Automation and Technology

Automation and Technology             Technology has always been one of the most popular yet highly debated fields these days. Due to the pervasive effects (and potential effects) of technology in our daily lives, most people have pondered how to balance the risks and benefits of each technological innovation. As we know, some of the most common technology that we use are search engines and automation. Search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Safari are used by almost anyone today in almost every single second of their lives. However, just as any technological creation, some would say that this technology has its own disadvantages that must be addressed early on. Thus, in this article, I would like to focus on the benefits and disadvantages of search engines based on two articles written by Nicholas Carr and Kevin Kelly. As I would illustrate later, it is my belief that the benefits of search engines and automation would greatly outweigh its costs for as long as we learn how to work with them, rather than passively relying on them.   Summary             Contrary to what most would think, the domination of humankind by robots would be different from what we imagined. In one article written by Nicholas Carr entitled Is Google Making us Stupid, the inception of Google (and other powerful search engines) has made humans heavily dependent on using these platforms to learn what they need. Thus, we become less determined to learn things independently, knowing that software could provide all the answers that we need in just a single click. Aside from this, Carr also noted that this overreliance on Google can also lead to shortening our attention span and reducing our concentration.             In another article written by Kevin Kelly entitled Better Than Human: Why Robots Will — And Must — Take Our Jobs, he added to this idea of our overdependence on machines. He said that would replace most human tasks from cheap labor to white-collared tasks in the future. This trend has been consistent with how humankind has progressed from the industrial revolution until the digital life that we live in today. Thus, he proposed that rather than racing with the machines (where we will surely lose), we must work together with the machines and develop a deeper understanding of how we can improve together with them.   Working with Engines             One of the reasons it would be best to work with machines rather than rely on them is because search engines (and automation) can improve our productivity (Kelly). Search engines are now used in various day-to-day applications like engineering, social work, and even court trials. They provide an extensive array of knowledge that is clearly accessible in a single click compared to where individuals would have to scour through voluminous books in the library. Field researchers, land estate developers, and even government offices could scout good real estate locations through search engines' GPS and mapping technologies. Similarly, this could be said in every ...