View source for Technology

{{Short description|Use of knowledge for practical goals}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{pp-semi-vandalism|small=yes}}
[[File:Dampfturbine Montage01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A [[steam turbine]] with the case opened, an example of [[Energy development|energy technology]]|alt=Photo of technicians working on a steam turbine]]
{{History of technology sidebar}}

'''Technology''' is the application of [[Conceptual model|conceptual knowledge]] for achieving practical [[goal]]s, especially in a [[Reproducibility|reproducible]] way.<ref>{{cite book |last=Skolnikoff |first=Eugene B. |year=1993 |title=The Elusive Transformation: Science, Technology, and the Evolution of International Politics |chapter=The Setting |page=13 |publisher=[[Princeton University Press]] |isbn=0-691-08631-1 |jstor=j.ctt7rpm1 |lccn=92022141 |oclc=26128186 |quote=I find the most useful conceptual definition for this study to be that given by Harvey Brooks, who has defined technology ... as 'knowledge of how to fulfill certain human purposes in a specifiable and reproducible way.'}}</ref> The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts,<ref>{{harvnb|Salomon|1984|pages=117–118}}: "The first pole, that of the naturalisation of a new discipline within the university curriculum, was presented by Christian Wolff in 1728, in Chapter III of the "Preliminary discourse" to his ''Philosophia rationalisis sive Logica'': 'Technology is the science of skills and works of skill, or, if one prefers, the science of things made by man's labour, chiefly through the use of his hands.'"</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mitcham |first=Carl |author-link=Carl Mitcham |year=1994 |title=Thinking Through Technology: The Path Between Engineering and Philosophy |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |isbn=0-226-53196-1 |lccn=93044581 |oclc=29518988}}</ref> including both tangible [[tool]]s such as [[Kitchen utensil|utensils]] or [[machine]]s, and intangible ones such as [[software]]. Technology plays a critical role in [[science]], [[engineering]], and [[everyday life]].

Technological advancements have led to significant changes in [[society]]. The earliest known technology is the [[stone tool]], used during [[Prehistory|prehistoric times]], followed by the [[Control of fire by early humans|control of fire]], which contributed to the [[Brain size|growth]] of the [[human brain]] and the development of [[language]] during the [[Pleistocene|Ice Age]]. The invention of the [[wheel]] in the [[Bronze Age]] allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including the [[printing press]], telephone, and the [[Internet]], have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the [[knowledge economy]].

While technology contributes to [[economic development]] and improves human [[prosperity]], it can also have negative impacts like [[pollution]] and [[resource depletion]], and can cause social harms like [[technological unemployment]] resulting from [[automation]]. As a result, there are ongoing philosophical and [[Politics and technology|political debates]] about the role and use of technology, the [[ethics of technology]], and ways to mitigate its downsides.

== Etymology ==
''Technology'' is a term dating back to the [[Renaissance|early 17th century]] that meant 'systematic treatment' (from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] {{lang|grc|Τεχνολογία}}, from the {{Lang-el|{{wikt-lang|en|τέχνη}}|tékhnē|craft, art}} and {{lang|grc|-λογία}}, 'study, knowledge').''<ref name="Liddell 1980">{{cite book |last1=Liddell |first1=Henry George |author1-link=Henry Liddell |last2=Scott |first2=Robert |author2-link=Robert Scott (philologist) |title=Greek-English Lexicon |title-link=Greek-English Lexicon |edition=Abridged |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=1996 |orig-date=1891 |isbn=0-19-910205-8 |oclc=38307662}}</ref>''<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=technology |encyclopedia=The Oxford English Dictionary |editor1-last=Simpson |editor1-first=J. |editor2-last=Weiner |editor2-first=Edmund |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0198611868}}</ref> It is predated in use by the [[Ancient Greek]] word ''[[τέχνη|tékhnē]]'', used to mean 'knowledge of how to make things', which encompassed activities like architecture.<ref>{{cite book |author=Aristotle |author-link=Aristotle |editor-last=Brown |editor-first=Lesley |translator-last=Ross |translator-first=David |year=2009 |title=The Nicomachean Ethics |page=105 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-921361-0 |lccn=2009005379 |oclc=246896490 |series=Oxford World's Classics}}</ref>

Starting in the 19th century, continental Europeans started using the terms ''Technik'' (German) or ''technique'' (French) to refer to a 'way of doing', which included all technical arts, such as dancing, navigation, or printing, whether or not they required tools or instruments.{{Sfn|Salomon|1984|pages=114–115}} At the time, ''Technologie'' (German and French) referred either to the academic discipline studying the "methods of arts and crafts", or to the political discipline "intended to legislate on the functions of the arts and crafts."{{Sfn|Salomon|1984|page=117}} Since the distinction between ''Technik'' and ''Technologie'' is absent in English, both were translated as ''technology''. The term was previously uncommon in English and mostly referred to the academic discipline, as in the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]].<ref name=jstor40061169>{{Cite journal |last=Schatzberg |first=Eric |year=2006 |title="Technik" Comes to America: Changing Meanings of "Technology" before 1930 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40061169 |journal=Technology and Culture |volume=47 |issue=3 |pages=486–512 |doi=10.1353/tech.2006.0201 |jstor=40061169 |s2cid=143784033 |issn=0040-165X |access-date=10 September 2022 |archive-date=10 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910165857/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40061169 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 20th century, as a result of [[Progress|scientific progress]] and the [[Second Industrial Revolution]], ''technology'' stopped being considered a distinct academic discipline and took on its current-day meaning: the systemic use of knowledge to practical ends.<ref>{{harvnb|Salomon|1984|page=119}}: "With the industrial revolution and the important part England played in it, the word technology was to lose this meaning as the subject or thrust of a branch of education, as first in English and then in other languages it embodied all technical activity based on the application of science to practical ends."</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of technology|3 = Timeline of historic inventions}}

===Prehistoric===
{{main|Prehistoric technology}}
[[File:Faustkeil Nachbau, 2020 PD a-7.jpg|thumb|A person holding a [[hand axe]]|alt=refer to caption]]
Tools were initially developed by [[Hominidae|hominids]] through observation and [[trial and error]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schiffer |first=M. B. |title=The Archaeology of Science |chapter=Discovery Processes: Trial Models |year=2013 |chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00077-0_13 |series=Manuals in Archaeological Method, Theory and Technique |volume=9 |pages=185–198 |place=Heidelberg |publisher=Springer International Publishing |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-00077-0_13 |isbn=978-3319000770 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184259/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-00077-0_13 |url-status=live }}</ref> Around 2 [[Year#Abbreviations yr and ya|Mya]] (million years ago), they learned to make the first stone tools by hammering flakes off a pebble, forming a sharp [[hand axe]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |author=The British Museum |title=Our earliest technology? |url=https://smarthistory.org/our-earliest-technology/#:~:text=Made%20nearly%20two%20million%20years,deposits%20in%20Olduvai%20Gorge,%20Tanzania. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220902015829/https://smarthistory.org/our-earliest-technology/#:~:text=Made%20nearly%20two%20million%20years,deposits%20in%20Olduvai%20Gorge,%20Tanzania. |archive-date=2 September 2022 |access-date=2 September 2022 |website=smarthistory.org}}</ref> This practice was refined 75 kya (thousand years ago) into [[pressure flaking]], enabling much finer work.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Minogue |first=K. |date=28 October 2010 |title=Stone Age Toolmakers Surprisingly Sophisticated |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/stone-age-toolmakers-surprisingly-sophisticated |url-status=live |access-date=10 September 2022 |website=science.org |archive-date=10 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910174555/https://www.science.org/content/article/stone-age-toolmakers-surprisingly-sophisticated }}</ref>

The [[Control of fire by early humans|discovery of fire]] was described by [[Charles Darwin]] as "possibly the greatest ever made by man".<ref>{{cite book | last=Crump | first=Thomas | title=A Brief History of Science | year=2001 | publisher=[[Constable & Robinson]] | isbn=978-1841192352 | page=9}}</ref> Archaeological, dietary, and social evidence point to "continuous [human] fire-use" at least 1.5 Mya.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gowlett |first1=J. A. J. |last2=Wrangham |first2=R. W. |date=1 March 2013 |title=Earliest fire in Africa: towards the convergence of archaeological evidence and the cooking hypothesis |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/0067270X.2012.756754 |journal=Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=5–30 |doi=10.1080/0067270X.2012.756754 |s2cid=163033909 |issn=0067-270X}}</ref> Fire, fueled with wood and [[charcoal]], allowed early humans to cook their food to increase its digestibility, improving its nutrient value and broadening the number of foods that could be eaten.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Stahl | first= Ann B. | author-link= Ann B. Stahl | year=1984 | title=Hominid dietary selection before fire | journal=[[Current Anthropology]] | volume=25 | pages= 151–68 | doi=10.1086/203106 | issue=2 | jstor=2742818| s2cid= 84337150 }}</ref> The ''[[Control of fire by early humans#The cooking hypothesis|cooking hypothesis]]'' proposes that the ability to cook promoted an increase in hominid [[brain size]], though some researchers find the evidence inconclusive.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wrangham |first=R. |date=1 August 2017 |title=Control of Fire in the Paleolithic: Evaluating the Cooking Hypothesis |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/692113 |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=58 |issue=S16 |pages=S303–S313 |doi=10.1086/692113 |s2cid=148798286 |issn=0011-3204 |access-date=10 September 2022 |archive-date=10 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910190830/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/692113 |url-status=live }}</ref> Archaeological evidence of [[hearth]]s was dated to 790 kya; researchers believe this is likely to have intensified human [[socialization]] and may have contributed to the emergence of [[language]].<ref name=worldcat1124046527>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1124046527 |title=Lucy to Language: the Benchmark Papers |year=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0199652594 |editor-last=Dunbar |editor-first=R. I. M. |oclc=1124046527 |editor-last2=Gamble |editor-first2=C. |editor-last3=Gowlett |editor-first3=J. A. J. |access-date=10 September 2022 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814044201/http://worldcat.org/oclc/1124046527 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=20030715nytimes-science>{{Cite news |last=Wade |first=Nicholas |date=15 July 2003 |title=Early Voices: The Leap to Language |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/15/science/early-voices-the-leap-to-language.html |url-status=live |access-date=7 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312091336/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/15/science/early-voices-the-leap-to-language.html |archive-date=12 March 2017 }}</ref>

