Technological Determinism Versus Social Determinism - Essay Example

1. Technological determinism versus social determinism Introduction The period before 1920 and after 1920 can be termed as a defining moments in many aspect of human life-social, political and economic.This wars a period that was preceded by the First World War. During this defining moment, technology greatly impacted on society and the society likewise reciprocated. This essay will discuss two crucial technologies. I will first and foremost discuss the invention of the telephone (1876) as a technological advancement before 1920. Secondly I will delve into the invention of the internet in 1950s. In consultation with social and technological determinism, I will critically analysis their implications in understanding of technological innovations. What is a ‘socio-technical’? Socio-technical is a terminology that points to the technological advancement/innovations and their impacts on people, or society at large. In other words, it is both how technology changes society and how society changes technology. The term was coined in the 1946, its basis being the relationship between a technological devices or systems and the norms underlying its use by people, according to Latour (1999, pg89). The purpose was to rehabilitate a society that had been divided by war. A number of debates have been carried out bringing forth theories on the issue of socio-technical change. I will use the theories as a framework to understanding how the invention of the telephone impacted on society and vice versa. Technological advancements in relation to societal change has evolved two debates in two fields. These are sociology and science and technology. One of the debates is social determinism which leans towards human beings/ society.Social determinism emphasizes on human beings in particular and society in general as being key to technological innovations. Grint & Woolgar (1997, pg59) furthers this debate by saying that societies always have needs or wantsthat dictate technology. Thus, technology must fulfil them. Take a telephone, for instance, which was invented by Alexander Graham Bell. The fact that his wife and mother were deaf led Graham Bell into intensive research that invented the telephone. According to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation(2015), the use, though not intended, had far reaching significance in society till today. Technological determinism, on the other hand,was put forward by an American sociologist, Torstein Veblen (1857-1929). The underlying philosophies of technological determinism are that a progressive society is driven by technology (Grint & Woolgar 1997, pg54). This, however, does not mean that the direction taken by these innovation is predictable.It is rather that once technology is adoptedby society the latter shapes itself to further or advance the former. Technological advancements are dictated by societal demands (Mackenzie & Wajcman, 1999, pg113). There are to this effect, two theories that have been extensively by sociologist. One is the theory of mutual constitution, and secondly the theory of socio-technical premiseor social determinism (Mackenzie & Wajcman, 1999, pg121). This is, further highlighted by Paul Edward’s publication, The closed world: computers and politics of discourse. This showed a close relationship between computers designs the internet use during the American cold war. Let us analyze the two theories in line with the invention of the telephone (1876) and the internet (1950).Necessity is the mother of invention. The need to timely send or receive information and messages created a need in people to look for ways of communication. From the blowing of horns, fire and smoke signals were used to pass messages and so were flares in the Middle Ages. This is a sign that man was in need of technology of communication. It took the brainwork of Alexander Graham Bell to invent a telephone in 1876. Who really invented the telephone? Italian Antonio Meucci, Elisha gray and innocent each laid claim to be the first inventors. The period between 1890 and 1930 saw the invention of the candlestick phone. With the receiver and mouthpiece separated by manufacturers. 1in 1960s, the rotary dial phone became popular. Touch stone, answering machines, and portable phones were later invented. Today, sleek phones with amazing features such as touch screens by iPhone and android are available on the market. The theory of mutual constitution view peoples wants and choices as determinants of technological advancement or change (Grint& Woolgar 1997, pg90). The discovery of the internet came about in 1950s. It was spearheaded by both the military and scientific fields. The invention of computers yet brought another need i.e. the need for them to communicate. The foundations of internet connection were by influential individuals, Licklider of Military intelligence and Kleinrock of University College of London. The internet was known as Arpanet and it used the newly discovered packet switching theory. 1971 brought about two amazing discoveries- the sending and receiving of e-mail and the uploading of the e-book. The first major attack was internet based malicious attack was recorded in 1988. Of great significance was the World Wide Web which earlier referred to as ‘mesh’ in 1990. The World Wide Web was to be followed by the commercialization of the internet and sites such as Bay and Amazon opened up. The 2008 US elections saw campaigns and also voting done on the internet. This raises the question, where are we headed to? According to Mackenzie and wajcman, in the social shaping of technology, argue that,technology has always been in existence in society. Such technology often gives rise to new technology. A good example is the invention of mobile phones which replaced fixed telephones. From the mobile phone we keep on embracing sleeker yet user friendly phones. Social determinants researchers are of the opinion that, just like politics, technology is an integral part of the society. You can neither dissociate technology from society nor society from technology. Every age seems to come with a change or improvement, and innovation is an important causation to change according to Grint& Woolgar (1997, pg90). Lastly, they also argue that since times in memorial, society has always had and applied technology. To this effect, technology is simply the application of these present principles. What are the implications of sociotechnical issues in society? Socio-technological