The benefits of technological expansion don’t have to be enumerated. Computers, phones and pingpong balls not only consume the lives of most college students (save the hardcore hippies), but also make them easier or even (considering how lost I would be without Facebook) possible. The convenience and efficiency of utilizing technology in our daily lives, however, may be dwarfed by the larger implications of the development of what some (Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, a professor and director at MIT Sloan, respectively) call the second machine age.
The “second machine age” marks “prosperity in a time of brilliant technologies,” but also marks an expansion of markets.As technology becomes more ubiquitous, it may be able to break conceptual boundaries of nationality and cultural identity, however controversial and debatable the point, so that larger groups of humans can start tackling their serious problems.
Technology’s hand in the reshuffling of identity makes itself most evident on the fringes of the developed world -- where modern communities have built their lives not on Apple-based foundations, but on traditional customs. The changes become apparent when these communities begin to integrate technology into their lifestyle, often provoking an erosion of culture.
Such an erosion effect may be most poignant in the case of the Inuit, a diverse group of indigenous peoples who inhabit the Arctic regions of Greenland, Canada and Alaska. Inuit wayfaring has for millennia been integral to their society, harnessing a number of sophisticated navigation techniques and comprising an unmistakable portion of their culture and identity. These techniques, including close attention to wind patterns, the position of the sun, moon and stars and the recognition of ice flows and animal behaviors, have since been eclipsed by the introduction of the GPS.
The Inuit identity is in a way being standardized; no longer must their societies rely on traditional navigation techniques. On the contrary, they have developed (targeted by expanding markets and convenient products) in such a way that seems to homogenize them, minimally but recognizably, with the rest of the developed world. The loss of Inuit culture engenders nostalgia and melancholy, and it certainly seems like a case of exploitation; but considering it was a choice, and considering that GPS may actually aid Inuit navigation, are the consequences just an unfortunate but worthwhile cost?
Harkening back to last week’s column, outsourcing tasks to technology breeds ignorance, and ignorance can be fatal. Since the introduction of the GPS more Inuits have died due to navigation mishaps. Inuits who rely on their newfound technology are less likely to learn the navigation skills themselves. So, unfortunately, when their technology fails (when the GPS’ batteries flake), they’re at a loss -- and very lost.
The loss of culture and the loss of practical skills doesn’t sound like ringing endorsement for technological expansion, but homogeneity across cultures and societies might be a hidden boon. In fact, it might be a necessary boon.
Humans are on the whole a selfish species. We are hardwired to favor ourselves, our family, our group and our tribe before considering the larger consequences of our myopia-laden actions. This is partly thanks to how we have evolved -- favoring the group and harboring bias against others increased fitness. In today’s world, however, we have the insight and foresight to see that in the near future this might not be adaptive. Considering climate change, population growth and resource depletion, it might be catastrophic.
Conceptualizing a global community -- or as large a society as political allegiances allow -- rather than a multitude of isolated cultures connected by politics may be crucial change in perspective. Technology, by eroding culture, homogenizing communities, increasing communication and cosmopolitanism and giving countries the means to fight these crises, may be a route to global community, and a route to humanity’s perpetual existence.
