Defining Technologies

The advantages of technological change are many. Some positive consequences are the increased efficiency with which goods and services are produced and the reduction of natural resources. Moreover, technology provides people with new means of communication, which allow them to improve their lives in a variety of ways. Some of the more obvious benefits are the increased opportunities for economic growth and employment. Technological innovations have contributed to the improved human condition in many ways.

In human history, technology has contributed to the division of labor. In particular, the domestication of animals has freed up humans from the agricultural task of feeding, sheltering, and training them to do work that allows them to be productive. Similarly, machines and other forms of artificial intelligence have made tasks that were performed by people, such as sewing, pottery, architecture, etc., a lot less tedious. In fact, there are some tasks in which machines can replace humans because they are more efficient, such as operating trucks and airplanes. As a result of such developments, people are now able to live a more affluent lifestyle than ever before.

Machines, particularly computers, have also played a major role in the advancement of human history. Through the development of computer systems, researchers and technicians have been able to produce a large number of innovations, from weapons to medical technology. Computers and other machines have even been responsible for creating new jobs, for example, the invention of the automated banking system. Likewise, the development of medical technology has resulted in creating new job opportunities.

Technological progress is not always good. One of the biggest problems with the development of machines and other artificial intelligence is that humans may become dependent on these technologies for things that they couldn't otherwise afford. Thus, in some ways, technological advancement may sometimes be bad, because it could mean a loss of jobs. Nevertheless, many experts argue that this kind of argument is often used against more sophisticated systems of artificially intelligent machines and other forms of technological devices, because such machines already have a tendency to become dependent on their creators, whether or not the creators themselves are capable of designing and maintaining those machines. Therefore, they argue, even if the machines eventually become superintelligent, humans will still have a substantial advantage in society, since they will be able to provide basic needs and maintain the necessary infrastructure that is needed for a healthy economy.

There are two main types of technological advances: Hard Technologies and Soft Technologies. Hard technologies are those that humans create themselves, whereas Soft Technologies is those that machines or artificial intelligence make. It might seem simple to classify these two groups, but the truth is that the difficulty lies in defining hard and soft technologies, as each category represents a broad range of possible machines or artificial intelligence. For instance, there are computer systems, which humans have designed and built, that are hard technologies. However, computers, which are artificially intelligent, can also be considered hard technologies. Likewise, robots, which cannot reason and perform much in terms of independent thought, cannot be classified as soft technologies either.

Because of the complexity of categorizing technological advances, it can be difficult to draw a clear distinction between hard and soft technologies, especially when it comes to human activities. In fact, this is one of the biggest problems in defining technology. The problem is that when we speak of technological advancements, we do not always refer to machine actions. This leads people to believe that technological advances are nothing but machines and robots performing specific tasks.

Unfortunately, there are many machines that are capable of performing very complex tasks and therefore have changed the definition of technology. Thus, we often find the term technology being applied to a wide array of technological objects such as computers, industrial equipment, communication devices, power generation, etc., which are all machine-based. However, when applied to human activities, technological objects refer to those technological objects used by humans for human purposes such as communication, electricity, information technology, computer sciences, etc. Therefore, it is clear that technological processes cannot be limited to machine actions, which ultimately redefine technology.