As
the world in which we live becomes increasingly transformed by technology, it
becomes increasingly important for us to try and identify and then preserve
that which is essentially human in us.
But this can only happen if we truly value our human essence. One might say that, of course, we value our
human essence, and that, in truth, our technological civilization is simply a
tribute to the powers of our human essence to transcend above nature and to
conquer nature so that we can preserve our imprints and carry on the flow of
the human essence over many, many generations.
This answer ignores the loss of organic surfaces for making imprints,
the effects of sensory distortion from technology and technological products
and the increasing influence of robotization from the use of computers and
robots as mirrors and models for our human existence. In fact, our human essence is threatened, and
this is due, in part, to the manner in which we value ourselves now as well as
to our technology.
First,
I would like to distinguish two fundamental categories of value that appear in
value theory. Intrinsic value is the
value that occurs in something as an end in itself. In other words, something is valuable because
of its irreducible synthesis of elements.
Instrumental value is the value that something has for protecting and
enhancing intrinsic value. In other
words, instrumental value leads to intrinsic value. The tools we use like hammers and knives have
instrumental value, because they enhance the lives of the workers who use them.
And this protects the intrinsic value of these humans. Because humans can do more through the
instrumental value of tools, their own intrinsic value is augmented. In addition, the products and services
created by tools enhance the lives of the humans who receive these products and
services.
I
want to tie these ideas in with theories I have previously discussed. Humans are organic figures with strong
components of grounding that allow them to make, preserve, and receive organic
imprints. Tools and machines are pure
figures. As the technology of tools has
evolved into the development of machines, these machines are able to do more
and more without the careful guided imprints of the workers who operate
them. Machine operators in modern
factories perform increasingly repetitive tasks. It is almost as if the human workers enhance
the instrumental value of the machines, rather than the machines enhancing the
intrinsic value of the worker in his identity as a worker. To the extent that this happens, the real intrinsic
value increasingly gets transferred to the machine. To the extent this happens, the machine is
increasingly perceived mentally as the grounding in which the worker as pure
figure is rooted, even though the machine is not capable of providing real
grounding.
Because
of the transfer of intrinsic value, keeping the machine operating effectively with
minimum human participation becomes an end in itself. However the products and services created by
the machine are still there to enhance and protect the intrinsic value of human
life among the general population in modern technological society. So for people who don’t use these machines,
these machines are still seen in terms of their instrumental value. For these non-users, their attitude still
remains that the complex machines are appended to their grounded lives, and not
vice versa.
But
we have gotten to the point where increasing numbers of workers aren’t needed,
and more and more people will be thrown into a vocational vacuum. What is going on here? Increasingly, intrinsic value resides in this
modern technology, and more and more humans don’t even have the instrumental
value of servicing the machine processes of which they have little or no
understanding. To the extent that the
technology is ostensively still there to enhance and protect humans as the
consumers of technological benefits, the technology still has the instrumental
value that is there to serve the intrinsic value of our human essence.
But
as machines, computers and robots increasingly displace humans in the work
force, more and more humans will be unable to pay for the benefits created by
modern technology. So they will no
longer be the intrinsic value entities receiving the services and products
generated by complex modern technology.
And yet the technology will continue to operate no matter what. Computers and robots will create computers
and robots. These preserved imprints of
humans will be able to reproduce themselves with minimal human involvement. Eventually there will come a time when this
technology could be totally self-sustaining.
And the intrinsic value will reside in the machines, the computers and
the robots.
Is
this what we humans want? Is this what we have had in mind as we have
increasingly developed this technology?
I don’t think so. But this
technological change is happening so very, very quickly. And it represents a real threat to the
survival of the human race. We have got
to start putting intrinsic value back where it belongs. Back with humans and our human essence.
In
traditional societies, people with great instrumental skills are certainly
valued. But, in most cases, these people
are always reminded of the fact that they are human beings rather than human
doings as a result of their strong organic bonds to their family, their clan,
their tribe, their community, their village, their town. These bonds remind these skilled workers of
their strong mammalian human essence and remind them that their instrumental
skills are there to serve and enhance the intrinsic value of the people with
whom they are bonded. And strong bonds
between people exist in traditional societies with or without special skills.
In
modern societies, people are appreciated according to the quality of their
instrumental skills and are abandoned by companies and even by loved ones when
these skills diminish or never develop well to begin with. What is going to happen to the valuation of
people when robots take over their jobs and there is no longer any meaningful
way to ascribe instrumental value to them?
We
have got to start thinking both within governments and private organizations
about technoethics. No longer can we
allow technological innovation to be in total control of the modern
marketplace. We have to start thinking
not just in terms of short-term benefits, but also in terms of long-term
consequences.
And,
in particular, we need the participation of people who don’t have a vested
interest in the development of technology for their livelihood. We need people in the humanities. Science and technology are important for the
functioning of modern society, but we need the more nuanced blendable continual
thinking skills of people in the humanities to start making meaningful ethical
judgments about what technologies should be introduced into the larger society,
and what technologies should not be introduced.
And there should be thinking about how technologies can be introduced in
forms modified so as not to displace humans.
Technology
was meant to provide instrumental value for humans. It was never meant to be a source of intrinsic
value that would displace humans.
(c) 2013 Laurence Mesirow
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