Technology and Modern Culture

Winner says, "It is clear that in decades to come a great many things like telephone answer machines and automatic bank tellers will become, in effect, members of our society." More recent technologies that could be included in Winner's list include the smart phone, online banking, and online shopping. Winner suggests that we surrogate our responsibility to these technologies. Do you think Winner is right or wrong? Be sure to give reasons for your answer and include specific technologies to support your point.

You will frequently read me write in these discussions: TECHNOLOGY INFORMS CULTURE. One characteristic of an ordinary human life is that we rarely think about the culture in which we are embedded. So for us working for a wages seems normal. Choosing a mate seems normal. Talking on the phone seems normal. Yet in many cultures and our not long ago you would own your own farm not work for someone else, parents would chose your spouse, and talking face to face had no alternative for most people. Yet each one of these behaviors is very much a part of large complex system of social rules and expectations that affect our relationships to each other and are affected not only by cultural traditions but also by technology. Keep in mind the definition of technology as you respond to this question.Can we really surrogate our human responsibilities to a technology? What can it mean to have a technology take over a human responsibility?

Do you think it's more likely, that the ATM is there to save you the trip to the bank or that the ATM is there because the bank corporation finds it more profitable that hiring more clerks to wait on you in the bank?

Do you think its a safe bet, that sometime computers will not think as well as or better than humans do? There processors may not work the same way but I'd be careful in assuming that they will never be "smarter" than we are.

If a company employees technology to reduce its costs, improve its profits, and reduce the price of its good or service, how exactly is that a problem, Kris? If all the workers that were ever needed to build wigets were kept employed after technology began to improve wiget production would we not have a lot of employed workers with nothing to do?....in theory?