change is double-edged sword, on one side there is a lot of positive impact and on the other they do more harm than good. Positive implications The first implication, is that technology is a way of instilling order in society (winner, 1999). First we can focus on the use of mobile phones. Security agencies like Homeland Security in Britain, Federal Bureau of Investigations in the United States; together with spy agencies such as Mosad, KGB, Central Intelligence Agency among others use tracking devices installed on these gadgets to monitor criminal activities and tendencies. Wireless/mobile phones have made communication easier and effective. From long queues witnessed in early years to access telephone booth, people are able to makes phone calls with convenience from handsets. Advance technology has made it easier to personalize the phones. Features such as phonebooks, calendar, camera, ability to send short messages through the short message service were unimaginable 30 years before. Above all internet connectivity is brought closer to the user. On the part of the internet, nations such as the US, Russia, Israel, Japan have erected satellites in space to serve the same purpose-security. They also share this information for the common good of the universe. Satellites are in addition to that used in forecasting. The climatic and weather patterns of places are therefore predictable. This is of great importance to nation’s disaster management strategies in that disasters can be predicted and precaution taken before they occur. Farmers too depend on such forecasting to prepare well for the planting season. They are able to plant crops with certainty of the rains and harvest on time. This has greatly enhanced global food security. Companies on the other side use the internet for advertisements. Their products are presented to the consumers online. According to the European Commission, 98% of the firms in the USA withe-business or e-commerce in infrastructures in place, made up 14% of business turnover. The internet has made the world a “small village.” this has brought about the issue of globalization. Information of varied nature can be communicated over a wide area within a split of a second. “Viral” is a term that has emerged to describe such spread of information. Computer applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, twitter are today used to send and receive messages, phone conversations and pictures. Education institution have progressed from placing information on their websites to be accessed by their students to offering accredited online courses. Negative implications Despite all these benefits that accrue to the use of the internet, it is not without challenges. High-tech crimes such cyber-crime, threaten to jeopardize the peoples social lives (Grint, K. & Woolgar 1997, pg79). Technological experts are able to login into people’s accounts and retrieve personal information that might use for criminal tendencies. It is also important to note that the application of these technologies to human domain can be quite contentious. In the USA for example, the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Organization, consequently led to increased surveillance on people’s lives. Device trackers, number plate identifiers, metal and face detectors are currently in use. This has however raised ethical and legal questions regardless of helping combat security issues. An individual’s right to privacy is pitted against the state role to ensure security. According to Mackenzie & Wajcman (1999, pg43) in the dilemma of determinism, the use of computers is inevitable. Places such as airports, libraries and supermarkets are made in a way that they require knowledge of computer-even to those people who do not use computers. As we marvel at technological advancements, it is important we look at their social effects. Unemployment is one of the major effects of this. On one side, the invention of the telephone created a lot of jobs such as those of telephone operators. On the other, so many jobs were lost. For example a duty that was to be done by 20 security officers today is substituted by a single surveillance camera. The camera records and decodes the images on a security screen at a central place and can sound an alarm in case of a security breech. It is very also important to highlight the impacts of technological determinism in the social domain by addressing the famous Arab spring revolution.Just like the French revolution whose ideas spread through the print media, it happened because of the internet. According to Mackenzie & Wajcman (1999, pg66), the revolution which began in Tunisia saw the ouster of long-serving Arab leaders-Bin Ali, Muammar Gadhafi and Hosni Mubarak .there was also a change in governance in other countries such as Algeria and Syria due to the uprising.Such a scenario portrays the politics of technology. With the latest proliferation of nuclear technology, social determinists argue that nuclear weapons could a political technology. The intention of the technology could be to be seen in two perspectives. One to create terror. As is the case of Iran with their nuclear enriching program whose intention is hidden in generation of electricity. North Korea too has had such program which it uses to threaten its neighbor south Korea.The second view according to Winner (1999, pg94) is to protect humanity in particular and oversee world peace and security. In conclusion, I strongly agree that the two theories that social determinist and technological determinist augment each other in trying to explain and provide way forward in issues of society and technology. Bibliography Grint, K. & Woolgar, S. (1997) .The machine at work: technology, work, and organization. Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA, Polity Press ; Published in the USA by Blackwell. John, A. (2002) ‘How to Acknowledge a Revolution.’The American Historical Review, vol. 107, no. 1, pp. 106-125 Latour, B. (1992) ‘Where are the Missing Masses?’ The Sociology of a FewMundane Artifacts’’ In Shaping Technology/Building Society: Studies in Sociotechnical Change. Cambridge MIT Press. Pp.225-258. Mackenzie, D. & Wajcman, J. (1999) ‘Introductory Essay’ The Social Shaping of Technology. 2nd ed. Open University Press. Pp.3-27. Restivo, S.et al., (1999). Science and technology and society. Oxford University Press. London. Winner, L. (1999) ‘Do artifacts have politics?’The Social Shaping of Technology. 2nd ed. Open University Press. (Chapter 2). Read More