Other technological advances made during the Paleolithic era include clothing and shelter.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Shaar |first1=Ron |last2=Matmon |first2=Ari |last3=Horwitz |first3=Liora K. |last4=Ebert |first4=Yael |last5=Chazan |first5=Michael |last6=Arnold |first6=M. |last7=Aumaître |first7=G. |last8=Bourlès |first8=D. |last9=Keddadouche |first9=K. |date=1 May 2021 |title=Magnetostratigraphy and cosmogenic dating of Wonderwerk Cave: New constraints for the chronology of the South African Earlier Stone Age |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379121001141 |journal=Quaternary Science Reviews |volume=259 |page=106907 |doi=10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106907 |bibcode=2021QSRv..25906907S |s2cid=234833092 |issn=0277-3791}}</ref> No consensus exists on the approximate time of adoption of either technology, but archaeologists have found archaeological evidence of clothing 90-120 kya<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hallett |first1=Emily Y. |last2=Marean |first2=Curtis W. |last3=Steele |first3=Teresa E. |last4=Álvarez-Fernández |first4=Esteban |last5=Jacobs |first5=Zenobia |author5-link=Zenobia Jacobs |last6=Cerasoni |first6=Jacopo Niccolò |last7=Aldeias |first7=Vera |last8=Scerri |first8=Eleanor M. L. |last9=Olszewski |first9=Deborah I. |last10=Hajraoui |first10=Mohamed Abdeljalil El |last11=Dibble |first11=Harold L. |date=24 September 2021 |title=A worked bone assemblage from 120,000–90,000 year old deposits at Contrebandiers Cave, Atlantic Coast, Morocco |journal=iScience  |volume=24 |issue=9 |page=102988 |doi=10.1016/j.isci.2021.102988 |issn=2589-0042 |pmc=8478944 |pmid=34622180|bibcode=2021iSci...24j2988H }}</ref> and shelter 450 kya.<ref name=":4" /> As the Paleolithic era progressed, dwellings became more sophisticated and more elaborate; as early as 380 kya, humans were constructing temporary wood huts.<ref>{{cite web |author=O'Neil, Dennis |title=Evolution of Modern Humans: Archaic Homo sapiens Culture |url=http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_3.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070404130017/http://anthro.palomar.edu/homo2/mod_homo_3.htm |archive-date=4 April 2007 |access-date=31 March 2007 |publisher=[[Palomar College]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Villa |first=Paola |title=Terra Amata and the Middle Pleistocene archaeological record of southern France |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=1983 |isbn=978-0520096622 |location=[[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] |page=303}}</ref> Clothing, adapted from the fur and hides of hunted animals, helped humanity expand into colder regions; humans began to [[Early human migrations|migrate]] out of Africa around 200 kya, initially moving to [[Eurasia]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cordaux |first=Richard |author2=Stoneking, Mark |year=2003 |title=South Asia, the Andamanese, and the Genetic Evidence for an 'Early' Human Dispersal out of Africa |url=http://site.voila.fr/rcordaux/pdfs/04.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[American Journal of Human Genetics]] |volume=72 |issue=6 |pages=1586–1590; author reply 1590–93 |doi=10.1086/375407 |pmc=1180321 |pmid=12817589 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001022940/http://site.voila.fr/rcordaux/pdfs/04.pdf |archive-date=1 October 2009 |access-date=22 May 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='Oldest remains' outside Africa reset human migration clock |url=https://phys.org/news/2019-07-oldest-africa-reset-human-migration.html |access-date=10 September 2022 |website=phys.org  |archive-date=11 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711124429/https://phys.org/news/2019-07-oldest-africa-reset-human-migration.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Harvati | first1=Katerina | author-link=Katerina Harvati | last2=Röding | first2=Carolin | last3=Bosman | first3=Abel M. | last4=Karakostis | first4=Fotios A. | last5=Grün | first5=Rainer | last6=Stringer | first6=Chris | last7=Karkanas | first7=Panagiotis | last8=Thompson | first8=Nicholas C. | last9=Koutoulidis | first9=Vassilis | last10=Moulopoulos | first10=Lia A. | last11=Gorgoulis | first11=Vassilis G. | last12=Kouloukoussa | first12=Mirsini | title=Apidima Cave fossils provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=571 | issue=7766 | year=2019 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/s41586-019-1376-z | pages=500–504 | pmid=31292546 | s2cid=195873640 | url=https://zenodo.org/record/6646855 | access-date=17 September 2022 | archive-date=1 August 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801132212/https://zenodo.org/record/6646855 | url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Neolithic ===
{{Main|2 = Neolithic Revolution}}
[[File:Néolithique 0001.jpg|thumb|An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools|alt=Photo of Neolithic tools on display]]

The [[Neolithic Revolution]] (or ''First Agricultural Revolution'') brought about an acceleration of technological innovation, and a consequent increase in social complexity.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2D8OBwAAQBAJ&dq=neolithic+revolution+social+organization&pg=PA3 |title=Life in Neolithic Farming Communities: Social Organization, Identity, and Differentiation |publisher=Springer New York |year=2002 |isbn=9780306471667 |editor-last=Kuijt |editor-first=i. |series=Fundamental Issues in Archaeology |access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184244/https://books.google.com/books?id=2D8OBwAAQBAJ&dq=neolithic+revolution+social+organization&pg=PA3 |url-status=live }}</ref> The invention of the polished [[Hand axe|stone axe]] was a major advance that allowed large-scale [[deforestation|forest clearance]] and farming.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Coghlan |first=H. H. |date=1943 |title=The Evolution of the Axe from Prehistoric to Roman Times |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2844356 |journal=The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland |volume=73 |issue=1/2 |pages=27–56 |doi=10.2307/2844356 |jstor=2844356 |issn=0307-3114 |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926011626/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2844356 |url-status=live }}</ref> This use of polished stone axes increased greatly in the Neolithic but was originally used in the preceding [[Mesolithic]] in some areas such as Ireland.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Driscoll|first1=Killian|title=The early prehistory in the west of Ireland: Investigations into the social archaeology of the Mesolithic, west of the Shannon, Ireland|date=2006|url=http://lithicsireland.ie/mlitt_mesolithic_west_ireland_chap_2.html|access-date=11 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170904110326/http://lithicsireland.ie/mlitt_mesolithic_west_ireland_chap_2.html|archive-date=4 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Agriculture fed larger populations, and the transition to [[sedentism]] allowed for the simultaneous raising of more children, as infants no longer needed to be carried around by [[nomad]]s. Additionally, children could contribute labor to the raising of crops more readily than they could participate in [[hunter-gatherer]] activities.<ref name=20060104sciencedaily>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060103114116.htm|title=The First Baby Boom: Skeletal Evidence Shows Abrupt Worldwide Increase In Birth Rate During Neolithic Period|last=University of Chicago Press Journals|date=4 January 2006|work=ScienceDaily|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108133752/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060103114116.htm|archive-date=8 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Child Transport, Family Size, and Increase in Human Population During the Neolithic|journal=[[Current Anthropology]]|author=Sussman, Robert W. |author2=Hall, Roberta L. |volume=13|issue=2| pages=258–267|date=April 1972|doi=10.1086/201274 |jstor=2740977|s2cid=143449170}}</ref>

With this increase in population and availability of labor came an increase in [[labor specialization]].<ref>{{cite book|access-date=17 May 2008|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=isGyuX9motEC&q=labor+neolithic+population&pg=PA163|title=Cultural Anthropology: An Applied Perspective|publisher=[[The Thomson Corporation]]|author=Ferraro, Gary P.|year=2006|isbn=978-0495030393|archive-date=31 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331145412/https://books.google.com/books?id=isGyuX9motEC&q=labor+neolithic+population&pg=PA163|url-status=live}}</ref> What triggered the progression from early Neolithic villages to the first cities, such as [[Uruk]], and the first civilizations, such as [[Sumer]], is not specifically known; however, the emergence of increasingly [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] social structures and specialized labor, of trade and war amongst adjacent cultures, and the need for collective action to overcome environmental challenges such as [[irrigation]], are all thought to have played a role.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8pKKwlEcpwYC&q=labor+surplus+neolithic+population&pg=PA7|access-date=17 May 2008|title=The Essentials of Ancient History|publisher=Research & Education Association|author=Patterson, Gordon M.|year=1992|isbn=978-0878917044|archive-date=31 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331145419/https://books.google.com/books?id=8pKKwlEcpwYC&q=labor+surplus+neolithic+population&pg=PA7|url-status=live}}</ref>

The invention of [[History of writing|writing]] led to the spread of cultural knowledge and became the basis for history, [[library|libraries]], schools, and [[science|scientific]] research.<ref>{{cite book |last=Goody |first=J. |date=1986 |title=The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref>

