“Will he really not survive,” quipped the teary-eyed mother. Years of fasts, prayers, blessings, numerous trips to thousands of ‘babas’ had finally bore fruit. She has finally been blessed with a baby boy Kabir. But her happiness was not to last long. Her baby boy was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. Imagine the heartache of the whole family eagerly awaiting this day for so many years. But suddenly she smiled and replied, “Yes, he will. Today’s technology has developed enough to remedy it.” The joy of the mother knew no bounds. Her super specialty hospital and the doctors performed the surgery after stabilizing the kid. Today, Kabir is seen running in the garden catching the dragonfly. Hail Technology!

Another scenario – Japan seemed invincible in World War II. Marching past colonies, winning them over, nothing seemed to stop it. Beamed with unshakeable pride. August 6, 1945 – the loud thud deafened the city, Hiroshima. 3 days later Nagasaki was to bear the same fate Nuclear Bombs!!

The citizens of Japan shaken to the core. The World War came to a grinding halt. The destruction of life, property, in Japan made the people crawl back to their croon, never to adopt war again. The aftereffects of the destruction still visible in the form of barren lands, deformed people, deserts. Technology!! – unleashed the greatest – destruction.

Technology is ubiquitous. Technology is present everywhere. From the pen we write, to the paper we write on, technology has pervaded our complete life. In such a scenario to decide whether technology is a boon or a bane to mankind would not be a very easy task.

In this essay, we will initially discuss what is technology, its evolution, its merits and demerits And finally discuss whether it’s a boon or a bane.

What is technology?
As referred to earlier, technology is anything that makes our everyday life easier and more comfortable Technology is the chair we sit in, the clothes we wear, the air conditioner we comfortably sit in, the light which artificially illuminates our everyday spaces. Technology has helped in manufacturing these products. Technology has helped in transporting people and goods to far-off places never imagined before.

Evolution of technology:
Technology did not develop in a single day; rather, it is a continuously evolving process. If we really trace back to the Stone Ages, the transformation of stones into microliths for hunting is even a part of development of technology.

But, in a more modern sense, it was the period of Renaissance that shook human intellect. The scientific Revolution of the 15th century led to the discovery and invention of hitherto unknown technology Copernicus heliocentric theory, to Harvey’s blood circulation theory; science broke all dogmas.

And all of this was followed by the advent of Industrial Revolution (IR). The 17th century saw the churning of great minds producing technology that caught human imagination. The timeline of Industrial Revolution is as given below.

Today we are in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0. Advent of Artificial learning, Robotics, Internet of things is the talk of the town. All of the phases in IR have brought about unspeakable benefits to humankind.

Technology to the rescue of mankind:
In Education sector, education is no longer esoteric, confined to few. Education has become esoteric. Opening of schools, colleges mars and cheap printing of books has spread education to every corner. Digital platforms today ensure no one is left behind. The government initializes SWAYAM, SWAYAM Prabha ensure even a financially poor child can access high-quality pedagogy from most reputed faculties. GIAN network brings international faculty to student’s doorstep at the click of the mouse.

Again in Healthcare sector, tele-medicine is working wonders. Penetrating to the remotest village providing affordable healthcare. Invention of medicines, implants, surgical equipment and processes has prolonged the average life of humans. Today a birth defect like person does not stay blind forever. Complex surgical procedures are today done by adept hands of robots making it even more precise and effective. Take for making it even more precise and effective. Take for example, today open-heart surgery can be done by laparoscopic method via the path of prostate glands, rather than going for complete dissection.

So, with the development of technology, processes are becoming more efficient; generic medicines have become a boon for the poor.

Also in the transportation and communication sector, technology has worked wonders. In earlier times, money orders had to be awaited for days together. Traveling to any place took days. Today humans can have breakfast in Delhi, lunch in Dubai and dinner in Paris (late diner may be!). Humans are no longer restricted within earth. Technology has catapulted them into space. Multinational companies sit in their head office and conduct business worldwide via video conferencing.

E-commerce, on the other hand, has converted the whole world into a global marketplace. Today people can buy things at the click of their fingers. People have more access, cheaper products variety of choices.

We even have robotics, artificial intelligence, Internet of things which is bringing a revolutionary change in the world today. Data is the new oil. Mining data using AI; humans are venturing into new dimensions in healthcare, education, administration etc.

Also on the administration and governance front, technology has helped develop a more reciprocal relationship between state and citizens. This has brought accountability and transparency in governance. Citizen’s grievance portal, helpline nus, online feedback mechanism; all have contributed to it.

But despite all the above benefits, technology has created numerous problems as well.

Technology: The lurking devil:
One of the biggest banes of technology has been the ever-rising arms race between big players. Nuclear weapons, hydrogen bombs, chemical and biological weapons – the list never stops. This has resulted in diversification of essential spending from welfare sectors to unnecessary defense spending. Has led to a rise in global instability and distrust.

Also today technology has resulted in connecting people faster. Hence news travels faster as well; Fake news, yellow Journalism has created havoc in human’s life. The mass exodus of northeastern people in Bangalore; mob lynching incidents are a grave reminder of it.

Even radicalization has been an increasing phenomenon because of technological advances. The Christchurch attack in New Zealand is a burning example of how fundamentalists do not need physical presence to transform an individual.

There is also commercialization of education and healthcare sector. Poor people are losing out on three fronts – affordability, accessibility and equity in both these sectors. Mushrooming expensive coaching facilities; exorbitant prices demanded by private hospitals are a result of technological development. Today people can travel far more out.

A rise in privacy issues because of unmindful unethical data mining by multinational giants FAAA (Facebook, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple). The instances of Cambridge Analytica swaying American voting behaviors snooping on citizens are shocking.

Even technology has been misused by powerful few to shape normal human behavior. Pushing constant advertisements; sneaking into people’s browsing pattern; tech giants are cashing in on the gullibility of people.

Digitally illiterate people are the worst sufferers. Phishing; card thefts; losing our money in digital transitions have haunted them the most; especially in India.