In this blog post, we will examine the impact of rapidly advancing technology on our society and the need for control.
Technology, which has existed alongside human society for a long time, has developed at a rapid pace since the Industrial Revolution. As a result, the influence of technology has grown day by day, and today, no one can escape its influence. Technology has gone beyond being a simple tool and has become deeply ingrained in human life, maximizing the convenience and efficiency of our lives. For example, the development of communication technology has connected the world and made access to and exchange of information smoother than ever before. The benefits of this technology have brought about major changes not only in our daily lives but also in various areas of society, such as education, healthcare, and the economy.
So, does technological advancement only have a positive impact on improving the quality of life and advancing society? Not necessarily. Technological advancement has both positive and negative effects on humans and society. For example, the introduction of automation and artificial intelligence has dramatically improved productivity, but it has also led to the loss of many jobs and increased inequality. In addition, controversies surrounding the protection of personal privacy are intensifying with the expansion of digital technology. For these reasons, the need for social control over technology has been raised. In response, technology assessment has emerged as a national technology policy tool.
Technology assessment aims to control the direction and speed of technological change so that the positive effects are maximized and the negative effects are minimized, based on an evaluation of the social impact of a particular technology by experts, stakeholders, and the general public. This is not simply a matter of promoting technological progress, but part of an effort to ensure that technology is aligned with human values and social needs. In this process, the ethical aspects of technology, its environmental impact, and its economic ripple effects are comprehensively considered. In particular, it is important to reflect the long-term impact of technology and even intergenerational equity.
Early technology impact assessments tended to focus on evaluating and prescribing the impact of already developed technologies on society after the fact. However, such ex post facto evaluations and prescriptions ran into the “control dilemma” of technology. The control dilemma refers to a situation in which, even if a technology is found to be problematic through a technology impact assessment, it is almost impossible to stop its development if it is already at an advanced stage. This dilemma makes social control of technology difficult. Ultimately, the dilemma of control revealed the limitations of ex post facto technology impact assessment in achieving its original purpose of controlling technology.
To overcome this dilemma, a new form of technology impact assessment emerged, which actively encourages technological change in a socially desirable direction through continuous assessment of the entire process of technology development. This was based on the sociological recognition that technology does not only affect society unilaterally, but that society can also influence the content and speed of technological change. This new technology impact assessment is considered more successful than traditional technology impact assessment in terms of technology control because it focuses on the process of technology development. Social control over technology is no longer limited to ex post measures, but has become more effective by providing opportunities for continuous intervention from the early stages of technology development.
So, has this new technology impact assessment completely resolved the control dilemma? It is difficult to answer this question with a resounding “yes.” First of all, the direction of technological development is highly uncertain, making it difficult to accurately predict the impact of technology even through ex ante and process-oriented assessments. Even if we make accurate predictions and implement appropriate technology policies to control technology, those policies may produce unintended consequences. For example, a technology developed to protect the environment may end up wasting resources in unexpected ways or causing new types of pollution. Such situations demonstrate the inherent limitations of technology control.
Nevertheless, given the need to evaluate and control technologies that are having an increasingly significant social impact, technology impact assessment is currently the best technology policy tool available to us. In the process of co-evolution between society and technology, technology impact assessment plays an important role in reaching social consensus and adjusting technology to align with social values and goals. Furthermore, it can contribute to maximizing the positive potential of new technological innovations, rather than simply reducing the adverse effects of technology. Ultimately, technology impact assessment serves as a guide for the future of society and is establishing itself as an essential process for the coexistence of humans and technology.