Continuing improvements led to the [[Metallurgical furnace|furnace]] and [[bellows]] and provided, for the first time, the ability to [[smelting|smelt]] and [[forging|forge]] gold, copper, silver, and lead{{spaced ndash}}native metals found in relatively pure form in nature.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=A Short History of Metals |journal=Nature |volume=203 |issue=4943 |page=337 |last=Cramb |first=Alan W |bibcode=1964Natur.203Q.337T |year=1964 |doi=10.1038/203337a0 |s2cid=382712 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The advantages of copper tools over stone, bone and wooden tools were quickly apparent to early humans, and native copper was probably used from near the beginning of [[Neolithic]] times (about 10 ka).<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Ceramics |volume= 05 | pages = 703–760; see page 708 |last1= Hall |first1= Harry Reginald Holland |author-link= Harry Reginald Holland Hall |quote= The art of making a pottery consisting of a siliceous sandy body coated with a vitreous copper glaze seems to have been known unexpectedly early, possibly even as early as the period immediately preceding the Ist Dynasty (4000 B.C.).}}</ref> Native copper does not naturally occur in large amounts, but copper ores are quite common and some of them produce metal easily when burned in wood or charcoal fires. Eventually, the working of metals led to the discovery of [[alloys]] such as [[bronze]] and [[brass]] (about 4,000 BCE). The first use of iron alloys such as steel dates to around 1,800 BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=Hideo |last=Akanuma |title=The significance of the composition of excavated iron fragments taken from Stratum III at the site of Kaman-Kalehöyük, Turkey |journal=Anatolian Archaeological Studies |volume=14 |publisher=Japanese Institute of Anatolian Archaeology |place=Tokyo}}</ref><ref name=hindu001200903261>{{Cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200903261611.htm |title=Ironware piece unearthed from Turkey found to be oldest steel |date=26 March 2009 |work=The Hindu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329111924/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/001200903261611.htm |archive-date=29 March 2009 |url-status=dead |access-date=8 November 2016 }}</ref>

=== Ancient ===
{{Main|Ancient technology}}
{{Ancient technology}}
[[File:Wheel Iran.jpg|thumb|upright|The wheel was invented {{Circa|4,000 BCE}}.|alt=Photo of an early wooden wheel]]
After harnessing fire, humans discovered other forms of energy. The earliest known use of wind power is the [[sailing ship]]; the earliest record of a ship under sail is that of a Nile boat dating to around 7,000 BCE.<ref>{{Cite journal|author1-first=Donatella |author1-last=Usai | author2-first=Sandro |author2-last=Salvatori |title=The oldest representation of a Nile boat|journal=Antiquity|volume=81}}</ref> From prehistoric times, Egyptians likely used the power of the annual [[flooding of the Nile]] to irrigate their lands, gradually learning to regulate much of it through purposely built irrigation channels and "catch" basins.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Postel |first=Sandra |author-link=Sandra Postel |url=http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/nile/t1.html |title=Pillar of Sand: Can the Irrigation Miracle Last? |date=1999 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0393319378 |chapter=Egypt's Nile Valley Basin Irrigation |access-date=25 September 2022 |archive-date=19 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119022630/http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/nile/t1.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ancient [[Sumer]]ians in [[Mesopotamia]] used a complex system of canals and levees to divert water from the [[Tigris]] and [[Euphrates]] rivers for irrigation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Crawford|first=Harriet|author-link=Harriet Crawford|date=2013|title=The Sumerian World|location=New York & London|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0203096604|pages=34–43|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&q=Sumerian+irrigation&pg=PA35|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-date=5 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205005423/https://books.google.com/books?id=qSOYAAAAQBAJ&q=Sumerian+irrigation&pg=PA35|url-status=live}}</ref>

Archaeologists estimate that the wheel was invented independently and concurrently in Mesopotamia (in present-day [[Iraq]]), the Northern Caucasus ([[Maykop culture]]), and Central Europe.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Companion to the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East|last=Potts|first=D.T.|year=2012|page=285}}</ref> Time estimates range from 5,500 to 3,000 BCE with most experts putting it closer to 4,000 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book|title=New Light on the Most Ancient East|last=Childe|first=V. Gordon|year=1928|page=110}}</ref> The oldest artifacts with drawings depicting wheeled carts date from about 3,500 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World|last=Anthony|first=David A.|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0691058870|location=Princeton|page=67}}</ref> More recently, the oldest-known wooden wheel in the world was found in the [[Ljubljana Marsh]] of Slovenia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_room/background_information/culture/worlds_oldest_wheel_found_in_slovenia/|title=World's Oldest Wheel Found in Slovenia|last=Gasser|first=Aleksander|date=March 2003|publisher=Republic of Slovenia Government Communication Office|access-date=8 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826021129/http://www.ukom.gov.si/en/media_room/background_information/culture/worlds_oldest_wheel_found_in_slovenia/|archive-date=26 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The invention of the wheel revolutionized trade and war. It did not take long to discover that wheeled wagons could be used to carry heavy loads. The ancient Sumerians used a [[potter's wheel]] and may have invented it.<ref name="Kramer1963">{{cite book|last=Kramer|first=Samuel Noah|date=1963|title=The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IuxIdug8DBUC|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0226452388|page=290|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808201642/http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Sumerians.html?id=IuxIdug8DBUC|archive-date=8 August 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> A stone pottery wheel found in the city-state of [[Ur]] dates to around 3,429 BCE,<ref name="Moorey1994">{{cite book|last=Moorey|first=Peter Roger Stuart|date=1999|orig-year=1994|title=Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P_Ixuott4doC|location=Winona Lake, Indiana|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1575060422|page=146|access-date=26 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017215042/https://books.google.com/books/about/Ancient_Mesopotamian_Materials_and_Indus.html?id=P_Ixuott4doC|archive-date=17 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> and even older fragments of wheel-thrown pottery have been found in the same area.<ref name="Moorey1994" /> Fast (rotary) potters' wheels enabled early [[mass production]] of pottery, but it was the use of the wheel as a transformer of energy (through [[water wheel]]s, windmills, and even treadmills) that revolutionized the application of nonhuman power sources. The first two-wheeled carts were derived from [[travois]]<ref name="Lay1992">{{cite book|last=Lay|first=M G |title=Ways of the World|publisher=Primavera Press|year=1992|location=Sydney|page=28|isbn=978-1875368051}}</ref> and were first used in Mesopotamia and [[Iran]] in around 3,000 BCE.<ref name="Lay1992" />

The oldest known constructed roadways are the stone-paved streets of the city-state of Ur, dating to {{Circa|4,000 BCE}},<ref name="Gregersen2012">{{cite book|last1=Gregersen|first1=Erik|title=The Complete History of Wheeled Transportation: From Cars and Trucks to Buses and Bikes|date=2012|publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing|location=New York |isbn=978-1615307012|page=130|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ldSbAAAAQBAJ&q=paved+road+in+Ur&pg=PA130|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-date=31 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331145500/https://books.google.com/books?id=ldSbAAAAQBAJ&q=paved+road+in+Ur&pg=PA130|url-status=live}}</ref> and timber roads leading through the swamps of [[Glastonbury, England|Glastonbury]], England, dating to around the same period.<ref name="Gregersen2012" /> The first long-distance road, which came into use around 3,500 BCE,<ref name="Gregersen2012" /> spanned 2,400&nbsp;km from the [[Persian Gulf]] to the [[Mediterranean Sea]],<ref name="Gregersen2012" /> but was not paved and was only partially maintained.<ref name="Gregersen2012" /> In around 2,000 BCE, the [[Minoan civilization|Minoans]] on the Greek island of [[Crete]] built a 50&nbsp;km road leading from the palace of [[Gortyn]] on the south side of the island, through the mountains, to the palace of [[Knossos]] on the north side of the island.<ref name="Gregersen2012" /> Unlike the earlier road, the Minoan road was completely paved.<ref name="Gregersen2012" />[[File:Pont du Gard BLS.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Photograph of the [[Pont du Gard]] in France, one of the most famous [[Roman aqueduct|ancient Roman aqueducts]]<ref name="Aicher1995" />|alt=refer to caption]]
Ancient Minoan private homes had [[running water]].<ref name="Eslamian2014">{{cite book|last1=Eslamian|first1=Saeid|title=Handbook of Engineering Hydrology: Environmental Hydrology and Water Management|date=2014|publisher=CRC Press|location=Boca Raton, Florida|isbn=978-1466552500|pages=171–175|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=USXcBQAAQBAJ&q=Minoan+flush+toilet&pg=PA174|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-date=10 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201210095408/https://books.google.com/books?id=USXcBQAAQBAJ&q=Minoan+flush+toilet&pg=PA174|url-status=live}}</ref> A bathtub virtually identical to modern ones was unearthed at the Palace of Knossos.<ref name="Eslamian2014" /><ref name="Lechner2012">{{cite book|last1=Lechner|first1=Norbert|title=Plumbing, Electricity, Acoustics: Sustainable Design Methods for Architecture|date=2012|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Inc.|location=Hoboken, NJ|isbn=978-1118014752|page=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0loW1G-Q5f4C&q=Minoan+flush+toilet&pg=PA106|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-date=31 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210331145421/https://books.google.com/books?id=0loW1G-Q5f4C&q=Minoan+flush+toilet&pg=PA106|url-status=live}}</ref> Several Minoan private homes also had toilets, which could be flushed by pouring water down the drain.<ref name="Eslamian2014" /> The ancient Romans had many public flush toilets,<ref name="Lechner2012" /> which emptied into an extensive [[sewage system]].<ref name="Lechner2012" /> The primary sewer in Rome was the [[Cloaca Maxima]];<ref name="Lechner2012" /> construction began on it in the sixth century BCE and it is still in use today.<ref name="Lechner2012" />

The ancient Romans also had a complex system of [[aqueduct (bridge)|aqueducts]],<ref name="Aicher1995">{{cite book|last1=Aicher|first1=Peter J.|title=Guide to the Aqueducts of Ancient Rome|date=1995|publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.|location=Wauconda, IL|isbn=978-0865162822|page=6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEa04PmWXq0C&q=Pont+du+Gard|access-date=12 November 2020|archive-date=5 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205010425/https://books.google.com/books?id=IEa04PmWXq0C&q=Pont+du+Gard|url-status=live}}</ref> which were used to transport water across long distances.<ref name="Aicher1995" /> The first [[Roman aqueduct]] was built in 312 BCE.<ref name="Aicher1995" /> The eleventh and final ancient Roman aqueduct was built in 226 CE.<ref name="Aicher1995" /> Put together, the Roman aqueducts extended over 450&nbsp;km,<ref name="Aicher1995" /> but less than 70&nbsp;km of this was above ground and supported by arches.<ref name="Aicher1995" />

