In this blog post, we will look at the background of technological advancement and critically examine the relationship between social demand and technology.
We often say things like, “If you can’t study, you should at least learn a skill to make a living.” This may be just a passing remark, but it reveals a tendency to underestimate technology in society. In Korean history, it was very rare for technicians to hold high government positions. This social perception of technology continued until relatively recently, and it seemed unlikely that learning technology would lead to success. However, society is now developing thanks to the advancement of cutting-edge technology, and the status of technology is rising rapidly.
As technology has rapidly emerged as a key growth engine for the economy, discussions about the nature of technology have naturally arisen. In other words, a social debate has heated up over whether technological development precedes social change or follows it. Many people believe that the development of industry led to the development of society through the development of the steam engine. This is the claim of technological determinism, which asserts that technological development drives society. However, this is only true on the surface. In reality, technology develops based on the needs of society, and technology exists for the benefit of society, so social determinism is a more reasonable argument.
Before discussing this in more detail, it is necessary to briefly touch on the difference between science and technology. This is because confusing the two can undermine the argument itself. In general, technology is practical and can be discovered from the outside through observation, but technology must be applied in practice, so it comes from people’s thinking. For example, if you blow air into a balloon and see that it gets bigger, and through observation you conclude that “when a person blows air into a balloon, the air pressure inside the balloon changes, causing the balloon to get bigger,” then you have created the first law of thermodynamics, which is science. However, the process of creating something practical, such as a steam engine that pushes the piston wall with steam, is technology. Furthermore, it is science to observe nuclear fission and organize its principles, and it is technology to use the energy produced by nuclear fission for nuclear bombs and nuclear power generation.
Now, let’s see how society has influenced the development of technology. In the past, people developed technology to meet the needs of society. In the agricultural age, farming tools were developed to improve farming. Better materials were needed to make these tools, and as a result, stone, bronze, and iron were used. This is reflected in the development of the Stone Age, Bronze Age, and Iron Age that we are familiar with. At first glance, it seems that society developed in accordance with the materials available, as they were used to make stone, bronze, and iron tools. However, it is not appropriate to view the names of these eras as indicating that society was formed in accordance with the development of these materials. Language always comes after something else, so it is inaccurate to use language to determine the order of technology and society.
In fact, the materials of that time needed to be stronger. This was to protect their tribes and increase the efficiency of farming. Therefore, people tried to freely handle harder materials. The stones that were first used were strong, but it was difficult to shape them as desired. So they used bronze, which was a little soft but could be shaped using fire. Once people realized that materials such as bronze could be melted using fire, they melted various materials, focusing on stones that were commonly used, and created iron tools. Melting iron required high temperatures. Therefore, if they had simply wanted to use fire, they would not have developed technology, but in order to further develop their society, the people of that time developed technology to handle higher temperatures.
What does this look like in modern society? In his lecture on physics, Professor Moo-Young Choi of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Seoul National University argues that technology drives demand in modern society, citing mobile phones and software as examples. He says that demand is created by adding features that people do not necessarily recognize as necessary. However, if we look at the inner workings of the technology development process, we can see that it is not technology that creates demand, but rather necessity and demand that create technology. First, technology developers must believe that the technology is necessary, and developers must receive investment to pay for the costs of technology development. Technology is only developed when investors believe it is necessary. From this perspective, technology must be necessary for someone in order to be developed. In other words, technology development is driven by the demand of investors who anticipate public demand. On the other hand, if investors or developers do not feel that the technology is necessary, it will not be developed. For example, at the end of 2002, Samsung released a mobile phone capable of producing 64-tone ringtones, but development did not proceed to higher tones. The reason was that the manufacturer determined that 64 tones was the maximum number of tones that humans could distinguish. This shows that technology is influenced by society.
From an evolutionary perspective, the survival and development of technology is closely related to the theory of use and disuse. Frequently used technologies advance, while those that are not used often disappear. For example, as mobile phones became more convenient, pagers disappeared. With the increase in mobile phone use, the use of pagers decreased, and mobile phone technology advanced accordingly.
When technology reaches its limits, other technologies are often incorporated to maintain social demand. By using two technologies simultaneously in a single product, another technology is born. Such technological developments also satisfy society’s desire to use one tool rather than two. For example, digital cameras were initially developed with a focus on increasing the number of pixels, but when the number of pixels became so high that people could no longer distinguish between them, the limits began to show. Instead of increasing the number of pixels, digital camera companies began to add other features that people needed. One of these was the addition of internet functionality to digital cameras, allowing users to upload photos directly to social media. This reduced the hassle of having to connect to a computer. As such, it is clear that technological development and integration must be based on the demands and needs of society.
As society develops, technology and science will also advance. And it is humans who enjoy the fruits of technology and science, and it must remain so. Ultimately, it is up to humans to decide whether to use the principle of nuclear fission for nuclear power or as a weapon of mass destruction. Technology itself is neutral and has no value. This value neutrality of technology is why we must always be vigilant when using technology, and why we need philosophical and humanistic thinking when dealing with technology.
