Discuss whether advances in science and technology have had a largely positive or negative impact on society

This is a huge question, so I won’t pretend my answer is comprehensive. Science and technology dominate every aspect of our lives.

Our day-to-day activities would be unrecognizable without the constant forward march of technological advancement we’ve had as a society.

The beauty of technological advancement is that it builds upon itself. For millennia, human beings largely lived the way their parents, grandparents, and so on lived. Now, we expect that our children will lead significantly healthier, more productive, more enjoyable lifestyles because of the acceleration of technological development.

The downside of technological development, and the ever-increasing pace of it, is that we, as a society are ill-prepared for its side effects. When technology makes an entire class of workers obsolete, what are those people to do? One might say they made the wrong choices when deciding which skills to build and which industries to start their careers in, but predicting how technology will change the world is hard and getting harder. This problem will show up more and more.

Technology also improves productivity of individuals heterogeneously. That is, the most skilled people are the ones whose abilities are most augmented by technology. As a result, technology can be a driver of inequality of income and wealth. Rising inequality has been a hot topic recently, and is a driver of social unrest which has significant ramifications for the political arena.

poetry of homer

food growth and preparation

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