=== Pre-modern ===
{{Main|Medieval technology|Renaissance technology}}

Innovations continued through the [[Middle Ages]] with the introduction of silk production (in Asia and later Europe), the [[horse collar]], and [[horseshoe]]s. [[Simple machine]]s (such as the [[lever]], the [[screw]], and the [[pulley]]) were combined into more complicated tools, such as the [[wheelbarrow]], [[windmill]]s, and [[clock]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315588605 |title=Innovation and Creativity in Late Medieval and Early Modern European Cities |date=2019 |publisher=Routledge |doi=10.4324/9781315588605 |isbn=978-1317116530 |s2cid=148764971 |editor-last=Davids |editor-first=K. |editor-last2=De Munck |editor-first2=B. |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184255/https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315588605/innovation-creativity-late-medieval-early-modern-european-cities-karel-davids-bert-de-munck |url-status=live }}</ref> A system of universities developed and spread scientific ideas and practices, including [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] and [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]].<ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HnQNVPbnrDgC |title=Universities and Schooling in Medieval Society |last2= |first2= |last3= |first3= |date=2000 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-9004113510 |editor-last=Courtenay |editor-first=W. J. |editor-last2=Miethke |editor-first2=J. |editor-last3=Priest |editor-first3=D. B. |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184252/https://books.google.com/books?id=HnQNVPbnrDgC |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Renaissance technology|Renaissance]] era produced many innovations, including the introduction of the [[movable type]] [[printing press]] to Europe, which facilitated the communication of knowledge. Technology became increasingly influenced by science, beginning a cycle of mutual advancement.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Deming |first=D. |url= |title=Science and Technology in World History, Volume 3: The Black Death, the Renaissance, the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution |year=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0786490868}}</ref>

=== Modern ===
{{Main|Industrial Revolution|Second Industrial Revolution|Digital Revolution}}
[[File:Late model Ford Model T.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The [[automobile]] revolutionized personal transportation.|alt=Photo of a Ford Model T on a road]]
Starting in the United Kingdom in the 18th century, the discovery of [[steam power]] set off the [[Industrial Revolution]], which saw wide-ranging technological discoveries, particularly in the areas of [[British Agricultural Revolution|agriculture]], manufacturing, mining, [[metallurgy]], and transport, and the widespread application of the [[factory system]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Stearns |first=P. N. |url= |title=The Industrial Revolution in World History |publisher=Routledge |year=2020 |isbn=978-0813347295 }}</ref> This was followed a century later by the [[Second Industrial Revolution]] which led to rapid scientific discovery, standardization, and mass production. New technologies were developed, including [[Sewage treatment|sewage systems]], electricity, [[Electric light|light bulbs]], [[electric motor]]s, railroads, [[Car|automobiles]], and airplanes. These technological advances led to significant developments in medicine, [[chemistry]], [[physics]], and engineering.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mokyr |first=J. |title=The Second Industrial Revolution, 1870–1914 |year=2000 |url=https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/jmokyr/castronovo.pdf |access-date=10 September 2022 |archive-date=10 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910210450/https://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/jmokyr/castronovo.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> They were accompanied by consequential social change, with the introduction of skyscrapers accompanied by rapid urbanization.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Black |first=B. C. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NPJjEAAAQBAJ |title=To Have and Have Not: Energy in World History |year= 2022 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538105047 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184800/https://books.google.com/books?id=NPJjEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Communication improved with the invention of the [[telegraph]], the telephone, the radio, and television.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Albion |first=Robert G. |date=1933-01-01 |title=The Communication Revolution, 1760-1933 |url=https://doi.org/10.1179/tns.1933.002 |journal=Transactions of the Newcomen Society |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=13–25 |doi=10.1179/tns.1933.002 |issn=0372-0187 |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184825/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/tns.1933.002 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 20th century brought a host of innovations. In [[physics]], the discovery of [[nuclear fission]] in the [[Atomic Age]] led to both [[nuclear weapons]] and [[nuclear power]]. [[Computers]] were invented and later shifted from [[Analog computer|analog]] to digital in the [[Digital Revolution]]. Information technology, particularly [[optical fiber]] and [[optical amplifier]]s led to the birth of the Internet, which ushered in the [[Information Age]]. The [[Space Age]] began with the launch of [[Sputnik 1]] in 1957, and later the launch of [[Human spaceflight|crewed missions]] to the moon in the 1960s. Organized efforts to [[search for extraterrestrial intelligence]] have used [[radio telescope]]s to detect signs of technology use, or ''[[technosignature]]s'', given off by alien civilizations. In medicine, new technologies were developed for diagnosis ([[CT scan|CT]], [[Positron emission tomography|PET]], and [[MRI]] scanning), treatment (like the [[dialysis machine]], [[defibrillator]], [[Artificial cardiac pacemaker|pacemaker]], and a wide array of new [[pharmaceutical drug]]s), and research (like [[interferon]] cloning and [[DNA microarray]]s).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Agar |first=J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e2TrhBB_4fYC |title=Science in the 20th Century and Beyond |year=2012 |publisher=Polity |isbn=978-0745634692|access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184804/https://books.google.com/books?id=e2TrhBB_4fYC |url-status=live }}</ref>

Complex manufacturing and construction techniques and organizations are needed to make and maintain more modern technologies, and entire [[Industry (economics)|industries]] have arisen to develop succeeding generations of increasingly more complex tools. Modern technology increasingly relies on training and education&nbsp;– their designers, builders, maintainers, and users often require sophisticated general and specific training.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Goldin |first1=C. |author1-link=Claudia Goldin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yGlCFqnakCoC |title=The Race between Education and Technology |last2=Katz |first2=L. F. |author2-link=Lawrence F. Katz |year=2010 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0674037731 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184804/https://books.google.com/books?id=yGlCFqnakCoC |url-status=live }}</ref> Moreover, these technologies have become so complex that entire fields have developed to support them, including engineering, medicine, and [[computer science]]; and other fields have become more complex, such as construction, transportation, and architecture.

==Impact==
{{main|Technology and society}}
Technological change is the largest cause of long-term economic growth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Solow |first=Robert M. |date=1957 |title=Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1926047 |journal=The Review of Economics and Statistics |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=312–320 |doi=10.2307/1926047 |jstor=1926047 |issn=0034-6535}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bresnahan |first1=Timothy F. |last2=Trajtenberg |first2=M. |date=1995-01-01 |title=General purpose technologies 'Engines of growth'? |journal=Journal of Econometrics |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=83–108 |doi=10.1016/0304-4076(94)01598-T |issn=0304-4076|doi-access=free }}</ref> Throughout human history, energy production was the main constraint on [[economic development]], and new technologies allowed humans to significantly increase the amount of available energy'''.''' First came fire, which made edible a wider variety of foods, and made it less physically demanding to digest them. Fire also enabled [[smelting]], and the use of [[tin]], copper, and iron tools, used for hunting or [[tradesman]]ship. Then came the agricultural revolution: humans no longer needed to [[Hunter-gatherer|hunt or gather]] to survive, and began to settle in towns and cities, forming more complex societies, with [[Military|militaries]] and more organized forms of religion.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Wrigley |first=E. A |date=2013-03-13 |title=Energy and the English Industrial Revolution |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |volume=371 |issue=1986 |page=20110568 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2011.0568|pmid=23359739 |bibcode=2013RSPTA.37110568W |s2cid=10624423 |doi-access=free }}</ref><!-- paragraph is not done (obviously stops abruptly) -->

Technologies have contributed to human welfare through increased prosperity, improved comfort and quality of life, and [[Health technology|medical progress]], but they can also disrupt existing social hierarchies, cause pollution, and harm individuals or groups.

Recent years have brought about a rise in social media's cultural prominence, with potential repercussions on democracy, and economic and social life. Early on, the internet was seen as a "liberation technology" that would democratize knowledge, improve access to education, and promote democracy. Modern research has turned to investigate the internet's downsides, including disinformation, polarization, hate speech, and propaganda.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-media-and-democracy/E79E2BBF03C18C3A56A5CC393698F117 |title=Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1108835558 |editor-last=Persily |editor-first=Nathaniel |series=SSRC Anxieties of Democracy |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/9781108890960 |hdl=11245.1/cf2f5b6a-8dc8-4400-bc38-3317b0164499 |s2cid=243715477 |editor-last2=Tucker |editor-first2=Joshua A.}}</ref>

Since the 1970s, technology's impact on the environment has been [[Criticism of technology|criticized]], leading to a surge in investment in [[Solar power|solar]], [[Wind power|wind]], and other forms of [[Sustainable energy|clean energy]].

