Any form of technological advancement has its inherent danger as well as benefits to the world at large. This is the most compelling takeaway from the lesson and presentation by fellow classmates today. Throughout history, it seems to me that who ever was more advanced in technology (and innovation) had the advantage to dominate over those who wasn’t.
In my reading of “The Colonial Holocaust and its legacy” and the viewing of the teaching materials regarding the dominance of the British Empire over their colonies, it all demonstrated the essence of the expression, “Survival of the fittest”. In the conquest for more land, more resources and more wealth, the weak was brutally exploited and systematically destroyed. In that respect, humans were no different from animals
The info-graphics video earlier in the lesson presented by Hans Rosling illustrated the fact that countries which suffered from the colonial rule previously had had a tough time picking up in terms of making a difference in their growth and overall life-expectancy. It shows that, it is only the free that can make good decisions for themselves and their development.
In today’s context, violence and violation of human rights are also prevalent with the aid of technology. These take forms in wars, crimes, forced labour, exploitation etc. It seems like, where there are humans, there will be struggle for power and wealth. It got me thinking whether it is necessary to exploit others (or the environment) for our own gains in order to progress because history and current situations have shown that technological advancement is driven by our selfish desire to dominate, whether in the battlefield or market place.
That aside, it is heartening to know that developed countries have pledged to bring developing countries to the forefront and help ease the issue of poverty in those places through the Millennium Development Goal. As I learned today, especially after watching the video “History of the world in 7 minutes”, the rate of innovation is increasing exponentially and knowledge changes rapidly as the world progresses. Then what will happen to the countries that have not kept up to date? I foresee that they will be left even further behind leading to more suffering and deterioration of these societies.
It is up to us, ones who are privileged and have the freedom to make choices, to make the world a better place for the less fortunate. Even if we don’t help them, at least we can make the choice to not harm them. As Dalai Lama said, “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”
I think technology should advance in a direction where there is a focus in benefiting the world at large and imparting know-hows to the ones in need. With that in mind, as we progress economically, there will also be a progress in our humanity and awareness. This is what today’s lesson is about – Human Development.
I was hoping for the lesson to cover more about how technology can be harnessed to enable a more well-balanced world not just growth of countries in economic power, but also growth in spirituality (not religion) and humanity (awareness of the plight of the world). These issues deserve more air-time for discussion because the world seems to be fixated on innovation for the purpose of benefiting economically and keeping up with global competition. Maybe in the lessons in the future, such areas would be covered. I will rate the lesson today to be 8/10 for the thought-provoking and enlightening content shared with and amongst the students.