Technology can transform the way we live our lives – as much in positive as in negative ways – and redefine what it means to be human.
About this research context
How can we ensure that technological change happens responsibly and that it promotes an equitable and sustainable society?
Our world is filled with technologies, which transform our lives in numerous ways. Yet, as history shows, most of the ways in which technology changes our lives are neither intended nor anticipated. For instance, the internal combustion engine didn’t just replace horse-drawn carriages with cars. It also enabled produce to be grown in far-off places, and for people to live further from work. This radically altered the size and shape of cities, created food-growing regions in temperate climates, and literally changed what’s on our dinner plates. It has also fuelled wars in regions that produce crude oil.
Technology influences our choices and what we do – how we rest, play, live, work and think. Technology shapes what we notice, reflect upon, seek out, try to avoid and tell others about. It even affects how we understand ourselves, how we interact with each other and what we expect of one another.