=== Social ===

==== Jobs ====
Since the invention of the wheel, technologies have helped increase humans' economic output. Past automation has both substituted and complemented labor; machines replaced humans at some lower-paying jobs (for example in agriculture), but this was compensated by the creation of new, higher-paying jobs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Autor|first=D. H.|year=2015|title=Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace|journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives|volume=29|number=3|pages=3–30|doi=10.1257/jep.29.3.3 |url=https://economics.mit.edu/files/11563|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901060615/http://economics.mit.edu/files/11563 |archive-date=1 September 2022 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Studies have found that computers did not create significant net [[technological unemployment]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bessen |first=J. E. |date=2016-10-03 |title=How Computer Automation Affects Occupations: Technology, Jobs, and Skills |journal= Economic Perspectives on Employment & Labor Law EJournal.|volume=No. 15-49 |location=Rochester, NY |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2690435 |ssrn=2690435 |s2cid=29968989 |url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/813 }}</ref> Due to [[artificial intelligence]] being far more capable than computers, and still being in its infancy, it is not known whether it will follow the same trend; the question has been debated at length among economists and policymakers. A 2017 survey found no clear consensus among economists on whether AI would increase long-term unemployment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 2017 |title=Robots and Artificial Intelligence |url=https://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/robots-and-artificial-intelligence/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=igmchicago.org |publisher=[[Initiative on Global Markets]] |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171212/https://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/robots-and-artificial-intelligence/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the [[World Economic Forum|World Economic Forum's]] "The Future of Jobs Report 2020", AI is predicted to replace 85 million jobs worldwide, and create 97 million new jobs by 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2020 |title=The Future of Jobs Report 2020 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf |access-date=January 16, 2022 |website=www3.weforum.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Robots and AI Taking Over Jobs: What to Know {{!}} Built In |url=https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-replacing-jobs-creating-jobs |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=builtin.com }}</ref> From 1990 to 2007, a study in the U.S by [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]] economist [[Daron Acemoglu]] showed that an addition of one robot for every 1,000 workers decreased the [[employment-to-population ratio]] by 0.2%, or about 3.3 workers, and lowered wages by 0.42%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How many jobs do robots really replace? |url=https://news.mit.edu/2020/how-many-jobs-robots-replace-0504 |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology |date=4 May 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Acemoglu |first1=Daron |last2=Restrepo |first2=Pascual |date=2020-06-01 |title=Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/705716 |journal=Journal of Political Economy |volume=128 |issue=6 |pages=2188–2244 |doi=10.1086/705716 |hdl=1721.1/130324 |s2cid=7468879 |issn=0022-3808|hdl-access=free }}</ref> Concerns about technology replacing human labor however are long-lasting. As US president [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]] said in 1964, "Technology is creating both new opportunities and new obligations for us, opportunity for greater productivity and progress; obligation to be sure that no workingman, no family must pay an unjust price for progress." upon signing the National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress bill.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remarks Upon Signing Bill Creating the National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress. {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-bill-creating-the-national-commission-technology-automation-and |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 1966 |title=Technology and the American Economy |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED023803.pdf |access-date=January 16, 2023 |website=files.eric.ed.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=If Robots Take Our Jobs, Will They Make It Up to Us? |url=https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/if-robots-take-our-jobs-will-they-make-it-us |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=GovInfo |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/STATUTE-78/STATUTE-78-Pg462 |access-date=2023-01-16 |website=www.govinfo.gov n}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1963 |title=H.R.11611 - An Act to establish a National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/88th-congress/house-bill/11611/text |access-date=January 16, 2023 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref>

==== Security ====
With the growing reliance of technology, there have been security and privacy concerns along with it. Billions of people use different online payment methods, such as [[WeChat Pay]], [[PayPal]], [[Alipay]], and much more to help transfer money. Although security measures are placed, some criminals are able to bypass them.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last1=Rosenberg |first1=Elizabeth |author1-link=Elizabeth Rosenberg |last2=Harrell |first2=Peter E. |last3=Shiffman |first3=Gary M. |last4=Dorshimer |first4=Sam |date=2019 |title=Financial Technology and National Security |publisher=Center for a New American Security |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep20404}}</ref> In March 2022, North Korea used [[Blender.io]], a [[Cryptocurrency tumbler|mixer]] which helped them to hide their cryptocurrency exchanges, to launder over $20.5 million in cryptocurrency, from [[Axie Infinity]], and steal over $600 million worth of cryptocurrency from the game's owner. Because of this, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Blender.io, which marked the first time it has taken action against a mixer, to try and crack down on North Korean hackers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. takes aim at North Korean crypto laundering |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/us-takes-aim-north-korean-crypto-laundering-rcna27660 |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=NBC News |date=6 May 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. ties North Korean hacker group to Axie Infinity crypto theft |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/north-korea-lazarus-axie-infinity-crypto-theft-rcna24518 |access-date=2023-01-19 |website=NBC News |date=15 April 2022 }}</ref> The privacy of cryptocurrency has been debated. Although many customers like the privacy of cryptocurrency, many also argue that it needs more transparency and stability.<ref name=":11" />

=== Environmental ===
Technology has impacted the world with negative and positive [[Environmental technology|environmental impacts]], which are usually the reverse of the initial damage, such as; the creation of pollution and the attempt to [[Pollution prevention program|undo said pollution]],<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Austin |first1=David |last2=Macauley |first2=Molly K. |author2-link=Molly K. Macauley |date=December 1, 2001 |title=Cutting Through Environmental Issues: Technology as a double-edged sword |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cutting-through-environmental-issues-technology-as-a-double-edged-sword/ |access-date=February 10, 2023 |website=Brookings}}</ref> [[deforestation]] and the reversing of deforestation,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grainger |first1=Alan |last2=Francisco |first2=Herminia A. |last3=Tiraswat |first3=Penporn |date=July 2003 |title=The impact of changes in agricultural technology on long-term trends in deforestation |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837703000097 |journal=The International Journal Covering All Aspects of Land Use |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=209–223 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref> and [[oil spill]]s. All of these have had a significant impact on the environment of the earth. As technology has advanced, so has the negative environmental impact, with the releasing of [[greenhouse gas]]es, like [[methane]] and [[carbon dioxide]], into the atmosphere, causing the [[greenhouse effect]], gradually heating the earth and causing global warming. All of this has become worse with the advancement of technology.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chaudhry |first1=Imran Sharif |last2=Ali |first2=Sajid |last3=Bhatti |first3=Shaukat Hussain |last4=Anser |first4=Muhammad Khalid |last5=Khan |first5=Ahmad Imran |last6=Nazar |first6=Raima |date=October 2021 |title=Dynamic common correlated effects of technological innovations and institutional performance on environmental quality: Evidence from East-Asia and Pacific countries |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1462901121001921 |journal=Environmental Science & Policy |volume=124 |issue=Environmental Science & Policy |pages=313–323 |doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2021.07.007 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref>

==== Pollution ====
Pollution, the presence of contaminants in an environment that causes adverse effects, could have been present as early as the [[Inca Empire|Inca empire]]. They used a [[lead sulfide]] [[Flux (metallurgy)|flux]] in the [[smelting]] of ores, along with the use of a wind-drafted clay [[kiln]], which released lead into the [[atmosphere]] and the [[sediment]] of rivers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smol |first=J. P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/476272945 |title=Pollution of Lakes and Rivers : a Paleoenvironmental Perspective. |date=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1444307573 |edition=2nd |location=Chichester |page=135 |oclc=476272945}}</ref>

== Philosophy ==
{{main|Philosophy of technology}}

Philosophy of technology is a branch of philosophy that studies the "practice of designing and creating artifacts", and the "nature of the things so created."<ref name=":5">{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=Franssen |first1=M. |chapter=Philosophy of Technology |year=2018 |chapter-url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2018/entries/technology/ |encyclopedia=The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=E. N. |edition=Fall 2018 |access-date=11 September 2022 |last2=Lokhorst |first2=G.-J. |last3=van de Poel |first3=I. |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911061556/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2018/entries/technology/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It emerged as a discipline over the past two centuries, and has grown "considerably" since the 1970s.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last1=de Vries |first1=M. J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EOmPCgAAQBAJ |title=Philosophy of Technology : An Introduction for Technology and Business Students |last2=Verkerk |first2=M. J. |last3=Hoogland |first3=J. |last4=van der Stoep |first4=J. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2015 |isbn=978-1317445715 |location=United Kingdom |oclc=907132694 |access-date=10 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184227/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Philosophy_of_Technology/EOmPCgAAQBAJ |archive-date=4 October 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> The ''humanities philosophy of technology'' is concerned with the "meaning of technology for, and its impact on, society and culture".<ref name=":5" />

Initially, technology was seen as an extension of the human organism that replicated or amplified bodily and mental faculties.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brey |first=P. |year=2000 |editor-last=Mitcham |editor-first=C. |title=Theories of Technology as Extension of Human Faculties |journal=Metaphysics, Epistemology, and Technology. Research in Philosophy and Technology |volume=19 }}</ref> [[Karl Marx|Marx]] framed it as a tool used by capitalists to oppress the proletariat, but believed that technology would be a fundamentally liberating force once it was "freed from societal deformations". Second-wave philosophers like Ortega later shifted their focus from economics and politics to "daily life and living in a techno-material culture", arguing that technology could oppress "even the members of the bourgeoisie who were its ostensible masters and possessors." Third-stage philosophers like [[Don Ihde]] and [[Albert Borgmann]] represent a turn toward de-generalization and empiricism, and considered how humans can learn to live with technology.<ref name=":8" />{{Page number|date=December 2022}}<!-- citation applies to most of the paragraph -->

Early scholarship on technology was split between two arguments: [[technological determinism]], and [[Social construction of technology|social construction]]. Technological determinism is the idea that technologies cause unavoidable social changes.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last1=Johnson |first1=Deborah G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iN6MEAAAQBAJ |title=Technology and Society: Building Our Sociotechnical Future |edition=2nd|last2=Wetmore |first2=Jameson M. |date=2021|publisher=MIT Press |isbn=978-0262539968 }}</ref>{{Rp|page=95}} It usually encompasses a related argument, technological autonomy, which asserts that technological progress follows a natural progression and cannot be prevented.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dusek |first=Val |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J_VXvwEACAAJ |title=Philosophy of Technology: An Introduction |date=2006 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1405111621|access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184807/https://books.google.com/books?id=J_VXvwEACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Social constructivists{{who|date=December 2022}} argue that technologies follow no natural progression, and are shaped by cultural values, laws, politics, and economic incentives. Modern scholarship has shifted towards an analysis of [[sociotechnical system]]s, "assemblages of things, people, practices, and meanings", looking at the value judgments that shape technology.<ref name=":9" />{{Page number|date=December 2022}}

