Ethics of Technology in Review

Admittedly at the beginning of the semester I felt learning about philosophy was about as useful as a required course on how to do your laundry. When I heard "Digital World" and "Cyborgs" my line of thinking was more along the lines of http://youtu.be/mUihzNN0ees than Howard Borgman.

However, going through the course I've been able to acknowledge a few alterations in my perspective. Foremost, philosophy does have a purpose, as it helps us understand the ways in which outside factors effect the human condition and our society going into the future. While to be honest i still feel that technology, generally speaking is neutral. That line of thinking has shifted. Technology is built within the context of a society, and interpreted through the lens of that society, therefore the remnants of technology stabilize a culture to a point in time and bring that culture into the future. As an example, the atomic bomb. The culture that built it was at war, it was built for total war, to win at all costs. These messages are interwoven with the machine to the extent their inseparable. Therefore, while the bomb is not innately bad, the purpose for which it was designed and the culture in which it exists forces it as bad.

More-so their is a relevant concern for the ethics of technology, we must be concerned with the technology we make, what it continues from the societal context in which it's created, as our machines continue us long after we're gone, therefor we owe it to future generations to ethically develop technology, and ensure the survival of our species in a recognizable fashion.