Essay Sample about Technology, Taking Over Our Lives

Have you ever thought about how much you rely on technology like your phones or computers and how much time you spend on them? Some people believe that technology is taking over our lives and soon we won’t be able to live or think without it. An illustration by Luo Jie called “De-evolution” depicts the evolution of man and then shows the man being sucked into his phone. I believe what they are trying to illustrate is that we are relying so much on technology that we won’t be able to live without it. I believe that we are all starting to become too dependent on technology like it’s our life-support.

Nowadays you can’t do anything without having to use the internet or the option to. For example, if you want to make a transaction at your local bank, you’ll have to at least use one computer to do so. Or let’s look at a simple task like just getting groceries. I know that my local Walmart where I always go-to for groceries that they have now only have 4 lanes for cashiers while they have around 20 lanes for self-checkout. This just shows that major corporations are also relying on technology more and more thus making it easier for their customers to get hooked on technology. An article by John Emoavwodua states many ways technology is taking over our lives like communication nowadays everyone either uses text messages or emails as a way of communication. Yes, it does make getting in contact with people almost instantaneously, but we are starting to use it too much to the point where some people can’t even communicate without it.

Technology isn’t just controlling our lives, but also replacing us in our own jobs. Right now, in the present, there are scientists who are building machines that will inevitably be replacing humans in their jobs. I get those robots will make it much more efficient and make things go faster in the workplace, but this will just hurt a greater number of people who need those jobs to make a living. Evidence of this that I personally have seen is the local McDonalds now have a tablet that you can order on without having talked to a person or anything. An article on Forbes by Jack Kelly states “The organization cites that automation will supplant about 85 million jobs by 2025.” There are many jobs that will be lost to machines, but it is also said that the new economy will help produce a large number of new jobs also.

I believe technology may even control our body and in several different ways. Many people worry that in the future people will have cybernetic implants in their bodies to the point where they can’t be considered fully human. People usually use the term cyborg, but I believe that there can be many benefits to this. However, this may take away what makes us human and take away our humanity. Whenever I think about this topic my head goes straight to a movie called “Wall-E.” This movie shows a future for humans that I believe is a realistic possibility of where robots control our lives. An article by Max Tegmark states how AI can be devastating in the future. An example he gave is what if the AI was programmed to be a weapon to kill, even though this is already in effect. The whole situation will just keep getting worse and worse as AI advances in technology.

Technology can have many benefits to us that can make the world an easier place to live in. But, this isn’t necessarily a good thing because what is living if you’ve never had to work for something and never had to struggle to achieve something. Life is about learning from your failures, but if we make machines that do this for us that can’t be considered living. I believe technology can do good, but I believe it will cause more harm than good.