Cultural critic [[Neil Postman]] distinguished tool-using societies from technological societies and from what he called "technopolies", societies that are dominated by an ideology of technological and scientific progress to the detriment of other cultural practices, values, and world views.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Postman |first=Neil |title=Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology |publisher=Vintage |year=1993 |location=New York}}</ref> [[Herbert Marcuse]] and [[John Zerzan]] suggest that technological society will inevitably deprive us of our freedom and psychological health.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marcuse |first=H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WoKGAgAAQBAJ |title=Technology, War and Fascism: Collected Papers of Herbert Marcuse, Volume 1 |year=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1134774661|access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184809/https://books.google.com/books?id=WoKGAgAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Ethics==
{{main|Ethics of technology}}
The ''ethics of technology'' is an interdisciplinary subfield of ethics that analyzes technology's ethical implications and explores ways to mitigate the potential negative impacts of new technologies. There is a broad range of ethical issues revolving around technology, from specific areas of focus affecting professionals working with technology to broader social, ethical, and legal issues concerning the role of technology in society and everyday life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hansson |first=Sven Ove |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YeLaDwAAQBAJ&dq=technology+ethics&pg=PR7 |title=The Ethics of Technology: Methods and Approaches |year=2017 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1783486595 |access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004184810/https://books.google.com/books?id=YeLaDwAAQBAJ&dq=technology+ethics&pg=PR7 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Prominent debates have surrounded [[genetically modified organism]]s, the use of robotic soldiers, [[algorithmic bias]], and the issue of [[AI alignment|aligning AI]] behavior with human values.<ref name="Al-Rodhan">{{Cite web |last=Al-Rodhan |first=Nayef |title=The Many Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-many-ethical-implications-of-emerging-technologies/ |access-date=13 December 2019 |website=Scientific American  |archive-date=8 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408081948/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-many-ethical-implications-of-emerging-technologies/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Technology ethics encompasses several key fields. [[Bioethics]] looks at ethical issues surrounding biotechnologies and modern medicine, including cloning, human genetic engineering, and stem cell research. [[Computer ethics]] focuses on issues related to computing. [[Cyberethics]] explores internet-related issues like [[Intellectual property|intellectual property rights]], [[Internet privacy|privacy]], and [[Internet censorship|censorship]]. [[Ethics of nanotechnologies|Nanoethics]] examines issues surrounding the alteration of matter at the atomic and molecular level in various disciplines including computer science, engineering, and biology. And [[engineering ethics]] deals with the professional standards of engineers, including [[Software engineering|software engineers]] and their moral responsibilities to the public.<ref name="Luppicini, R. 20082">{{cite book |last=Luppicini |first=R. |title=Handbook of Research on Technoethics |publisher=Idea Group Publishing |year=2008 |editor1=Luppicini |location=Hershey |chapter=The emerging field of Technoethics |editor2=R. Adell}}</ref>

A wide branch of technology ethics is concerned with the [[ethics of artificial intelligence]]: it includes [[robot ethics]], which deals with ethical issues involved in the design, construction, use, and treatment of robots,<ref name="Veruggio2002">{{cite journal |author=Veruggio, Gianmarco |year=2011 |title=The Roboethics Roadmap |journal=EURON Roboethics Atelier |publisher=Scuola di Robotica |page=2 |citeseerx=10.1.1.466.2810}}</ref> as well as [[machine ethics]], which is concerned with ensuring the ethical behavior of [[Intelligent agent|artificially intelligent agents]].<ref name="Anderson2011">{{Cite book |title=Machine Ethics |date= 2011 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-0521112352 |editor1-last=Anderson |editor1-first=Michael |editor2-last=Anderson |editor2-first=Susan Leigh}}</ref> Within the field of AI ethics, significant yet-unsolved research problems include [[AI alignment]] (ensuring that AI behaviors are aligned with their creators' intended goals and interests) and the reduction of [[algorithmic bias]]. Some researchers have warned against the hypothetical risk of an [[AI takeover]], and have advocated for the use of [[AI capability control]] in addition to AI alignment methods.

Other fields of ethics have had to contend with technology-related issues, including [[military ethics]], [[media ethics]], and [[Philosophy of education|educational ethics]].

==Futures studies==
{{main|Futures studies}}
''Futures studies'' is the systematic and interdisciplinary study of social and technological progress. It aims to quantitatively and qualitatively explore the range of plausible futures and to incorporate human values in the development of new technologies.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=54}} More generally, futures researchers are interested in improving "the freedom and welfare of humankind".<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=73}} It relies on a thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of past and present technological trends, and attempts to rigorously extrapolate them into the future.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Bell |first=W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILJ_pfMgLqsC |title=Foundations of Futures Studies, Volume 1: Human Science for a New Era |publisher=Transaction Publishers |isbn=978-1412823791|access-date=12 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185315/https://books.google.com/books?id=ILJ_pfMgLqsC |url-status=live }}</ref> Science fiction is often used as a source of ideas.<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=173}} Futures research methodologies include [[Survey (human research)|survey research]], modeling, [[Statistical inference|statistical analysis]], and [[Simulation|computer simulations]].<ref name=":1" />{{Rp|page=187}}<!-- I think this section shouldn't just give an overview of the field, but also its major findings, currents, etc. Avoid redundancy with the Emerging technologies section; add more perspectives on "what society might look like in the future" -->

=== Existential risk ===
{{main|Global catastrophic risk}}
Existential risk researchers analyze risks that could lead to [[human extinction]] or civilizational collapse, and look for ways to build resilience against them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.cser.ac.uk/about-us/ |access-date=11 September 2022 |website=cser.ac.uk |archive-date=30 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171230172611/https://www.cser.ac.uk/about-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Gottlieb |first=J. |date=1 May 2022 |title=Discounting, Buck-Passing, and Existential Risk Mitigation: The Case of Space Colonization |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0265964622000121 |journal=Space Policy  |volume=60 |page=101486 |bibcode=2022SpPol..6001486G |doi=10.1016/j.spacepol.2022.101486 |issn=0265-9646 |s2cid=247718992}}</ref> Relevant research centers include the [[Centre for the Study of Existential Risk|Cambridge Center for the Study of Existential Risk]], and the Stanford Existential Risk Initiative.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |title=Stanford Existential Risks Initiative |url=https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/stanford-existential-risks-initiative/content/stanford-existential-risks-initiative |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=cisac.fsi.stanford.edu |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922150116/https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/stanford-existential-risks-initiative/content/stanford-existential-risks-initiative |url-status=live }}</ref> Future technologies may contribute to the risks of [[artificial general intelligence]], [[biological warfare]], [[nuclear warfare]], [[nanotechnology]], [[Climate change|anthropogenic climate change]], [[global warming]], or stable global [[totalitarianism]], though technologies may also help us mitigate [[Impact event|asteroid impacts]] and [[gamma-ray burst]]s.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bostrom |first1=Nick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sTkfAQAAQBAJ |title=Global Catastrophic Risks |last2=Cirkovic |first2=Milan M. |year=2011 |publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0199606504|access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185315/https://books.google.com/books?id=sTkfAQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019 philosopher [[Nick Bostrom]] introduced the notion of a ''vulnerable world'', "one in which there is some level of technological development at which civilization almost certainly gets devastated by default", citing the risks of a [[pandemic]] caused by [[Bioterrorism|bioterrorists]], or an [[arms race]] triggered by the development of novel armaments and the loss of [[mutual assured destruction]].<ref name="Bostrom 2019">{{Cite journal |last=Bostrom |first=Nick |date=6 September 2019 |title=The Vulnerable World Hypothesis |journal=Global Policy |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=455–476 |doi=10.1111/1758-5899.12718 |issn=1758-5880 |s2cid=203169705|doi-access=free }}</ref> He invites policymakers to question the assumptions that technological progress is always beneficial, that scientific openness is always preferable, or that they can afford to wait until a dangerous technology has been invented before they prepare mitigations.<ref name="Bostrom 2019" />

==Emerging technologies==
{{main|Emerging technologies}}
[[File:Army invests in 3-D bioprinting to treat injured Soldiers.jpg|thumb|Experimental 3D printing of muscle tissue|alt=Photo of a scientist looking at a microscope pointed at a petri dish]]
Emerging technologies are novel technologies whose development or practical applications are still largely unrealized. They include [[nanotechnology]], [[biotechnology]], [[robotics]], [[3D printing]], [[blockchain]]s, and [[artificial intelligence]].

