CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY: A CASE OF MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

Naveen Nagendran GOUTHAM, Student of Graduate Degree in STEEM, Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau 91128
naveen.goutham@polytechnique.edu

I want you to close your eyes and imagine a world: a world without technology. While you

imagine, I want you to eliminate every single bit of technology in the world today; and by

everything, I mean from fire to wheels to clothes to computers. How does it look like? Does it

scare you?

I think it does! Without technology, we, as species, would not live very long. We would die by

the billions very quickly. The wolves would get us, the weather would kill us, we would be

defenseless, we would be unable to grow or even find enough food for our survival. Now that

we are alive, I introduce you to the Noah that saved the world: the technology.

It all started with the invention of elementary hunting tools by early humans. It provided them

a way to hunt food with less effort. But that wasnt enough. If they were unable to find enough

food during floods or droughts, they would starve to death. Thats the reason for them to die

young. It was a world without grandparents. And grandparents are very important for the

transmission of cultural evolution and information. How much learning can one do without the

support of elders? The world would lag without information being transferred from generation

to generation.

Hunting tools was followed by the invention of fire by early humans which provided them a

source of warmth, defense, and a way to cook food that was otherwise uneatable. Without fire,

we wouldnt be alive today. Fire pushed our bodies to adapt to the changes in diet in the last

tens of thousands of years. This small technology improved the survival rate and longevity of

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early humans. And with this little technology, humans went from a small band to tens of

thousands. And with the invention of language 50,000 years ago, the number of humans

exploded and soon became the dominant species on the planet. With a tool to communicate,

they migrated places and very quickly occupied every piece of habitat on the planet. A very

small amount of technology made us the most dominant species on the planet. Does it mean

that technology is powerful? Before I answer this question, Id like to brief about a condition

that is frightening the world today: the climate change!

Is climate change a new phenomenon? With the introduction of agriculture 10,000 years ago,

we started to see climate change. But, we are now able to feel the changes in climate which

was started 10,000 years ago. Whats new is just the degree of it. With this limited technology,

we were able to transform the world from a highly sustainable place (until 10,000 years ago) to

a chamber of death (today). So, technology is clearly the most powerful force on the planet.

So, what is technology? Merriam Webster defines technology as the use of science to invent

useful things or solve problems. Kevin Kelly of the popular Wired Magazine puts it this way:

Technology is anything useful that a human mind makes. Technology is something that is

helping us to continuously reinvent ourselves. It includes everything that weve ever made or

created to make our lives better (or even worse). But, technology comes at a cost; it has its own

agenda. It has an urge to consume energy from the world, and in return give us something: give

us progress. This way, technology has clearly helped in the progress of humanity.

Does it mean that technology is solely responsible for our existence? The very survival of

human race depends on our ability to surround ourselves with people who believe what we

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believe. In other words, our existence depends on our ability to live in a culture. So, what is a

culture? Simon Sinek puts it best. He says, Culture is a group of people with a common set of

values and beliefs. With technology and culture defined, were still left with an unsolved

puzzle. And the puzzle is Which one of these is the driving force of the world: Is it the culture

or the technology?

As mentioned in early paragraphs, technology is what made us the most dominant species on

this planet. But culture is what helped us stay dominant. They the two faces of the same coin.

Technology without culture and culture without technology doesnt make sense. It is this

marriage of culture and technology that is driving the world.

Now comes the interesting question: Are these culture and technology married forever? What

if they divorce? To answer this question, lets go back and discuss history. The generation prior

to our great grandparents was called the greatest generation that ever lived on the planet for

obvious reasons. It was the generation that went off to fight the war (And by the way, war is

our own technological invention to destroy ourselves) and everybody was unified to fight

against that common evil. They were all united for a common cause. There was this sense of

trust and belonging among themselves. Trust was on all-time high. There were stories of young

men whod commit suicide when they didnt get called for action. It was followed by the

generation that grew up during depression after the war. They wanted to settle down, buy

things for themselves and live a happy life. It was succeeded by the generation that was defined

by responsibility. They wanted to go out and give the same loyalty to their company that their

grandparents gave to their country or a culture. By the way, they made a lot of money. It was

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followed by the generation of the hippy movement. People were wealthier, and it was okay for

them to not work and still live a happy life. This was the generation that triggered a split in the

culture. Then came the me generation. The people were more worried about themselves than

their culture. It was the selfish generation that added fuel to the fire, and the split continued. It

was succeeded by an arrogant generation that wanted to balance numbers by deleting people.

There was no place for trust. So, what do we get? We get the generation X, the unknown

variable. We are the generation that is making things worse by enlarging the gap between the

culture and the technology. The above situation is demonstrated in the figure below. With

time, the values of culture and technology are declining. To answer the question of marriage,

yes, sooner or later technology and culture are going to file for a divorce.

Figure: A graph showing the split between culture and technology with time

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So, where is the technology heading to? Our mainstream technological inventions, from early

hunting tools to wheels to boats to microchips, have enabled us to go faster in life. Day-in and

day-out we notice that events around us appear to take place at a faster pace. Our

microprocessors are processing huge quantities of information at even greater speeds

compared to yesterday. Athletes are consistently breaking their speed records day after day.

We have cars, trains, and planes going faster day after day, cutting short our travel time. The

time that elapses between an earthquake, a flood, a drought or even a new disease is getting

shorter year after year. Even the basic activities of our life seem to be speeding up: fast food,

fast learning, speed dating. Perhaps most significant, the time were allowed to concentrate

entirely on one thing is gradually decreasing. What was experienced as astonishing yesterday is

constantly becoming obsolete today. Every technology that was ever created has changed the

way we think, act and communicate with the world. To put it straight, technology induces a

change in culture. The faster the technology, the rapid is the cultural change. But, technology is

a thing, and culture: a feeling. Culture is human, and we, as humans need time to adapt to

changes. The more we rush, the faster we split. So, fast technology is the culprit!

With culprit being responsible for the split between technology and culture identified, how do

we now find a solution to close the gap? The solution lies in optimizing the way the culture

embraces technology. In todays world, when we meet a new technology, we often take the

default position and follow the precautionary principle, which says, Dont do anything. When

you meet a new technology, stop, until it can be proven that it does no harm. But, is taking

precautionary position a good idea? Definitely no! It leads us nowhere and contributes to widen

the gap between culture and technology. It just does the opposite of what we want.

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So, what is the alternative to precautionary principle? Kevin Kelly of the Wired Magazine

suggests a unique proactionary principle to close the gap. He says, When you meet a new

technology, try it out. And while anticipating it, you constantly assess it. And if it diverts from

what you want, you evaluate the risks, and relocate it. i.e. find a new job for it. To quote a few

examples, nuclear fission is a bad idea for bombs. But, it is a good idea to produce sustainable

electricity. Spraying DDT on crops may be a bad idea. But, spraying DDT on local homes to

prevent malaria is a good idea.

To conclude, when culture meets a new technology, the idea is to give it some time and find it a

right place. This idea, I think, would help reunite the culture and the technology by closing the

gap. Let you and I join hands in making the married life of culture and technology beautiful.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank TOTAL SA for sponsoring my education at Ecole Polytechnique. I also thank Professor

Cynthia TOLENTINO for providing insights on the intersection of culture and technology.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Sinek, Simon. Leaders Eat Last. Portfolio, 2014.

2. Rosa, Hartmut, and William E Scheuerman. High-Speed Society: Social Acceleration,

Power, and Modernity. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2008.

3. Kelly, Kevin. Technologys Epic Story. YouTube, uploaded by TED, 22 February 2010,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS1xL1qcBa4.

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