The development of technology fundamentally changes the way we live and think, and this has a wide range of effects, from means of communication to human relationships. Therefore, we need to understand technology not just as a tool, but as a part of us, and constantly observe and evaluate it in order to use its full potential.
Recently, the phrase “singularity has come to OOO” has become popular. It means ‘outside of common sense’ or ‘incomprehensible’. But in fact, the meaning here is a little different from the original one. Originally, the word singularity was used in the field of technology to refer to the point in time when artificial intelligence outpaces humans due to technological advances. But why did this term become popular? It goes back to the March 2016 public match between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol 9.
In March, the public match between AlphaGo and Lee Sedol 9 was a big deal. AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence Go program, won the match, defeating Lee Sedol, the world’s top professional Go player, 4 games to 1. This shocking result, which defied all expectations, made many people realize the so-called technological singularity. As science and technology advance, we are approaching the “singularity,” the point at which technology becomes so sophisticated that humans cannot keep up with the technology they have created. At this point, it is essential to discuss the function and role of technology in the modern technological society.
In the past philosophy of technology, the relationship between humans and technology was mainly described as a relationship of domination and control. This is due to the old subject-object distinction in Western philosophy. The French philosopher Gilbert Simondon was the first to break away from this view of technology as an end in itself. He argued that technology exists as a relationship. Simply put, technology allows humans to enter into new relationships by positioning itself between man and nature, subject and object.
Bruno Latour offers a much more advanced way of understanding technology. He sees technology as an actor like humans. A classic example is speed bumps. When drivers on the road see the bumps, they slow down and don’t speed. In other words, the bumps take over the role of the traffic police in preventing speeding. This is called a “non-human actor,” and we can find many examples in real life, such as a door opener replacing the role of a gatekeeper or a blood pressure monitor replacing the role of a doctor. In this way, technology becomes a good actor in society by taking over the roles of humans and changing the roles of humans.
The importance of technology as a component of society has been largely unrecognized by scholars in the past. Let’s look at Latour’s example of firearms. Suppose a person shoots and kills another person with a gun. In this case, did the gun kill the person? Or did the person kill the person? The common view is technological determinism, which says the former. The former is technological determinism: a murder that wouldn’t have happened without a gun happens because of the gun. The latter is social determinism, in which technology is the means, the gun is a neutral tool, and the problem lies with the person, not the gun. Latour, however, offers a new interpretation. When technology and humans combine, a new actor emerges as a hybrid with new goals. This hybrid actor will have different goals than the previous human actor. For example, in a fight, one person picks up a gun to scare the other, but unintentionally and impulsively kills. Technology is a crucial factor, but scholars in the past have fallen into the subject-object dichotomy, treating technology as a passive object. Latour strongly criticized this dichotomy and emphasized the importance of understanding technology.
Latour’s philosophy of technology is still incomplete, but what he demonstrates is that human society cannot be organized or sustained without technology. We live in relationships not only with people, but also with objects, technologies, inanimate objects, and non-humans, and it is therefore essential that we pay much greater attention to the functions and roles of technology, or the “politics of things.
In modern human society, it is impossible to separate humans from technology. We are surrounded by technology, and we have come to accept it as natural, meaning that humanity and technology have become one. We’ve become so accustomed to this situation that we don’t realize how much technology defines the conditions of our lives. Technology is like air in this respect. Without it, we would die in a matter of minutes, but we don’t usually realize how much it limits our lives. It’s important to understand that technology doesn’t exist in isolation, but naturally exists in relationship. Technology is no longer a means to an end for humans, and humans are no longer dominated by technology.
When Lee Sedol 9 was defeated by AlphaGo, many people were shocked. The advancement of technology portrayed humans being dominated by technology. This is because we’re stuck in a binary view of domination and control. Instead, we need to think about technology as a part of us and us as a part of technology. One of the things that Apple’s iPhone was praised for when it was released was that it was designed with human factors in mind, meaning that the design reflected the natural interaction between humans and technology when a new technology is introduced into human society. Whenever a new technology is created, it should always anticipate how humans and technology will combine to determine the direction of its development. This will help us achieve the goal of “technology as a part of us and us as a part of technology”.
Technological advancement is not just the emergence of new products or services; it is a fundamental change in the way we live, think, and socialize. For example, the widespread adoption of smartphones has not just changed the way we communicate, but has had far-reaching effects on our daily lives, the way we work, and our relationships. Technology has become so embedded in our lives that we take it for granted.
Therefore, we need to rethink our relationship with technology. Technology is a tool, but it is also a part of us. When technology is understood as a complement and extension of humans, we can better utilize it and realize its full potential. This requires a deep understanding of technology and a commitment to continually observe and evaluate its impact on our lives.