In 2005, futurist [[Ray Kurzweil]] claimed the next technological revolution would rest upon advances in [[genetics]], [[nanotechnology]], and [[robotics]], with robotics being the most impactful of the three technologies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kurzweil |first=Ray |title=The Singularity is Near |publisher=Penguin |year=2005 |isbn=978-1101218884 |chapter=GNR: Three Overlapping Revolutions}}</ref> [[Genetic engineering]] will allow far greater control over human biological nature through a process called [[Directed evolution (transhumanism)|directed evolution]]. Some thinkers believe that this may shatter our sense of self, and have urged for renewed public debate exploring the issue more thoroughly;<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kompridis |first=N. |year=2009 |title=Technology's challenge to democracy: What of the human |url=http://www.parrhesiajournal.org/parrhesia08/parrhesia08_kompridis.pdf |journal=Parrhesia |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=20–33 |access-date=21 February 2011 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185314/http://www.parrhesiajournal.org/parrhesia08/parrhesia08_kompridis.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> others fear that directed evolution could lead to eugenics or extreme social inequality. [[Nanotechnology]] will grant us the ability to manipulate matter "at the molecular and atomic scale",<ref>{{Cite news|date=2016-04-19|title=Ray Kurzweil Predicts Three Technologies Will Define Our Future|url=https://singularityhub.com/2016/04/19/ray-kurzweil-predicts-three-technologies-will-define-our-future/|access-date=2021-05-10|website=Singularity Hub|last1=McShane |first1=Sveta }}</ref> which could allow us to reshape ourselves and our environment in fundamental ways.<ref>{{Cite book|author1-link=Charles P. Poole |last1=Poole |first1=C. P. Jr. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XfzgEoY9SNkC |title=Introduction to Nanotechnology |last2=Owens |first2=F. J. |year=2003 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0471079354}}</ref> Nanobots could be used within the human body to destroy cancer cells or form new body parts, blurring the line between biology and technology.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vince |first=G. |date=3 July 2003 |title=Nanotechnology may create new organs |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3916-nanotechnology-may-create-new-organs/ |access-date=11 September 2022 |website=New Scientist |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911220109/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn3916-nanotechnology-may-create-new-organs/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Autonomous robots have undergone rapid progress, and are expected to replace humans at many dangerous tasks, including [[search and rescue]], [[bomb disposal]], [[firefighting]], and war.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Sukhan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=65-q7fi9yrcC&dq=progress+in+robotics&pg=PA4 |title=Recent Progress in Robotics: Viable Robotic Service to Human: An Edition of the Selected Papers from the 13th International Conference on Advanced Robotics |last2=Suh |first2=Il Hong |year= 2008 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-3540767282 |page=3  |access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185316/https://books.google.com/books?id=65-q7fi9yrcC&dq=progress+in+robotics&pg=PA4 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Estimates on the advent of [[artificial general intelligence]] vary, but half of machine learning experts surveyed in 2018 believe that AI will "accomplish every task better and more cheaply" than humans by 2063, and automate all human jobs by 2140.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grace |first1=K. |last2=Salvatier |first2=J. |last3=Dafoe |first3=A. |last4=Zhang |first4=B. |last5=Evans |first5=O. |date=31 July 2018 |title=Viewpoint: When Will AI Exceed Human Performance? Evidence from AI Experts |url=https://jair.org/index.php/jair/article/view/11222 |journal=Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research|volume=62 |pages=729–754 |doi=10.1613/jair.1.11222 |issn=1076-9757 |s2cid=8746462 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185317/https://jair.org/index.php/jair/article/view/11222 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> This expected technological unemployment has led to calls for increased emphasis on [[computer science]] education and debates about [[universal basic income]]. Political science experts predict that this could lead to a rise in extremism, while others see it as an opportunity to usher in a [[post-scarcity economy]].

==Movements==

===Appropriate technology===
{{main|Appropriate technology}}
Some segments of the [[Counterculture of the 1960s|1960s hippie counterculture]] grew to dislike urban living and developed a preference for [[Localism (politics)|locally autonomous]], [[Sustainability|sustainable]], and [[Decentralization|decentralized]] technology, termed ''appropriate technology''. This later influenced [[hacker culture]] and [[technopaganism]].

===Technological utopianism===
{{main|Technological utopianism}}

Technological utopianism refers to the belief that technological development is a [[Good|moral good]], which can and should bring about a [[utopia]], that is, a society in which laws, governments, and social conditions serve the needs of all its citizens.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Segal |first=H. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=n6RabZ8t48gC |title=Technological Utopianism in American Culture|edition=20th Anniversary|year=2005 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |isbn=978-0815630616 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185317/https://books.google.com/books?id=n6RabZ8t48gC |url-status=live }}</ref> Examples of techno-utopian goals include [[Post-scarcity economy|post-scarcity economics]], [[life extension]], [[mind uploading]], [[cryonics]], and the creation of artificial [[superintelligence]]. Major techno-utopian movements include [[transhumanism]] and [[singularitarianism]].

The transhumanism movement is founded upon the "continued evolution of human life beyond its current human form" through science and technology, informed by "life-promoting principles and values."<ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Roots and Core Themes |date=29 April 2013 |chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118555927.part1 |title=The Transhumanist Reader |pages=1–2 |editor-last=More |editor-first=M. |editor-link=Max More |edition= |publisher=Wiley |doi=10.1002/9781118555927.part1 |isbn=978-1118334294 |access-date=11 September 2022 |editor2-last=Vita-More |editor2-first=N. |editor2-link=Natasha Vita-More |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911102725/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118555927.part1 |url-status=live }}</ref> The movement gained wider popularity in the early 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Istvan |first=Zoltan |date=1 February 2015 |title=A New Generation of Transhumanists Is Emerging |url=https://www.interaliamag.org/articles/a-new-generation-of-transhumanists-is-emerging/ |access-date=11 September 2022 |website=Interalia Magazine |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911102727/https://www.interaliamag.org/articles/a-new-generation-of-transhumanists-is-emerging/ |url-status=live }}</ref>


[[Technological singularity|Singularitarians]] believe that machine superintelligence will "accelerate technological progress" by orders of magnitude and "create even more intelligent entities ever faster", which may lead to a pace of societal and technological change that is "incomprehensible" to us. This ''event horizon'' is known as the [[technological singularity]].<ref>{{Cite book |chapter=Future Trajectories: Singularity |date=29 April 2013 |chapter-url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118555927.part8 |title=The Transhumanist Reader |pages=361–363 |editor-last=More |editor-first=M. |edition= |publisher=Wiley |doi=10.1002/9781118555927.part8 |isbn=978-1118334294 |access-date=11 September 2022 |editor2-last=Vita-More |editor2-first=N. |archive-date=11 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220911110449/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118555927.part8 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Major figures of techno-utopianism include [[Ray Kurzweil]] and [[Nick Bostrom]]. Techno-utopianism has attracted both praise and criticism from progressive, religious, and conservative thinkers.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Blackford |first1=R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XinlAEACAAJ |title=H±: Transhumanism and Its Critics |last2=Bostrom |first2=N. |last3=Dupuy |first3=J.-P. |date=2011 |publisher=Metanexus Institute |isbn=978-1456815653 |access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185317/https://books.google.com/books?id=2XinlAEACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Anti-technology backlash===
{{See also|Luddite|Neo-Luddism|Bioconservatism}}
Technology's central role in our lives has drawn concerns and backlash. The backlash against technology is not a uniform movement and encompasses many heterogeneous ideologies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jones |first=Steven E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPBZANKoOHkC |title=Against Technology: From the Luddites to Neo-Luddism |year=2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1135522391 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185317/https://books.google.com/books?id=VPBZANKoOHkC |url-status=live }}</ref>

The earliest known revolt against technology was [[Luddite|Luddism]], a pushback against early automation in textile production. Automation had resulted in a need for fewer workers, a process known as [[technological unemployment]].

Between the 1970s and 1990s, American terrorist [[Ted Kaczynski]] carried out a series of bombings across America and published the [[Unabomber Manifesto]] denouncing technology's negative impacts on nature and human freedom. The essay resonated with a large part of the American public.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kelman |first=David |date=1 June 2020 |title=Politics in a Small Room: Subterranean Babel in Piglia's El camino de Ida |url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/ycl.63.005 |journal=The Yearbook of Comparative Literature |volume=63 |pages=179–201 |doi=10.3138/ycl.63.005 |s2cid=220494877 |issn=0084-3695 |access-date=11 September 2022 |archive-date=6 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306190259/https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/ycl.63.005 |url-status=live }}</ref> It was partly inspired by Jacques Ellul's ''[[The Technological Society]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fleming |first1=Sean |date=7 May 2021 |title=The Unabomber and the origins of anti-tech radicalism |journal=Journal of Political Ideologies |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=207–225 |doi=10.1080/13569317.2021.1921940 |issn=1356-9317 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Some subcultures, like the [[off-the-grid]] movement, advocate a withdrawal from technology and a return to nature. The [[ecovillage]] movement seeks to reestablish harmony between technology and nature.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Vannini|first1=Phillip|author2=Jonathan Taggart|title=Voluntary simplicity, involuntary complexities, and the pull of remove: The radical ruralities of off-grid lifestyles|journal=Environment and Planning A|volume=45|number=2|year=2013|pages=295–311|doi=10.1068/a4564 |bibcode=2013EnPlA..45..295V |s2cid=143970611 }}</ref>

==Relation to science and engineering==
[[File: Zoom lunette ardente.jpg|thumb|[[Antoine Lavoisier]] experimenting with combustion generated by amplified sunlight|alt=Drawing of Lavoisier conducting an experiment in front of onlookers]]
{{See also|Science|Engineering}}
Engineering is the process by which technology is developed. It often requires problem-solving under strict constraints.<ref name=":7" /> Technological development is "action-oriented", while scientific knowledge is fundamentally explanatory.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Di Nucci Pearce |first1=M. R. |last2=Pearce |first2=David |year=1989 |title=Technology vs. Science: The Cognitive Fallacy |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20116729 |journal=Synthese |volume=81 |issue=3 |pages=405–419 |doi=10.1007/BF00869324 |jstor=20116729 |s2cid=46975083 |issn=0039-7857 |access-date=12 September 2022 |archive-date=10 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220910152955/https://www.jstor.org/stable/20116729 |url-status=live }}</ref> Polish philosopher [[Henryk Skolimowski]] framed it like so: "science concerns itself with what {{em|is}}, technology with what {{em|is to be}}."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Skolimowski |first=Henryk |year=1966 |title=The Structure of Thinking in Technology |journal=Technology and Culture |volume=7 |issue=3 |pages=371–383 |doi=10.2307/3101935 |jstor=3101935 |issn=0040-165X  }}</ref>{{rp|375}}

