Running head: TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

Kevin Ruiz
RWS 1301
The University of Texas at El Paso
Brenda Gallardo
10/25/2015

Running head: TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

Abstract
This paper presents the evolution of technology, machines and the quickness it is taking
to become more and more intelligent. Therefore the purpose of this research is to inform the
reader as to how the machine era is changing the economy and present the changes of
productivity v. employment over the past decades and how it is taking over some jobs. This
particular paper reports on the effects of too much technology and an introduction to a possible
solution. The final summaries are evaluated according to criteria based on content, topic, and
data and from the results obtained a conclusion was made.

Running head: TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

Technology is taking over humans and taking away their jobs since many developments
are being made in machines and technology. But who is benefitting from this development?
Owners of companies may benefit by spending less money on workers and increasing
production. Workers are being affected by machines or software which does not sustain a family
and depend upon the job. The exponential growth of technology has helped modern world
become what it is today but to what extent must we allow artificial intelligence to make our lives
easier?
Over the past decades technology has had an exponential growth, currently one can easily
chat and have a video conference with a colleague around the world at the tip of their
smartphone, students have the availability to take online classes from the comfort of their home;
today peoples lives are made easier, but to what extent must we allow technology to facilitate our
lives and take over our jobs. Back in the 19th century people needed to use a dictionary or the
help of a human to translate a text to another language, today we can easily perform this task
with our cellphones. Even though the translation might not be perfect it makes a proper attempt.
One cannot imagine their job being taken away by a machine or software. Again who thought
that one day a car would drive by itself without the use of a human. What will happen to a truck
driver that all of his life has been delivering packages around the country and a machine that
works for free and doesnt work to provide for a family compete for the same position? It is very
true that technology growth has made a huge impact in various fields and has made our lives
more descent and safer such as: improved tires, chemical detection, solar energy panels, water
purification, food safety system, prosthesis among many others. It is very crucial and we pretty
much depend on it but when you introduce a computer to a machine and operate better than you
thats when the line has to be drawn and some limitation

Running head: TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

In the video "Andrew Mcafee: new technology it's (almost) All good", Mcafee (2012) discusses
technology taking over some jobs. He argues that productivity is rising but employment is
decreasing and that workers are having less income as we can see in the chart above. Mcafee
implied that work saves us from boredom, vice and need [which by working we] find mastery,
autonomy and purpose [to live by] (2012), people must choose what type of surrounding they
want to live in for they loved ones and must choose to what extent technology must facilitate our
lives. Co-Author Erik Brynjolfsson discussed the conflict between race and technology, arguing
that "people are racing against the machine and many of them are losing that battle, what can we
do to share prosperity? The answer is not to slow down technology, instead of racing against the
machine we should race with the machine". This means that we shouldn't see who is better at
doing things but instead acquire the help from machines and benefit ourselves. A good example
that Mcafee discussed is how society is competing the best chess player in the world against a
machine because obviously the machine will win, it is designed for that, but instead we should
use digitalization to compete chess players against chess players around the world ( McAfee :
Are droids taking our jobs?. 2012, Boston Massachusetts). Lawrence Katz, a Harvard economist
contradicts what Mcafee and Brynjolfsson implied by saying that we never have run out of jobs.
There is no long-term trend of eliminating work for people. Over the long term, employment
rates are fairly stable. People have always been able to create new jobs. People come up with
new things to do. But still he notices that there is a change in todays economy versus the
economy 30 years ago, and of course there is a change because back then a cellphone could not
do calculations or translations and a human was needed in order to complete the task, and even
though machines need workers to build them and operate them, the difference of workers is still
large.

Running head: TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

Mingot in the Video Human Learning vs. Machine learning (2015), he argues the
power of machines and technology. Today a very interesting article about sports, economics and
really about anything can be written by a computer, authors just need to gather up data give it to
the computer and it will write an article and come up with a conclusion. Mingot explained why
machines advance so quickly with what is known as Moores law; a law that describes that every
18 months the power of calculation of machines doubles, this velocity pace might seem small at
the beginning but in reality its an exponential growth. He explained this growth with a parable
of a civilian which invented chess and how the emperor rewarded him. When the civilian was
asked by the emperor in what way he should reward him he said by giving him one grain of rice
on the first box of the chess table, two at the second box, eight at the third box and so on and so
forth, the emperor thought that this wasn't so big of a deal but little did he know that at half of
the chess table he will need to give the civilian enough rice to fill an entire field, at this point the
emperor noticed that it wasnt so good of an idea and at the end of the chess table he will need to
give the civilian the amount of rice equivalent to Mount Everest. So if our starting point begins
from 1960 as the beginning of intelligent machines and we count Moores law that every
eighteen month they develop exponentially, that situates us in box number 36 which is more than
half of the chess table that would mean that we are starting to realize that this growth of
computers is really impacting us in a way we didnt see coming. The question is still being
argued, are machines and technology going to steal our jobs and leave us behind? In some cases
they will, machines are better at decision- making communicating and computing. One thing
machines cannot be better than us and that is our conscience. Conscience according to the
Merriam Webster dictionary defines it as the part of the mind that makes you aware of your
actions as being either morally right or wrong, which is basically the sense of right and wrong.

Running head: TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

Conscience is the exponential growth humans develop and flourish which is creative thinking
and that computers do not have. A computer or machine can perform a task if some variables are
being taught to it and presented for example time, instructions, with more precision and less error
but the computer or machine cannot do more than that if a human doesnt teach it to perform it
that way. What this means is that machines can only learn from what has happened and will
follow only those instructions. Humans have the ability to break the pattern and innovate, until a
human doesnt step in and changes the instruction to the machine, the machine will not be able to
invent an easier way to perform the task.
The question being asked at the beginning of this research do we need or do we not need
machines in our lives? And are the machines going to take over our jobs some day? Can be a
very complex question to answer. We cannot race against the machine because eventually they
will leave us behind but we cant either stop the evolution of technology because it is essential in
our lives. With technology what we can do instead of racing against it we must race with it and
learn from one another, that way there is a win-win for both sides. Technology was made to
facilitate our lives and to be more effective in some ways and we must allow it to facilitate the
lives of our surroundings to where we still control them and not the other way around. With
technology the evolution cannot be so high that it will rule us but neither can it evolve so low
that we conform ourselves with what we have.
Reference Page

Running head: TECHNOLOGY TAKING OVER HUMANS

McAfee, Andrew. (2012, September). Andrew McAfee: are droids taking our jobs?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMF-Z74C1QE
McAfee, Andrew. (2014, October). Andrew McAfee: New Technology, It's (Almost) All Good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMrjsVUFGFk
Mingot, Joseph. (2015, March). Human learning vs. machine learning | Josep Marc Mingot |
TEDxYouth@Barcelona. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3FtRdsVfE0
Rotman, David. How technology is destroying jobs (2013). Boston, Massachusetts.
MIT Technology Review Magazine