Engineering technology and technological determinism Merkel, Kenneth G http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3979/is_200004/ai_n8883860/print
Technology and the Social Role of Technologists Technology is essential to the human condition. Our human species is now totally dependent upon it. Without technology we would not be able to sustain the present human population on this planet. Moreover, without technology, the human population could never even have grown to anything near its current level of some 6 billion people. Technology is the force that lifts us up out of the mud and offers comfortable alternatives to lives that otherwise might be brutish, nasty, and short. Only with technology do we have the means for continued material progress and increasingly better standards of living. Along with physicists and engineers, engineering technologists (ETs) fulfill a specific role within the realm of technology. As ETs, we have staked out our own piece of the technology spectrum and generally serve it well. For example, when implementing complicated technical systems, ETs are adept at taking the handoff from scientists and engineers and moving on to a successful conclusion. We are successful at installing technology, debugging it, getting it up and running, and maintaining it. When we turn it over to our customers in operating departments, our systems work. As technologists, we are effective in shaping our tools. However, as ET professionals, we need to go beyond just shaping our tools. We need to go beyond the hardware curtain, toward an extended vision of engineering technology. This vision should include what happens beyond the immediate workplace as a result of the work we do. We need to do a larger, better job of "thinking through" the downstream effects of technology, including its consequences to our society and its culture. We need to better understand the effects of technological determinism. Technological Determinism and the Technological Imperative TECHNOLOGICAL DETERMINISM The short definition of technological determinism comes from Marshall McLuhan, the electronic media guru and philosopher, who said, "We shape our tools and then our tools shape us" (italics added; Hyde). McLuhan was speaking of the way that technology, once introduced, often redounds upon its environment in unexpected ways. ETs even have a maxim for this effect: "I only came to drain the swamp; now I'm up to my neck in alligators." Technology doesn't always work out the way it was planned. Therefore, we have a professional responsibility to monitor its longterm, downstream effects upon our society, culture, and, of course, environment. Consider the internet, for example. It was developed to improve communications between a few dozen research scientists who were working on federal grants related to national defense. The internet was originally intended to be a specialized tool for only this small group of academics. Once the internet was created, however, it began to shape and reshape major segments of society, particularly existing electronic communications systems. It quickly spilled over into the economic sector and is now a major, driving force in financial markets. All of this change happened in the space of about ten years or so. At the present time, the ultimate effect of the internet is open-ended and unpredictable. We still don't know entirely where it will go and what its long-term impact will be. Nevertheless, the internet is a classic example where we shaped a tool, and now that tool is shaping us. Technology is not value-neutral, and this basic fact should be understood in all its implications by ETs. Technology impacts the innermost recesses of our culture and value systems, and at all levels. For example, during the 20th century, the automobile forever changed the mating rituals of Americans, shaped our cities, revolutionized workplace organization, materially aided the "liberation" of women, and had a mainly adverse impact on the homework practices of high school students, to mention only a few of its far-reaching effects.1 A different product of technology-- television-was a primary mover of the civil rights movement. Television also has driven the American spectator sports scene to incredibly high levels of visibility and participation. Other technologies, such as the cell phone, e-mail, voice mail, and fax, provide instantaneous communications access, accompanied by a heavy impact upon personal privacy. All of these technological tools have profoundly shaped our culture in a historic manner. Daniel Chandler of the University of Wales has written extensively on the issue of technological determinism. Chandler states that in a deterministic viewpoint, "technology-push" is actually the prime mover in human history.2 More specifically, technology in general are [sic] the sole or prime antecedent cause of changes in society, and technology is seen as the fundamental condition underlying the pattern of social organization. If Chandler's determinism thesis has validity, then ETs are accountable for their role in this process. We have to understand how determinism works and how to intervene to assure the best outcomes. The steam engine is a classic example of technological determinism in vivo. When England ran out of wood for fuel in the 1700s, fossil coal was quickly developed as an alternative energy source. As deeper and deeper coal mines penetrated the water table and then began to flood, hand-- operated pumps became inadequate to reclaim the mines. Out of the need for a higher-powered prime mover for sump pumps, the steam engine was developed. However, it rapidly found other applications, primarily in factories, especially spinning and textile mills. Then came applications in locomotives, steamboats, farm equipment, and power plants. Derivative demand for iron, steel, and more coal came next. The result: large-scale coal and iron ore mining, steel plants, and the labor union movement. All of this resulted in a heady period of industrial expansion known as the Industrial Revolution, which, in its positive aspects, created human progress and wealth. Along with the Industrial Revolution and its wealth came a host of severe social problems: child labor, industrial sweatshops, worker dislocation, overconcentration of economic and political power, widespread pollution, waste of natural resources, and major shifts in Western cultural paradigms. Even the imperialism of the 19th century was an artifact of the Industrial Revolution. All because of one technological invention: the steam engine. Technology is a dualistic metaphor: first, for control over the natural world, and second, for the fruits of our materialistic culture. Insofar