By Muhammad Amir
Introduction
Technology has been a phenomenon since Greek times, but at that time, it was more about influencing the mind rather than controlling the mind or trying to control it. The word technology is derived from the Greek word Technikon, which means something belongs to techne; the word techne refers to activities and skills of craftsman and art in fine arts; the word also refers to the sense of knowing or understanding something. Techne means bringing forth things that have not yet been uncovered. So, this means Technology is a way of concealing something concealed. It is to uncover something that is already there.
Historical relation
Technology has been there, adding value to human day-to-day life. Humans have always brought forth things they felt were necessary to solve problems or create ease. We invented weapons to protect ourselves or harm others, to gain power and control over others. Whenever a nation got better throughout history in terms of Technology, it became a dominant power in the world. Here comes the ethical point of using Technology to attain control. Previously, control was mostly in terms of wealth, land, or enslaved people, but with modern Technology, control has shifted to the human mind. In the past, humans used to take control using wizardry or seduction to get possession of anyone physically or mentally. Influencing others by various means was also a great deal, mostly to meet an end to fame or show power over anyone else. Technology in previous times was not merely used to achieve the end of controlling the mind. Rather, it also had other significance. In the true sense, it was being perused without directly influencing human beings in a larger context.
Modern Technology
Modern Technology is linked with the historical scenario of the West and its relationship with its politics. Previously, Technology was used to overtake physical control at the most, and most of its dimensions were not that much linked to controlling the human mind. Rather, human beings were a part of a certain society, and the individuals’ mental capabilities were mostly shaped by it without having any specific end. Capitalism is a free market where everyone competes to get higher profits. Here, we maintain that there will be no more wars or physical harm to anyone. Soon, however, we started affecting each other mentally by exercising control over others to fulfill our desire for power.
It shows that man has always thought emotionally, and his desires guide him. Kant says humans are rational, independent beings and ought to be respected in an absolute moral sense as ends. In a broader sense, even rationality gave rise to logic, science, and mathematics, which became the basis for classical sciences and eventually gave rise to Technology.
Ethical view
Technological, moral, and political developments that go side by side originate from philosophical ethics. They are all interlinked, as Technology has always been justified as a Utility for human beings, and this justification is best aligned with the political interests of any individual or group. Throughout the evolutionary period of Technology, the deontological perspective for Technology has never been prominent as a practical value. On a closer look at the perspective of bringing forth or concealment, there is a commonality in the purpose that an artist and an inventor pose in terms of temperament, which may be teleological or deontological, but after bringing something forth, the thing mostly becomes utility or subject to meet certain ends. It was there in the world, but now, it has come forth in terms of modern Technology, morals, and political methods.
Perspectives of Philosophers
Albert Borgmann talks about the device paradigm and how the involvement of Technology in our daily lives has changed the way we live, and we are living in the device paradigm. He identified and criticized that in search of easement through Technology, we have left behind focal things that nourished human capacity for a long time, and we have dismissed all those practices daily. We gave up focal things that used to be an essential part of human life for thousands of years. For example, we used to use fire in a certain way, and there was a whole life going around it, but electric heaters have eliminated that specific aspect of human lives to a great extent.
Heidegger accepted the idea that instrumental ways, rather than the essence of Technology, which was different from its utility. Perceiving something as an end never holds any ethical ground besides the fact that it largely serves, but taking it only as a means is never justified. Borgman also denied the instrumental view of Technology with a different approach, as it is not the mere utility of tools but their effect on daily human lives.
Political Aspect
Control over human minds in modern times started with the printing press and newspaper, which means of news and information were shaped to control human minds. Propaganda journalism and ways of shaping the thinking process of human beings were introduced at that time. Previously, the thinking patterns of human beings were shaped by society for the most part, but the advancement of Technology and the invention of radio and television changed how people perceive and think. National Channels in almost every country were planted to spread specific kinds of mental approaches to meet the ends of specific people in power. Fake nationalism was promoted through all means of information, which were supported by political philosophies at that time in the name of a liberal democratic political system and other such ideologies, which were also used to meet certain kinds of ends.
The age of the Internet
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, we got the Internet, which took over the world faster than any other technological advancement in mankind’s history. It connected the world with billions of online pages that anyone can access, and sites where people can interact with one another by just sitting at home. This revolutionized the way we live.
Here come power agents for whom controlling the human mind has become more convenient than ever before. Now, anyone can access the data of internet users with no great difficulty. Stealing someone’s data and using it is one of the main concerns, as it is being used with great engineering, which poses great ethical concerns. The Internet is shaped as such, especially by great monopolists like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook, who analyze every single move of individuals on the Internet with great accuracy and then use it to shape their thought patterns by giving specific content to that person. This continues again and again if a person is connected to the Internet. A very famous example is that when Donald Trump first became president, there was an obligation that the mental capacity of American voters was shaped precisely in favor of Trump. Here, humans and Technology are used to meet certain ends. Post-COVID-19 very clearly shows that in every part of the world, the Internet is being used to manipulate or control human minds to meet certain ends.
Social Media
Besides exercising power, the Internet is also used to take financial gains at the cost of affecting human capacities and autonomy. There comes the debate of an online platform, a content creator, and a viewer. The platform is there to have capital gain as an end; the creator on a platform like TikTok wants fame and money as an end to the cost of time and attention of others. These platforms are designed to make people addicted to them. The user experience and user interface are designed so that a person should stay on the platform as long as possible.
At the moment, all technologies related to social media are working as much to increase the screen time of their users, and everyone wants more and more people to stay on their platforms. This is the most advanced form of device paradigm in which not only has the device become a part of human life, but an essential component, and the respect for autonomy and a person is nothing. From the Heideggerian point of view, the essence of Technology seems to blur in certain aspects, as there is uncovering of things through Technology and its instrumental value is converted into a more sort of paradigm.
Artificial Intelligence
Now comes the most advanced form of Technology, artificial intelligence. Human beings make artificial intelligence, but it can comprehend data like humans, and most of its qualities are like those of humans. Right now, the easily accessible form of artificial intelligence is on the Internet in the form of Chat GPT, and other tools called Generative AI, which can create or generate visual, audio, or text content upon giving prompts to it. This is also a paradigm that kills human intellectual and creative paradigms and affects human mental capacities. Robots are more refined machines with greater intelligence and efficiency. They can do human-like activities with great precision. They are assumed to take over humans or start controlling human beings in the future.
Conclusion
Humans are at their worst in terms of intellect, mental capacity, and every aspect of life. Technology or things related to Technology are not the only reason; human tendencies towards different modes of life have changed over time. The instrumental aspect of Technology is not morally good, but it is generally acceptable, and no one feels or recognizes its tendencies. Everywhere, Technology and humans are being used as mere means to achieve certain ends. The desire to control human minds has evoked the desire to be powerful, which has existed in human psychology, but in recent times, it has become easier. The device paradigm is at its peak during the movement. Humans are trying to create as many gadgets and tools as possible. The idea of having gadgets and games was there in human psychology, but was unconcealed by modern ways. Everything or technological objects are treated for different ends. In this capitalized hybrid world of Technology, we find everything in physical and virtual form as a product being marketed as a utility.
References
Heidegger, Martin. The Question Concerning Technology and Other Essays. Translated by William Lovitt. New York: Harper & Row, 1977
Borgmann, Albert. Technology and the Character of Contemporary Life: A Philosophical Inquiry. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984.
Note: Muhammad Amir is a student of the Philosophy department at Government College University Lahore
