With every advancement in technology, our lives are becoming more convenient. There’s no doubt that technology helps us bring positive changes to our living standards. It is widely adopted across the globe and used daily. That’s why thinking about living a day without technology is a nightmare. Be it professional or personal life, technologies are at the core. Undoubtedly, the ease and convenience it brings into our lives is the reason for its worldwide acceptance. That makes us wonder, “Has technology made the world a better place?”
Today, you can almost connect to anyone in any corner of the world using the internet and a device. This was considered impossible a couple of decades ago. Similarly, technology is changing the world by providing us with access to endless opportunities and improving the quality of our lives.
Has Technology Made The World a Better Place to Live?
Yes, technology made the world a better place for sure. It’s made advancements in healthcare and communication, expanded access to education, and increased efficiency across industries. However, it also raises issues such as privacy concerns and the digital divide.
Technology, like art, is a soaring exercise of the human imagination.
Daniel Bell
Now that you have a brief overview of the topic, you’ll understand how technology has made the world a better place using examples across various industries. Almost all industries are touched by technology for good. Here are some instances of technology improving the world.
1. Technology in Healthcare
Technology has enhanced people’s health in modern society through early and accurate diagnosis of health problems and providing greater patient care. A few examples of technology safeguarding patient safety are as follows.
Easy Access to Medical Information
The internet has made it possible for people to view medical information easily. That way, they can understand their symptoms and learn more about their health issues. Additionally, healthcare professionals can share medical information, which further improves patient care.
Health Check Chair
Earlier the patient’s health checkup was limited to their visit to the doctors. With advancements in technology, virtual nursing exists today. A health check chair is a medical system, part of medical technology, that reviews a patient’s vitals from the comfort of their home. It enables frequent examination which gives an accurate picture of a patient’s health condition.
Robot Surgeons
When you mix surgical precision and robotic technology, you get machines that can assist surgeons and physicians during procedures. This gives them entry to formerly inaccessible areas and boosts accuracy. The procedure is made less invasive and poses fewer risks. The use of advanced technologies also significantly reduces recovery time.
2. Educational Technology
Technology provides students worldwide with access to near unlimited educational resources. It allows them to put the knowledge they gained into practice. Here are a few examples of technology transforming education.
E-learning
E-learning or remote learning quickly picked up the pace during the spread of COVID-19. It gained popularity for the immense benefits it provides. With e-learning, education can be customized, cost-effective, and pursued remotely.
Gamification
Gamification makes education fun and improves students’ engagement. It also helps in the cognitive development of kids and encourages collaboration. It is a great way of making education fun, where students can gain valuable information while feeling like they are playing games.
Asynchronous Learning
Asynchronous learning is a type of educational technology that gives students more control. They can learn from instructional materials on their preferred schedule. This allows them to practice skills such as self-sufficiency and time management.
3. Applying Technologies to Manufacturing
Technology has benefitted the manufacturing industry by improving the quality of products throughout the manufacturing process. It has also improved the efficiency of production through increased productivity and reduced material wastage. Here are a handful of advanced technologies used in the manufacturing industry.
Additive Manufacturing
With additive manufacturing, rapid prototyping has become easier and more cost-effective. It is especially useful in running small production as it makes the process quicker and less expensive. Additive manufacturing also saves energy and material costs.
Robotics and Automation
Automation and robotics are used in the manufacturing industry to streamline and optimize production processes. Industrial robots can be programmed to become more flexible and always complete tasks faster and more efficiently than labor alone.
Nanotechnology
Nanomaterials such as carbon nanofibers are used in the manufacturing of safety wear. They provide high qualities such as antimicrobial properties and liquid and stain resistance. Shortly, nanomachines that can operate at the nanoscale will be used for designing highly flexible devices.
4. Pharmaceutical Technology
The advancements in technology have accelerated the research and development process of the pharmaceutical industry. This has saved millions of lives and helped people live healthier, happier, and more productive lives. These are several notable representatives:
Bioprinting
Clinical trials were previously limited to live subjects for measuring drug efficacy. Thanks to bioprinting, live human subjects can now be replaced by 3D-printed organs for clinical testing. These organs react to drugs the same way the human body does, therefore reducing new medication approval time.
Precision Medicine
Precision medicine aims at providing personalized treatment to patients. It takes into account the patient’s genes and lifestyle to assist doctors in making accurate and data-driven decisions.
Data Management and Analytics
The cost associated with launching new drugs is high, hence increasing the cost of medication. With data management and analytics, the R&D (research and development) cycle can be shortened. This leads to quicker discovery and delivery of drugs, eventually lowering the price of medications.
5. Environmental Technologies
Technology has had a massive effect on the environment by making energy systems clean and boosting their efficiency. Also, the modern method of agriculture is producing more crops without requiring more land. That way, natural habitats are being spared from clearing for agricultural purposes. The other examples of technology that protect our environment and make the world a better place to live are as follows.
Digitization
We have switched from traditional paperwork to digitization over the past couple of years. This trend is beneficial to the environment as trees are no longer cut for paper production. In the long run, this practice will preserve natural habitats.
Smart Buildings
Buildings are becoming smart by lessening their carbon footprint. While smart buildings have yet to go mainstream, they have immense potential to transform the future. These buildings feature solar panels and wind motors for electricity generation and better insulation for conserving energy. Plus, they have smart systems which turn off automatically when not in use.
Flood Sensors
Enhanced weather forecasting is alerting and helping us prepare for unpredictable climate changes. IoT (Internet of Things) sensors monitor flood conditions and assist people in dealing with crises as they occur.
6. Technology in Transportation
The importance that technology plays in transportation is not something we can ignore. It is undoubtedly one of the major changes we have seen in our world. And for the better. Today, transportation is no longer a chore as we can travel much farther, not only much faster but equally comfortably.
Technology has enabled us to reach any corner of the globe. I remember reading the famous novel Around The World In Eighty Days by Jules Verne, which was published in 1873. Even then, going by the novel, the protagonist was able to circle the world in a mere 80 days.
We can’t even imagine taking that many days today, as we are able to do the same within 18 to 20 hours, assuming we don’t make any stops mid-way. And how is this possible? Due to the advancement in transportation technology.
Self Driving Cars
Today, we have achieved the unthinkable. We possess autonomous vehicles that are fully capable of traveling from point A to point B while carrying passengers without any worries. By using a combination of sensors, GPS, cameras, and artificial intelligence, we are able to achieve this feat.
Road Safety
Technology has also allowed us to make our roads much safer than they ever were. With an enhanced traffic management system powered by AI, cameras, sensors, and other technologies in play, we have made travel much safer on the roads. And as soon as we have autonomous vehicles on such roads, the efficiency will only go up.
Hyperloop
We have also succeeded in making Hyperloop trains that do not use the conventional track system, but rather rely on magnetic levitation and a low-pressure tube to make transportation possible. These trains are not only able to reach speeds not seen previously, but they can do so while maintaining the safety of travel.
Negative changes due to technology
While it is a fact that technology has changed our world, mostly for the better, it is equally true that sometimes these changes can result in disadvantages. Sometimes technology can bring negative changes, such as:
- Technology has made our sleep erratic.
- It causes isolation.
- Individual skills have suffered due to technological advancement.
- It promotes a sedentary lifestyle.
- Technology has become a constant source of distraction.
- Propagates misinformation and fake news.
- Reinforces biased opinions.
- Hampers creativity and imagination
- It can lead to mental as well as physical health issues.
You can have a look at the advantages and disadvantages of technology for more points.