virtually everything we do is recorded somewhere in a computer system. The potential for abuse is great. Congress has considered the issue, the courts have had to deal with it many times and will certainly have to address it in many cases in the future, and the public at large is convinced that there is a potential for abuse even if such abuse has not yet surfaced. Because of this concern, there is a need for a comprehensive program of legislation to identify the problem, clarify the issues, and offer a legal framework as a solution. As yet, no such solution has been developed.
The statement by Boulding has to be seen as optimistic about technological progress, recognizing that problems will develop and that unforeseen consequences will have a major effect while at the same time believing in the human capacity to adapt and to correct course as we go along. The opposing view is
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2443
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)
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