The direction of [[causality]] between scientific discovery and technological innovation has been debated by scientists, philosophers and policymakers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brooks |first=H. |date=1 September 1994 |title=The relationship between science and technology |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0048-7333%2894%2901001-3 |journal=Research Policy |series=Special Issue in Honor of Nathan Rosenberg|volume=23 |issue=5 |pages=477–486 |doi=10.1016/0048-7333(94)01001-3 |issn=0048-7333 |access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185321/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0048733394010013?via%3Dihub |url-status=live }}</ref> Because innovation is often undertaken at the edge of scientific knowledge, most technologies are not derived from scientific knowledge, but instead from engineering, tinkering and chance.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Taleb |first=Nassim Nicholas |title=Antifragile |year=2012 |publisher=Penguin Random House |oclc=1252833169}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=217–240}} For example, in the 1940s and 1950s, when knowledge of turbulent combustion or fluid dynamics was still crude, jet engines were invented through "running the device to destruction, analyzing what broke [...] and repeating the process".<ref name=":7">{{Cite journal |last=Scranton |first=Philip |date=1 May 2006 |title=Urgency, uncertainty, and innovation: Building jet engines in postwar America |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1744935906064096 |journal=Management & Organizational History |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=127–157 |doi=10.1177/1744935906064096 |s2cid=143813033 |issn=1744-9359}}</ref> Scientific explanations often follow technological developments rather than preceding them.<ref name=":6" />{{Rp|pages=217-240}} Many discoveries also arose from pure chance, like the discovery of [[penicillin]] as a result of accidental lab contamination.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hare |first=Ronald |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQecpwAACAAJ |title=The Birth of Penicillin, and the Disarming of Microbes |date=1970 |publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=978-0049250055 |access-date=12 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185318/https://books.google.com/books?id=hQecpwAACAAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the 1960s, the assumption that government funding of [[basic research]] would lead to the discovery of marketable technologies has lost credibility.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wise |first=George |year=1985 |title=Science and Technology |journal=Osiris |series=2nd Series |volume=1 |pages=229–46 |doi=10.1086/368647 |s2cid=144475553}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Guston |first=David H. |title=Between Politics and Science: Assuring the Integrity and Productivity of Research |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0521653183 |location=New York}}</ref> Probabilist Nassim Taleb argues that national research programs that implement the notions of [[serendipity]] and [[Convexity (finance)|convexity]] through frequent trial and error are more likely to lead to useful innovations than research that aims to reach specific outcomes.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taleb |first=N. N. |date=12 December 2012 |title=Understanding is a Poor Substitute for Convexity (Antifragility) |url=https://fooledbyrandomness.com/ConvexityScience.pdf |access-date=12 September 2022 |website=fooledbyrandomness.com |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621041454/https://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/ConvexityScience.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite this, modern technology is increasingly reliant on deep, domain-specific scientific knowledge. In 1975, there was an average of one citation of scientific literature in every three patents granted in the U.S.; by 1989, this increased to an average of one citation per patent. The average was skewed upwards by patents related to the pharmaceutical industry, chemistry, and electronics.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Narin |first1=Francis |last2=Olivastro |first2=Dominic |date=1 June 1992 |title=Status report: Linkage between technology and science |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0048-7333%2892%2990018-Y |journal=Research Policy |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=237–249 |doi=10.1016/0048-7333(92)90018-Y |issn=0048-7333 |access-date=13 September 2022 |archive-date=4 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004185326/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004873339290018Y?via%3Dihub |url-status=live }}</ref> A 2021 analysis shows that patents that are based on scientific discoveries are on average 26% more valuable than equivalent non-science-based patents.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Krieger |first1=Joshua L. |last2=Schnitzer |first2=Monika |author2-link=Monika Schnitzer | last3=Watzinger| first3=Martin|date=1 May 2019 |title=Standing on the Shoulders of Science |url=https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/21-128_6a36a0e5-7f30-4d63-a591-3196d4b3fb5e.pdf |ssrn=3401853 |access-date=12 September 2022 |archive-date=12 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220912192637/https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%20Files/21-128_6a36a0e5-7f30-4d63-a591-3196d4b3fb5e.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Other animal species==
{{See also|Tool use by animals|Structures built by animals|Ecosystem engineer}}
[[File:Gorilla tool use cropped.jpg|thumb|This adult gorilla uses a branch as a [[walking stick]] to gauge the water's depth.|alt=Photo of a gorilla walking hip-deep in a pond, holding a stick]]
The use of basic technology is also a feature of non-human animal species. Tool use was once considered a defining characteristic of the genus [[Homo (genus)|Homo]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Oakley |first=K. P. |title=Man the Tool-Maker |journal=Nature |year=1976 |isbn=978-0226612706 |volume=199 |pages=1042–1043 |bibcode=1963Natur.199U1042. |doi=10.1038/1991042e0 |issue=4898 |s2cid=4298952}}</ref> This view was supplanted after discovering evidence of tool use among [[Common chimpanzee|chimpanzee]]s and other primates,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb//anthro2003/origins/hominid_journey/optional3.html |title=Chimpanzee Tool Use |access-date=13 February 2007 |author1=Sagan, Carl |author1-link=Carl Sagan |author2=Druyan, Ann |author2-link=Ann Druyan |author3=Leakey, Richard |author3-link=Ann Druyan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060921062716/http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d10/asb/anthro2003/origins/hominid_journey/optional3.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=21 September 2006}}</ref> dolphins,<ref name="20050607bbc">{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4613709.stm|title=Sponging dolphins learn from mum|last=Rincon|first=Paul|date=7 June 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204093731/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4613709.stm|archive-date=4 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[crow]]s.<ref name=nbcnews21135366>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21135366/|title=Crows use tools to find food|last=Schmid|first=Randolph E.|date=4 October 2007|publisher=NBC News|access-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170310185618/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21135366/#.WCYQR9IrLIU|archive-date=10 March 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Rutz, C. |author2=Bluff, L.A. |author3=Weir, A.A.S. |author4=Kacelnik, A. |title=Video cameras on wild birds|journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]]|date=4 October 2007|doi=10.1126/science.1146788|pmid=17916693 |volume=318|issue=5851|page=765 |bibcode = 2007Sci...318..765R |s2cid=28785984 |doi-access=free }}</ref> For example, researchers have observed wild chimpanzees using basic foraging tools, pestles, levers, using leaves as sponges, and tree bark or vines as probes to fish termites.<ref>{{cite book | last=McGrew | first=W. C | year=1992 | title=Chimpanzee Material Culture | publisher=Cambridge Univ. Press | isbn=978-0521423717 | location=Cambridge u.a.}}</ref> [[West African chimpanzee]]s use stone hammers and anvils for cracking nuts,<ref>{{cite journal | last=Boesch | first=Christophe | title=Mental map in wild chimpanzees: An analysis of hammer transports for nut cracking | year=1984 | journal=[[Primates (journal)|Primates]] | issue=2 | pages=160–170 |author2=Boesch, Hedwige | doi=10.1007/BF02382388 | volume=25| s2cid=24073884 }}</ref> as do [[capuchin monkey]]s of [[Boa Vista, Roraima|Boa Vista]], Brazil.<ref name=20090115newscientist>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16426-nut-cracking-monkeys-find-the-right-tool-for-the-job/|title=Nut-cracking monkeys find the right tool for the job|last=Brahic|first=Catherine|date=15 January 2009|work=New Scientist|access-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115142232/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16426-nut-cracking-monkeys-find-the-right-tool-for-the-job/|archive-date=15 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Tool use is not the only form of animal technology use; for example, [[beaver dam]]s, built with wooden sticks or large stones, are a technology with "dramatic" impacts on river habitats and ecosystems.<ref>{{Cite conference |last1=Müller |first1=G. |last2=Watling |first2=J. |date=24 June 2016 |title=The engineering in beaver dams |url=https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/400282/ |conference=River Flow 2016: Eighth International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics  |location=St. Louis|publisher=University of Southampton Institutional Research Repository |access-date=29 September 2022 |archive-date=24 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924081921/https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/400282/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Popular culture==
{{See also|Science fiction}}
The relationship of humanity with technology has been explored in science-fiction literature, for example in ''[[Brave New World]]'', ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'', [[Isaac Asimov]]'s essays, and movies like ''[[Minority Report (film)|Minority Report]]'', ''[[Total Recall (1990 film)|Total Recall]]'', ''[[Gattaca]]'', and ''[[Inception]]''. It has spawned the dystopian and futuristic [[cyberpunk]] genre, which juxtaposes futuristic technology with societal collapse, dystopia or decay.<ref>{{cite book |contributor=Thomas Michaud|contribution=Science fiction and politics: Cyberpunk science fiction as political philosophy|pages=65–77 [75–76]|last= Hassler |first= Donald M. |title= New Boundaries in Political Science Fiction |publisher= [[University of South Carolina Press]] |year= 2008 |isbn= 978-1570037368}}</ref> Notable cyberpunk works include [[William Gibson]]'s ''[[Neuromancer]]'' novel, and movies like ''[[Blade Runner]]'', and ''[[The Matrix]]''.

==See also==
{{Portal|Technology}}
{{cmn|colwidth=21em|
* [[Bright green environmentalism]]
* [[Ecological modernization]]
* [[Ecomodernism]]
* [[Instrumentation]]
* [[Outline of technology]]
* [[Productivity-improving technologies]]
* [[Raw material]]
* [[Resource]]
* [[Tech ed]]
* [[Technogaianism]]
* [[Techno-progressivism]]
}}

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* {{cite magazine|last=Tooze|first=A.|author-link=Adam Tooze|title=Democracy and Its Discontents|magazine=[[The New York Review of Books]]|volume=LXVI|number=10|date=6 June 2019|pages=52–53, 56–57|url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2019/06/06/democracy-and-its-discontents/ |issn=0028-7504 }}
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* {{cite Q|Q26221492|author=Wilson, G.|mode=cs1}}<!-- What is technology? -->
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{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* [[John Gribbin|Gribbin, John]], "Alone in the Milky Way: Why we are probably the only intelligent life in the galaxy", ''[[Scientific American]]'', vol. 319, no. 3 (September 2018), pp.&nbsp;94–99. "Is life likely to exist elsewhere in the [Milky Way] galaxy? Almost certainly yes, given the speed with which it appeared on Earth. Is another technological civilization likely to exist today? Almost certainly no, given the chain of circumstances that led to our existence. These considerations suggest that we are unique not just on our planet but in the whole Milky Way. And if our planet is so special, it becomes all the more important to preserve this unique world for ourselves, our descendants and the many creatures that call Earth home." (p. 99.)

{{Technology topics}}
{{Levels of technological manipulation of matter}}
{{History of technology}}
{{Science and technology studies}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Technology| ]]
[[Category:Technology systems| ]]
[[Category:Main topic articles]]