Does technology make our lives better?
It has changed the world, and people’s lives – but when it fails, the results can be catastrophic.
Technology is a vital part of our daily lives. We use it to work; it gives us directions; it organises very complicated systems like a city’s traffic lights; and helps us keep in touch with friends and family. The problem is that sometimes it can break down. A couple of weeks ago, an issue with a power supply led to a computer failure at the airline, British Airways. The failure meant that BA had to cancel all its flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday 27 May – the first day of half-term and the bank holiday weekend. Altogether, it affected about 75,000 people around the world. Willie Walsh, the head of the company that runs BA, insisted that the issue was a problem with power supply, not technology. However, once the power had failed, it meant that the technology couldn’t work – and chaos quickly followed. It showed how helpless we can be when computer technology doesn’t work properly. So does tech really make our lives any easier?
Yes – technology improves our lives
Technology makes our lives easier and is usually reliable. One of the reasons the BA crisis made the headlines is because huge glitches like that happen so rarely. Computers are able to process millions of calculations in a very short time – far faster than the human brain ever could. This means they can be used to run highly complicated systems. Heathrow airport, for example, handles up to 1,300 flights every day, aided by computers that stop planes from crashing into each other. Technology is also becoming more intelligent; companies like Amazon and Spotify make suggestions about what you might like to read or listen to, based on your online habits, and computer programs like Skype allow us to hold video calls with people on the other side of the world. Besides, technology can easily complete the boring or tricky tasks that humans don’t want to.
Can you really imagine life without it?
No – gadgets and gizmos make us lazy
As computer technology has developed, we’ve become far too dependent on it. BA’s troubles show just how much it can affect our lives – for the worse. We blindly rely on technology and hope that it keeps working. When it fails, thousands of people’s lives are disrupted. Technology also makes us vulnerable. Cybercriminals, like computer hackers, can use their knowledge of how technology works to wreak havoc. On 12 May, hospitals all over England were hit with a computer virus that was deliberately spread by hackers. As banks and companies become more dependent on computers, people’s money and information is more at risk from criminals. Technology has also made us lazy. Instead of going to the shops, we just push a button and have things delivered. Instead of learning directions, we rely on our phones to tell us how to get anywhere. Our dependence on technology is worrying.