1 1 Ethical Dimensions of Technology Learning Objectives ® To summarize and evaluate the three central themes of the book, @ To ezahine the ethical and moral dimensans of our wehnologial society, @ To question the idea of the neutrality of technology. To think critically about and present alternative perspectives tothe metaphors of technology as destiny and technology as progress. Introduction In the previous chaptets we have provided an overview of the many ways in which technology and society intersect, The primary goal of the final chapter 5s te summarize the three key themes that run through the book. First, the study of technology needs to be approached from a socio-technical viewpoint. Second, technology and innovation are closely interwowen with economics and hence have consequences for our understanding of inequality. Third, social change results inevicably front technological developments, T ‘he second goal of this concluding chapter is to discuss same of the ethical and moral dimensions that humans encounter as they engage with technology. This chapter explores the following themes: the neutrality of technology, technology as human des- ny, and technology as progress. Through this discussion, the chapter empha~ sis the unexpected consequences of technology with which society needs 9 Some to terms. A good example is the political, social, economic, and human CPernssions of nuclear technology—be it nuclear weapons or nuclear power plants. We use the distressing events st the Fukushima Daiichi Nucleas Power Plant, also known as Fukushima Daiichi, to illustrate the complex interplay of technological, social, economic, and human factors. The Book’s Three Central Themes The book covers a wide range of technologies, their uses, and social impli- cations. Nonetheless, we can identify three themes as most central in our analysis of society and technology. We discuss each theme next and draw some conclusions.216 TecHNOLoGY AND Sociery 1, The Socio-technical Approach Why is a socio-technical approach to the study of technology necessary? Early conceptuslizations tended co focus on technology as material sub- stance, disregarding the social nature of technological invention, imple- mentation, and use (Feist et al, 2010). As society relies more heavily oa technology, it is inevitable that we need a beter understanding of the link between society and technology. The first attempt to examine this link was through the conceptual framework of technological determin- m (Feenberg, 1999), which argues thar technology is the single most portant precursor of social change. ‘This framework has been heavily criticized because it does nor account for rhe complexity of the relationship between technology and society; it assumes, instead, that technology alone can exert change. ‘Receat coneeptualizations have taken a socio-technical approach in which the social and technological are closely interwoven and mutually influence’ each other, which has been referred to as a mutual shaping process (Biker, 20095 Bijker ct al., 1999), In such an approach, rechnological, political, econumic, cultural, and social factors are integrated to explain how social change occurs. That is, social change is no longer examined on a single: dimension bet, rather, is viewed as a coming together of different societal factors in a seamless Web. Despite the strengths of a socio-technical approach for understanding how technology and society intersect, some limitations remain. First, the socio-technical approach does not explicitly delineate a select set of vari- ables that need to be examined. The approach is rather vague in determin= ing what factors are most central in a socio-technical analysis, Second, the approach does not state what mechanisms underlie the relationship between, technology and society. Itis unclear as yet exactly how these two forces come: together and mutually shape each other, Finally, little derail is provided as to how a socio-technical approach should uncover the mechanisms underly ing the mutual shaping process, While a wide range of methods have been proposed for the study of the socio-technical, vagueness remains as to what is the best way to approach such an investigation. These shortcomings sug- gest that much more work is needed to fill in the existing gaps in the socio~ technical approach. 2. Technological Inequality A central question investigared in this book is how technology and. inequality are linked. Karl Marx (1970) was the first scholar to highlight: how industrializing capitalism was closely connected with social transfor= mations. Several developments—the Industrial Revolution, Taylorism, and Fordism—have all contrituted to changes in labour processes, such as deskilling, mass production, and the moving assembly line. Schumpeter11 ETHICAL Distwsiows oF TecHNocogy = 27 (2004) later developed the Marxist theory of economic development by arguing that innovation was the driver of economic development because it ‘treated new markets and sources of revenue, Based on Schumpeter’s analysis, we can conclude that technological inequality occurs at three levels. First, the gap between those involved in innovation and those involved in the work force continues to grow. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and more recently Mark Zuckerberg: are prime examples of this widening economic gap, Second, the difference in society between the haves and have-nots often plays out in terms of technological savviness. Those who lack technological skills are finding it increasingly difficult 10 join the workforce (McMullin, 2011), which creates divides along edhuca- tional level, socio-economic status, and age, with older generations often not being able to find new employment as a result of their low levels of techno- logical know-how. ‘Third, a global divide exists between those nations who invent, produce, and distribure new technology and those who continue to fall behind. A central conclusion of this book is that science and technology are key parts of the economy and that investing in R&D leads to social and economic advantages. Nonetheless, the example of Ireland—the Celtic Tiger, 28 described in Chapter 4—demonstrates that innovation is not easily achieved, Investment in R&p also creates vulnerabilities that are difficult to manage in an increasingly interconnected, global economy. Technological inequality is perhaps the single most important challeage of the twenty-first century. How do we distribure wealth and power? What role will technologies—such as the Internet and cellphones—play in the struggle for democracy and wealth? How can entire nations keep up with the information revolution? As technology continues to evolve and widely diffuse throughout society, it will become more essential wo address these questions. 3. Social Change While there is no single definition of social change, it is often described as major change of structured social action of social structure taking place in # society, cammunity, or sacial group (Weinstein, 2010). Researchers have identified « number of dimensions of social change, including space (micro, ‘tesa, macro), time (short-, medium-, long-term), speed (slow,