Evolution of Technology with Human Civilization ( Is technology really being used to improve Human Life)
In school we have learnt that the course of human civilization changed when the first humans discovered fire and later the invention of wheel was the dawn of a new world. Human Civilization had done things initially only to survive which was the primary goal for the homo sapiens as time passed humans evolved so does their mind and the problems surrounding their survival, We can say that our necessity to survive has always been the driving force for humans to develop thinking capabilities and find ways to increase their chances which gave rise to thinking SMART and eventually technology came into picture.
When we look back in time it was always about that, but all that changed when the people from the western hemisphere started venturing in the search of new world and it gave what we now call the European imperialism, The Europeans have something called GUN with them which gave them an unfair advantage in direct warfare, the aftereffects of what had followed still echoes in some parts of our world. Then came the industrial revolution which gave the white man to do one of the biggest crimes ever committed SLAVERY, as I already mentioned the aftereffects can still be seen in some parts of the world. Africa has been plundered and Asia has been destabilized due to the Colonizer's unquenched thirst for gold.
One of the important events which affected the whole world on a different was the fall of Constantinople, after the sack of the present day capital of turkey the ottomans imposed heavy taxes and restricted the entry of European traders to have access to the silk route to Asia which forced them to start looking for sea routes to reach India and south east Asia, in the process they discovered new world by sailing west wards ( the continent of America) hoping to reach Asia, with their military prowess and advanced warfare technology which they have had the indigenous populations were often killed or made contracts for lands. That was the baby steps for what's coming in the following centuries, soon in the mid 18th century James watt was able to modify steam engine giving it enough power to move large boats gave the European powers to quench for expansion and plundering of resources, it all happened because of what technology they had, soon they started getting richer by plundering and converting the parts of Africa, Asia and the Americas into their colonies. What happens when people become rich they want to have authority over each other these countries like Spain, Portugal, France and England starting fighting proxy wars using their colonies and their resources. With the wealth they had they have also funded scientific innovation understanding that it is the only way to be on top.
The 19th century had seen some wars but the two major wars in the 20th century have changed the course of Human civilization in many aspects, since we are talking about technology let me tell you that airplanes, advanced health treatment methods most of the technology what we're using in the 21st century has had direct of indirect affect from those two major world wars more than the plagues which affected plague it was during this period Humans invested a lot of money to overpower and kill other humans to win wars and USA has used 200time more coal in those 20 years than it has ever used in 200 years, Nuclear and Atomic bombs were a result of that. Even post war the cold war between Russia and US kickstarted the US to invest into Space research and exploration. The internet what we're using has been invented by the American Military called the ARPANET most of the inventions were once developed and tested by military facilities before they were available for human consumption. Looks like the intention wasn't always about improving the quality of Human life it was about that inherent human nature of having power and expansionist mindset which was the reason for what we're. It makes me think we haven't evolved much from early human. I am not saying Technology is bad which I have never said it ever in this article it was about who hold the whip. Hitler had used Jewish people as human subjects for medical experiments it could've been avoided, he had the choice to a less evil man. It is always the fault of those who had the power to control fund and yield technology at their wish to be responsible with their actions. The facilitator must acknowledge the wisdom of the inventors in using things for their wish
The Key to human advancement should not lie with the greedy billionaires nor with the countries like USA or China who want to hold global dominance because of their advanced military. The ways of warfare have changed in the beginning of 21st century with the rise of internet and data driven applications holding access to data has become a key, experts call it the internet warfare. Talking about 21st century post the VLSI revolution everything about technology driven companies changed they started making products and innovations for them to flourish and control those fields, unchecked capitalism has been a bane to the planet. The World is moving towards integrating AI into many service-based industries and on the other side they're investing in Quantum computing(Performing mathematical computations at the atomic level), aerospace industries making fast moving stealth jets for dropping bombs not for making air travel affordable. Nano tech and 3D printing were told to be game changers in manufacturing and medicine but they're not receiving the same way some of the other technological advancements are getting. Our planet is being damaged without giving it much time to recover it is our duty to not forget that our home is livable, Humans need to remember that they're not invincible we're just a tiny dust in this grand scheme of universe and better be mindful of our actions. Yes stay away from Nuclear warfare I said it :)
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