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“What a forced

lifestyle our

technology, our

inventions imposed on

our lives when we tried

to live synonymously

with computers; when we

stepped inside their

world, we left the

natural one behind.” ―


ARE WE Katie Kacvinsky, Awaken

MASTERS OR
SLAVES OF THE Pamela Monnin

MACHINE? Professor Hatton

18. SP.HUM.1130
Has the human quest for mastery of nature
May 6, 2018
made us slaves of the machine?
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Pamela Monnin

Professor Hatton

18. SP.HUM.1130

May 6, 2018

Are We Masters or Slaves of the Machine?


Has the human quest for mastery of nature made us slaves of the machine?

That is the question that we are to ponder for the final assignment of our

Humanity and the Challenge of Technology class. The entire semester has lead up to

this specific question: “Has the human quest for mastery of nature made us slaves of the

machine?” We have learned of the prospects and perils mankind has faced in the

industrial development of society, and in trying to find a balance between Nature and

Machines, have we lost control of both? Mastery of nature has been the mission of

humanity since the birth of the human race.

Ever since the beginning of time, and according to the Book of Genesis in the

Bible, man was given dominion of the earth (NIV Study Bible, Gen. 1.26). To exercise

‘dominion’ over the earth means to rule it, to subdue it, and develop its hidden

potential. Basically, that is what man has done for thousands of years until we began to

integrate technology alongside our quest of nature.

“While our ancestors have been around for about six million years, the

modern form of humans only evolved about 200,000 years ago. Civilization

as we know it is only about 6,000 years old, and industrialization started in

the earnest only in the 1800s. While we’ve accomplished much in that short
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time, it also shows our responsibility as caretakers for the only planet we

live on right now” (Howell).

Dominion does not mean destruction, but responsibility. We need to remember to avoid

faulty ethics about the right and power of humankind in relation to the rest of the natural

world (‘Dominion…’). With the onset of the age of industrialization, manufacturing,

business, and the amount of wage laborers climbed sharply, starting a movement that

continued into the first half of the 19th century.

During the mid-1800’s, industrial development was in progress all over western

Europe and northeastern America. While the Industrial Revolution eventually led to great

surges in wealth, progress was unstable. Mostly, the average individual was not gaining

the benefits of the economic change.

“The Industrial Revolution brought about a greater volume and variety of

factory-produced goods and raised the standard of living for many people,

particularly for the middle and upper classes. However, life for the poor and

working classes continued to be filled with challenges. Wages for those

who labored in factories were low and working conditions could be

dangerous and monotonous. Unskilled workers had little job security and

were easily replaceable. Children were part of the labor force and often

worked long hours and were used for such highly hazardous tasks as

cleaning the machinery” (‘Industrial Revolution’).

By the early 20th century, the U.S. had become the world’s leading industrial nation.

Americans had more steel, food, cloth, and coal than any of the wealthiest foreign

countries. World War II created a labor shortage in America, which resulted in many

women entering the workforce to fill jobs previously held by men, but most of them lost
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their jobs when the men returned. After the war, America became the world's foremost

economic and military power, and the new leader of the free world, which gave them a

period of wealth and self-confidence (Jarmal). Technology began to rapidly advance

after World War II.

World War II was a very large driver of technical development, and at the same

time, primarily in the U.S., large quantities of assets were accumulated through war bond

savings and other forces.

“When the war ended, there was more sophisticated base of technology

that had been generated rapidly, plus the freedom and capital to exploit

it. This lead to a flowering of new technology on many levels, and as the

power of technical innovation is compounding, it has resulted in the near-

vertical rate of technical change that we experience today. For example,

radio technology became much more sophisticated in the war but it was

based on vacuum tubes, which are bulky, heavy, and fragile. In 1947 the

transistor was invented. Later on, the microchip. Chip size has steadily

declined as their power and speed have increased. An iPhone is

considerably more powerful than a whole planeload of radio and radar

equipment found in the most sophisticated W.W.-II aircraft” (Tarrant).

