Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.

Nishant was a happy-go-lucky teenager residing in the metropolis of Delhi. Like most of us, his life was surrounded by electronic gadgets. And guess what! From attending online classes to connectivity via Facebook, to his interest in gaming and coding … Technology was all-pervasive in his life. But, tile when? Was there a cost he had to pay? As gloomy as it might sound, he jumped off his terrace and allegedly committed suicide. Investigations unearthed a racket of an online game called ‘BLUE WHALE’!

Nishant is only one among many of us! As we start our day with the cacophony of WhatsApp and Insta and end with ‘Skype’ and ‘Zoom calls’, we find our lives being defined by technology around us. However, as Elon Musk once quoted, ‘with the advent of super intelligent machines, we are also summoning the Demon’. It is in this light that technology has been hailed as a useful servant – one making our lives simpler but also a dangerous master – one controlling our subconscious thoughts and making us overtly dependent on them

BUT, THIS ADVENTURE IS NOT NEW!

The symbiosis of man with technology is not a 21st-century phenomenon. It started as early as the Indus Valley civilization where social ploughs, cemented drainage, all served the oldest civilization. The Rhinoplasty of Sushruta to the metallurgy of Nagarjuna, technology defined human culture. Even in the modern world, the Industrial Revolution 1.0 owes its success to the steam engine.

However, many times, technologies have been defined by their use! If the steam engine brought wealth and capital, it also decreased the value of labor and ushered in an era of oppression. Hence, it was a useful servant but soon became a dangerous master! Even today, we see numerous examples in every sector propounding this ‘double-edged sword’ nature of technology. Let us see how!

TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTHCARE – A BOON?

As Covid-19 dampened our social gatherings, it also decreased our face-to-face appointments with our doctor. However, initiatives like E-Sanjeevani [TELEMEDICINE] proved to be a game-changer. From imparting prosthetic-based legs to the disabled to enabling cochlear implants in the deaf, healthcare has been defined by technology. The Artificial intelligence-based X-ray machines, PET scan has decreased the burden on doctors. And, today we step into the world of Robotic Surgery which would redefine the way operations are performed.

However, this tendency of technology to serve comes with the threat to dominate. While Insulin pump can be a lifesaver for a diabetic, its dose can be manipulated online to take life within seconds. Similarly, the recent incident in Maharashtra where ID Cards of patients got leaked online shows how sensitive personal information can be extracted to harass one. The fact is, from the overdose of radiation in X-rays to the absence of surgical touch in robotic surgery, technology could be a dangerous master.

TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION – A HARBINGER OF CHANGE OR THE GREAT DIVIDER?

From healthcare to education, technology seems to make strides! The affordable online lectures, the free YouTube educational videos have democratized education. The SWAYAM Prabha Purta, E-vidyadhan, E-pathsala, and a plethora of platforms seem to be the bright future of education.

But, this brightness gets gloomy when one reads the ASER report 2020. where only 20% children had access to online learning, aggravating the digital divide. And what about the missing ambiance of the classroom, which offers an environment for holistic development? Mobile phones have decreased our eyesight, glued us to our chairs, exposed us to vicious and nefarious social media comments. And the result is an obese, inactive youth trapped in the illusion of digital glamour. Indeed, becoming Master!

TECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE: A TOOL OF EMPOWERMENT OR ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION?

Even agriculture has made great progress due to services offered by technology. Drones for planting seeds in barren Aravalli hills made news! Similarly, precision agriculture, soil sensors, Autonomous tractors, micro drip irrigation all have made agriculture a new entrepreneurial venture. But, this service has come with a cost.

The biggest cost is degradation and overexploitation of resources. What else explains the dichotomy that in Punjab (the intensively mechanized state of India) also runs a cancer train from Ludhiana? Hasn’t technology become a dangerous master?

TECHNOLOGY IN GOVERNANCE: SIMPLIFYING INGUIS BUT WITH A COST!

From electronic voting machines in elections to Direct benefit transfer in MNREGA, technology has redefined E-governance. The Swamitva scheme to map the land of Panchayats using drones, the use of GPS for smart city planning, the use of Radiofrequency-based FAST ags to smoothen our journey – all have essentially served the citizens. But, there is something to worry!

And, the worry is the Exclusion and divide that technology creates. When Aadhar data fails to identify fingerprints of a daily wage laborer whose hands are soaked in sweat, when PDS shops deny food to a hungry child, when MGNREGA workers have to walk miles to collect their wages from the Bank, then, technology defiantly tends not to remain a servant but become a master!

TECHNOLOGY IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: SIMPLIFICATION OR FRAUD?

FINTECH has been defined by technology, The use of AI-based algorithms to detect bank frauds, the use of algo trading in stock markets, the use of Block chain to ease financial transactions all have enabled ease of doing business. However, the same block chain-based crypto currencies have enabled the dark world of deep and dark web, extortion, organized crime, and money laundering. The cyber security threat looms larger on our financial accounts. The Banking System has become so dependent on FINTECH that technology seems more a master dictating its own terms.

TECHNOLOGY IN ‘SECURITY’: WE ARE EYEING EVEN THE SPACE!

Technology has made our borders safer with Q-DOT technology guarding Indian borders and automated fencing all around, we are assured of our safety. However, what about the weapon of mass destruction, the nuclear states’ piles? The combination of conventional warfare with cyber warfare threatens us with an entirely new dimension of warfare – ‘hybrid warfare’. And, guess what, we tend to fight and weaponries even the space and moon! Technology here again seems to Master us!

THE ETHICAL ASPECT OF TECHNOLOGY-

What should govern the stride of man on the moon and space? What should be the guiding principle of genetic engineering? It is important to answer these questions. For, if CRISPR-CAS9 can bring potential cure for a number of genetic diseases, it can also be used to create designer babies. If genetic engineering of everything – from human embryos to crops can yield novel products, fascinating for humans, it also carries the risk of interfering with the process of Nature. It is in this context, that ethics in technology has a central role to play.

For it is this ethics which creates the thin line between technology as our servant to technology as our master!

THE NEED OF THE HOUR: GLOBAL COMMITMENT TO HUMANE USE OF TECHNOLOGY

If we need to maintain the balance between these two extreme spectrums of technology, we need to come together to evolve a responsible, inclusive code for the usage of technology in all the above sectors. In the field of healthcare, the novel digital health mission needs to ensure patient privacy and affordability of services.

In the Education Sector, while digital learning is the future, we must not negate the importance of the vibrancy of our surroundings and schools in shaping our children. In the agriculture sector, productivity has to be combined with sustainability. We need to use technology not just to increase yield but to ensure agro ecology.

Further, in Governance, it should not be just about the digitization of services but also about reengineering of cumbersomeness. Behind the veil of Aadhar, essential services should not be compromised.

This spirit also needs to be incorporated in the way we look at economic development. We need robust cyber security policies and a crackdown on the evil of the dark web, which poisons youth and destroys life. At the national level, we also need to build international level commitments. The negotiation of a global framework on the utilization of global commons like space, use of digital platforms and services need our immediate attention.

And above all, we need to instil the ethicality governing technology within each one of us. We need to understand the paradigm that technology has been created by us to ease herculean tasks, to serve mankind, to connect and bridge the divide that exists. It should not become our master, clouding our conscience, corrupting our moral principles. We need to stand together to rebalance this journey of technology lest we should see many more like Nishant, Somewhere near us!