This article starts with the question of whether technological advancements really contribute to human happiness, and then discusses the reasons why they don’t increase happiness and the ambivalence around it. Happiness is not the same as the material satisfaction that comes from owning technology; technology is neutral in nature, and its effects depend on whether it is used positively or negatively.
Corporate social responsibility is a big issue these days. Many companies are actively fulfilling their responsibilities through social activities and expressing them in advertisements. To give a few examples, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction provides electricity to countries without access to electricity, and KEPCO helps build power plants in countries that don’t have the technology to develop their own power. Social activities come in many forms, but I started this article because I was curious about the social activities of companies with advanced technology that supply technology to regions that lack it.
Does bringing technology to underdeveloped countries or providing electricity to people without electricity promote their happiness, or shouldn’t we respect their way of life? Moreover, can science and technology promote human happiness? I could not easily answer yes to these questions. This was a disheartening realization for me, who had vowed to major in science and technology to improve human happiness. What was I, and the many scientists and engineers who have dedicated their lives to advancing science and technology, working for? Until I found the answer to this question, I couldn’t take a single step toward my dream.
Before we begin our discussion, let’s look at the definition of happiness. According to the Oxford Dictionary, happiness is “the feeling or state of having sufficient satisfaction and joy in life.” Of course, the definition of happiness varies depending on people’s values, but for the sake of this discussion, let’s define happiness as the state of feeling satisfied and joyful.
Does the development of science and technology increase the absolute amount of happiness? If this proposition is true, then we should be much happier now than we were in primitive times, or at least in the Joseon Dynasty. If you think that the absolute amount of happiness cannot be measured, or that it is difficult to judge because you have not experienced the Joseon Dynasty, let’s ask a more specific question. While it’s impossible to express happiness in absolute terms, national happiness indexes show that Americans are less happy than Danes, who live in the most advanced technology-based society. If you still think that this question is not directly comparable due to differences in culture, lifestyle, and values, try answering the following questions. Has your happiness – your satisfaction and joy with life – increased because of your smartphone, the latest technological gadget? Can you say with confidence that you were not happier in the mid-2000s without your smartphone than you are now?
I don’t think so. Today, we rely on smartphones to such an extent that it is difficult to feel satisfaction and joy in our lives without them, but in the era of feature phones, their presence had no impact on our happiness at all. This is because we don’t even have the concept of a smartphone, and its absence cannot affect the satisfaction and joy of our lives. Through the above three questions, I hope that you have been able to question the relationship between technology and happiness and share my initial doubts. With these questions in mind, let’s continue the discussion.
This time, let’s analyze the opposite position. Is it true that advances in science and technology do not increase human happiness? Let’s take a common counterexample. When we buy a new car or electronic gadget, we feel much more satisfaction and joy than we would have without it (although this also wears off quickly). Here we need to distinguish between happiness caused by the fulfillment of material desires and happiness caused by technological advances. If this is increased happiness due to technological progress, then you should feel satisfaction and joy in life when a new car or electronic device is released, not when you buy it. But people only feel happy when they own it. This means that the excitement, beauty, and freshness of the new is only well-packaged by technology, and technology itself only creates material needs and does not contribute to happiness.
Why do people want to buy the latest smartphone? If you want to use the latest technology, you should feel the same happiness when you use your friend’s latest smartphone as when you buy and use your own, but that’s not the case. After all, people buy smartphones to fulfill material needs that have been created by technological advances, so it’s hard to say that technology itself has directly contributed to the happiness of smartphone buyers.
So why doesn’t science and technology contribute to human happiness? I found the answer in the ambivalence of technology. I believe that technology is always ambivalent, and by its very nature, it is difficult to promote absolute human happiness. Depending on who uses them and how they are used, they can either enhance or hinder human happiness. For example, nuclear fission technology has solved humanity’s energy problems, but it also threatens humanity with nuclear weapons. Smartphones have made it easier for people to communicate with each other and get information quickly, but they also have many negative effects, such as herniated discs and loss of privacy. The development of transportation has greatly increased the range of human activities, but it has also increased the negative effects, such as environmental pollution and the risk of accidents.
Some people may argue that even if we acknowledge the ambivalence of technology, if the positive effects outweigh the negative, then it has contributed to human happiness. However, this is also not true. The ambivalence of science and technology stems from the ambivalence of the people who use it, not from the positive or negative properties of science and technology itself. Science and technology are neutral in nature and cannot, by themselves, contribute to human happiness. For example, the reason why the number of casualties in modern warfare has not increased exponentially, even though the capabilities of weapons have improved by leaps and bounds, depends more on the extent to which the negative side of human ambivalence is expressed than on the degree of technological advancement. This shows that even weapons technology can have positive or negative effects depending on how and for what purpose it is used.
Does this mean that we, as science and technology majors, no longer need to study and develop science and technology? Not at all. Science and technology itself cannot promote human happiness, but it can be a useful tool for human happiness. For example, the development of magnetic resonance devices can help diagnose previously undetected diseases, saving many people who were dying in pain and without knowing the name of their illness. In addition, advances in assistive devices are improving the quality of life for people with disabilities by increasing their mobility and ease of living. Driverless car technology will also help reduce the number of people killed in traffic accidents. These are examples of the indirect happiness gains that can be achieved when science and technology are utilized in a positive way. This shows that science and technology is an indirect but important tool for improving human happiness.
Just because it doesn’t directly increase happiness, don’t make the mistake of shying away from science and technology for fear of its negative effects. This is like the early Europeans who destroyed machines during the Industrial Revolution because they took away their jobs. Many people see the purpose of living in the world as providing more opportunities for happiness for future generations, and that depends on neutral advances in science and technology. Of course, how future generations use science and technology is up to them, but each generation has a responsibility to pass on the body of knowledge to the next. With our sweat, we are creating opportunities for future generations to find more happiness. To all those majoring in science and technology, let’s do it. You are contributing ‘indirectly’ to the happiness of mankind!