as materialism aids our individual human quest for self-actualization and our collective social goals of interaction and progress, then well and good. Insofar as technology leads us to the darker margins of our culture through pollution, nuclear anxiety, alienation, or whatever else, then it must be carefully monitored and controlled. THE TECHNOLOGICAL IMPERATIVE At the darker margins, Chandler speaks of the technological imperative, which is the frequent assumption or implication that technological developments, once under way, are unstoppable: their 'progress' is inevitable, unavoidable, and irreversible. The imperative model carries an even harder edge than does technological determinism. Under the technological imperative, technology-once developed-leaps into the driver's seat and takes control of the steering wheel, driving society to places where it never wanted to go. It is determinism gone loose in the streets. The most candid metaphors of the technological imperative are drawn from literature, for example, Dr. Victor Frankenstein's monster. With the best of intentions, the worthy doctor was trying to create an android that would do good, and only good, for humanity. Initially, the experiment was a success. The monster, once created, started out on the right track. Unfortunately, however, he received bad treatment from ordinary humans in his first encounters with our species. Then the monster quite reasonably asked for a female mate. When he was denied this request, he quite naturally became downright unpleasant. This resulted in some of the most scarifyingly spectacular scenes ever shown on film. Many ETs have had parallel experiences with technology projects of their own. Another example of the technological imperative is shown by HAL 9000, the spacecraft central computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey. At the beginning of the mission, HAL was a compliant, voice-interfaced, human-compatible master control computer. He obeyed all orders and diligently followed all commands. However, as the mission continued, HAL began to develop a hard, sinister edge in his voice and began to question authority. The tension between HAL and Mission Commander David Bowman is a key theme in the motion picture. Tension between technologists and their creations is an unwanted artifact that calls for control. The development and use of the atomic bomb in World War II provides a classic example of the technological imperative. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the leading nuclear scientist, and General Leslie Groves, the military commander, successfully shaped their tools when the first atomic bomb was exploded at the Trinity site in the summer of 1945. From that time on, nuclear tools have shaped us politically, economically, militarily, psychologically, and perhaps in other ways that we don't yet understand. The technological imperative is a case of the Law of Unintended Consequences in action. What Needs to be Done A strong argument can be made for more involvement from engineering technologists, especially in those areas where the downstream effects of technology impact upon society and culture. In public forums, sociotechnical issues are all too often preempted by nontechnical advocacy groups and special interests. The microphones tend to be controlled by attorneys, politicians, activists, and media members with a crisis agenda. Technologists, when allowed in, are often confined to limited roles by the forces that have preempted the discussion. Here are some suggestions for action. First, ETs can educate themselves to a higher level of awareness about the impact of technology upon society. We can start by developing our own world view of the technology cycle, including its deterministic and imperative aspects. Second, we can act individually as professionals, within our own industrial and academic workplaces. Amory Lovins' maxim of "think globally; act locally" is still a worthwhile plan of action. Third, we can expand our thinking by going outside the usual boxes, beyond our own everyday workplaces and our own comfortably constructed environments. Fourth, we can act collectively, more seamlessly, across the boundaries of disciplines with like-minded professionals from other fields. Fifth, we can educate others about the cycle of technology. As an example, James Burke's Connections series, including the book and both Public Broadcasting System television programs, is an excellent classroom vehicle for demonstrating the interdependence of society and technology to students. Conclusion Engineering technologists are effective implementers of technology, but we have much opportunity for growth in the broader realm of technology management. Marshall McLuhan's adage that "we shape our tools and then our tools shape us" should be always in the mental foreground of practicing ETs. Also, we can behave moderately and professionally. Shrillness, stridency, and the hardball approach have become the media norm these days. Admittedly, yelling attracts attention and creates immediate excitement. But, no one likes getting yelled at and in the long run, logic, persuasion, and persistence are our most effective tools. References 1. Hyde, Justin. "The Age of Automobiles: Century Owes Much of Its Progress to the Car." Motor News, Omaha World Herald (December 16, 1999): 13. 2. Chandler, Dr. Daniel. Available: http://www.aber.ac.uk. 3. Kurzweil, Dr. Raymond. "Spirituality and Technology." Presentation given at the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., December 31, 1999. Dr. Kenneth G. Merkel, PE is the founding editor of the Journal of Engineering Technology. He is a professor of Industrial Systems Technology at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and previously served as department chair for sixteen years. He has served on the TAC/ABET Commission, SME Accreditation Criteria Committee, SME Professional Engineering Committee, and various other national engineering technology committees. He has been actively involved with the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program in conjunction with Sinclair Community College's National Center for Excellence For Advanced Manufacturing Education. He is a member of the National Defense Executive Reserve. Prior to his academic career, he pursued a twenty-year career in middle management with General Electric Company and is a graduate of GE's Manufacturing Management Program. He is also a Project Management Professional with the Project Management Institute and is active in presenting seminars on project management topics. Copyright American Society for Engineering Education Spring 2000 Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
