The improvement of technology is affecting our society

JUSTISIA SHIPENA
Sunsunet van Blerk



We have all watched Science Fiction about how robots end up taking over the world but we never considered the thought that the day would come that we live among them. The first and one of the most well know artificial intelligence humanoid was activated on February 14, 2016 and made its first appearance in mid-March 2016 in Austin, Texas, United States at the Southwest Festival. The robot, Sophia was developed in Hong Kong by the company Hanson Robotics. Sophia’s human-like appearance and behaviour are well known to us. She can imitate human gestures and has more than 50 facial expressions. She is able to have a simple conversation with other humanoid robots and living, breathing people, however her knowledge is limited. On the 25 October 2017 Sophia was granted citizenship and was the first robot with a nationality. She even has the right to vote. Isn’t it, creepy?

The more technology grows and more intelligent robots are produced the bigger the concerns of unemployment and trust spreads worldwide. Research states that for every industrial robot, 1.6 manufacturing jobs are replaced and by 2030 up to 20 million manufacturing jobs around the world will be wiped out due to automation. About 1.7 million jobs have been lost since 2000 due to automation.

Loneliness, dependence on technology and self-insecurity are other effects of technology. Humans now- a- days would rather use their calculator to add one-digit numbers than their head. They rely so much on technology that valuable time is lost, time that could have been used for creative and productive activities with their friends and family. It’s also the reason for self-insecurity worldwide.

As a result of living and growing up with all these new devices around us, humans tend to get too comfortable with technology, where we should be staying alert in case it ends up backfiring on us. The exposure to social media and devices at a young age is bad for anyone due to exposure to inappropriate content, lack of motivation and focus, therefore we should all work together and reduce the next generation’s usage of technology.