In the context of modern technology, and especially the Internet, a lot of government

funding, led by the Department of Defense, was dumped into technology projects after

WW II. The fundamental research for what we now call, the Internet, was the result of

that funding.

Fast-forward about fifty years, when the World Wide Web was in full swing and

50% of Americans have at least used a computer, and text messaging was first
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developed. At this point in history, innovations and technological advances are occurring

now at an astronomical speed, and it is hard to keep up with it. Websites advanced

along with the Internet, and also the time when the blogging craze started to set in

(Lamey). Soon the Smartphone was born, and as new technologies started to pop-up,

each technology would compound and build to form a better, faster and stronger piece of

technology. With this rapid development, the Internet changed the way people live, work

and operate today.

“If you just hold your cell phone for 30 seconds and think backwards

through its production you have the entire techno-industrial culture

wrapped up there. You can't have that device without everything that goes

with it. You see mining, transportation, manufacturing, computers, high-

speed communications, satellite communications, it's all there, you see and

it's that techno-industrial culture that's destroying the world” (Confino).

That is where technology and the environment collide. As we strive to save our planet,

through ‘Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle’ methods, conserving water, choosing

sustainability, and all other attempts to un-do what we have done to our world, they are

all meek efforts. Unless we can slow down the pace of technologies’ advances, and stop

demanding the “next-best-thing,” we will continue to see a rise in Global Warming, and

more devastating effects to our environment.

The effects of humans on Earth cannot be understated. We have been able to

survive in climates all over the world, even harsh ones such as Antarctica, and every

year, we clear-out forests and destroy other natural areas, driving species into smaller

areas or into endangerment, because of our need to build more housing to contain our

growing population. With seven billion people on Earth, pollution from industries and
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cars is a growing concern in climate change — which affects our planet in ways we

cannot predict, but we are already seeing the effects in melting glaciers and rising global

temperatures (Howell). When I first started writing this essay, I thought I knew the

answer to the question, “Has the human quest for mastery of nature made us slaves of

the machine?” which I thought it was our choice if we were slaves or not, that we could

choose to walk away from technology if we wanted, and return to more natural ways of

living so we could protect our planet. I was wrong, though, I think we ARE slaves to the

machine, to all technologies, from our electricity, to our Internet and all the things that go

with it, our vehicles, our jobs, and so on. So, in our quest to master nature, we can do

our part to protect the environment, each one of us, and be examples to others,

especially our children, and demanding more of companies to make better technologies

that benefit the earth. Humans created machines and we are in control of them at the

moment, but do not kid yourself, we are slaves to them, too.


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Works Cited

NIV Study Bible: New International Version, Gen. 1.26. Zondervan, 2012.

Confino, Jo. “How Technology Has Stopped Evolution and Is Destroying the World.” The

Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 11 July 2013,

www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/technology-stopped-evolution-

destroying-world.

“Dominion: Transforming God's Creation « Remnant Culture.” Remnant Culture RSS, 28

Oct. 2010, remnantculture.com/2069-dominion-transforming-god%E2%80%99s-

creation.

Howell, Elizabeth. “How Long Have Humans Been on Earth?” Universe Today, Universe

Today, 23 Dec. 2015, www.universetoday.com/38125/how-long-have-humans-

been-on-earth/.

“Industrial Revolution.” Edited by History.com Staff, History.com, A&E Television

Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution.

Jarmul, David, et al. “By 1920, America Had Become World's Top Economic

Power.” VOA, 12 July 2006, learningenglish.voanews.com/a/a-23-2006-07-12-

voa3-83127997/125489.html.

Lamey, Donny. “Past, Present and Future: The Evolution of Technology.” DiscoverTec, 5

Jan. 2018, www.discovertec.com/blog/the-evolution-of-technology.

Tarrant, David. “Why Did Technology Advance so Much after World War II?” Quora, 1

Apr. 2016, www.quora.com/Why-did-technology-advance-so-much-after-World-

War-II.
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