Negative Effects of Scientific and Technological Advancement
Advancements in science and technology have brought many benefits to society. Advancements in medical research have caused doctors to come up with cures for deadly diseases. In the 18th century, doctors were able to come up with a treatment for smallpox (Byrum 59).
It helped to save many people who could have died due to the smallpox epidemic. The invention of computers also helped to simplify many tasks in society. Financial analysts are able to make financial predictions using simulation software. Despite the many advantages of science and technology in society, these advancements have brought negative effects to society. Scientists have used the advancements in science and technology to manufacture military weapons. Some of the chemical weapons used during wars have caused many innocent people to lose their lives (Vonnegut 64).
Science and technology have had negative effects on society since harmful weapons were produced during World War and World War II. They are also used in human experimentation, and harmful effects were caused due to the use of computers.
Essay about the Harmful Effect of Science on Society and Human Life
Military scientists have utilized advancements in science and technology to make war equipment. During World War I, scientists who had the most advanced war equipment were politically stronger compared to their enemies. Machine guns were introduced during World War I. They had the ability to kill very many people on the battlefield.
The United States was among the first countries to use machine guns in battle. These guns were driven by gas, and they had the ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute. In addition, military scientists were able to make airplanes that could be used in battle. Examples of these aircraft included bombers, long-range bombers, and fighters (Ross 61).
Military forces started using aircraft since they knew that they could conduct surprise attacks on enemy territories. Britain was among the first countries to use aircraft to conduct attacks during battle. A British company known as Avro produced the 504 in 1914. A pilot called Lieutenant V. Waterfall flew this airplane. As World War I progressed, scientists from both Britain and Germany produced sophisticated airplanes that were to be used in bombing their enemies.
According to Ross (81), “Germany produced the Gotha bomber, while Britain produced the Handley Page bomber.” These aircraft were more accurate compared to the previous aircraft produced by military scientists. In addition, they carried bombs that caused massive damage when dropped to the ground.
Negative Effects of Producing the War Equipment
The war equipment that military scientists produced had several negative effects on society. Many soldiers lost their lives during this war. In addition, some of them sustained serious injuries after being attacked by tanks. Statistics from World War I revealed that around 117 465 casualties were reported (Ross 107). Some soldiers who returned from this war developed posttraumatic stress disorder.
Some of them started having nightmares and sleepless nights after remembering how their fellow soldiers died during the battle. Most of the men in America were required to leave their families so that they could go and fight for their countries. It forced the women in these families to look for work in factories so that they could sustain their families.
In some instances, wives became widows after their husbands died during World War I. World War I also affected the education system in most countries that were affected by this war. Some of the schools were bombed by aircraft during the war. This forced students to miss classes since they feared that they would lose their lives.
Kennedy (75) argues, “Public schools also started focusing on patriotism and nationalism instead of instilling knowledge into students.” The above negative effects of World War I were caused due to advancements in science and technology, especially in the building of weapons. These advancements helped countries to build weapons of war, such as machine guns and aircraft.
Adverse Effects of Science and Technology
Science and technology have had harmful effects on society since it was used to manufacture war equipment during World War II. Nazi scientists invented RocketV-1, a buzz bomb, during World War II. This aircraft was categorized as a guided missile, and the Nazis mainly used it in 1944-1945 (Ross 81). This aircraft could be fired from ground sites located in the Netherlands to London.
The Germans also succeeded in manufacturing V-2. It was also known as the ballistic missile, and it had the ability to first fly into space and then land on its target. This plane was sent to London during the 1944-1945 war, and it killed many innocent civilians. Senker (71) states, “Science and technology also helped the Nazi soldiers to develop a nuclear power program, known as the Nazi Nuclear Program.”
Nuclear projects in Germany began after it invaded Poland in 1939. This was after two chemists in this country, Fritz Strassmann and Otto Hahn, discovered how to produce barium (Bishop 93). The army officials in this country started investigating how nuclear energy could be used to produce lethal weapons that could be used in wars. Before the end of the Second World War, Nazi soldiers had succeeded in developing a nuclear reactor. They believed that they could use this reactor to produce the first nuclear bomb with which they can attack countries such as England and France.
It is also during World War II that the Manhattan Project was established. The United States of America started this project in conjunction with Canada and the United Kingdom. This project is famous for producing the first atomic bomb. It had about forty laboratories experimenting on how nuclear fission could be used to produce energy. The first test bomb that was produced by this project was known as Fat Boy.
On August 6, 1945, an American Aircraft known as a B-29 bomber released the first atomic bomb. This bomb was known as Little Boy. It was detonated in Hiroshima, and its explosion caused about 66,000 deaths (Bishop 131). This bomb was about 9000 pounds in weight.
After America released Little Boy, it released a second bomb that was known as Fat Man to Nagasaki. This atomic bomb weighed about 10,000 pounds and it almost destroyed the whole city of Nagasaki. In the book Cat’s Cradle written by Kurt Vonnegut, the author writes about the things American people did during the Hiroshima bombing. Vonnegut (75), “Some of the engineers who participated in the manufacture of the atomic bomb were not proud of the harmful effects that this nuclear weapon brought to the society. During World War II, Germany also invented a submarine that is used to spy on its foreign enemies. It used the information that was collected by the submarines to conduct surprise attacks against its enemies.
Influence of Science and Technology on Economy and Politics
The science and technology that was used in World War II had several negative effects on society. The economy of Japan deteriorated. This is because the atomic bomb destroyed its infrastructure. World War II also affected the Soviet Union. About 40 million people lost their lives due to this war (Bishop 71). Germany used its advanced weapons to kill civilians in the Soviet Union. In addition, they captured some of the civilians in this country and put them in concentration camps. Some of the citizens of the Soviet Union died because of poor hygiene while they lived in these camps.
The relationship between Germany and France also became poor Germany invaded France. Germany expelled the French people living within their borders. Due to this, the United States stated that it would not offer Germany any financial support for rebuilding its economy. International trade between Germany and other countries also became poor. The economic growth of Germany became slow because of this. Many people also became homeless due to the effects of World War II (Senker 82).
People were forced to escape from their countries in an attempt to avoid conflicts. Some of the German soldiers also burnt down the houses of Polish citizens, thus forcing them to become refugees. England was also affected by the bombings that it received from Germany. Businesses in London were destroyed, and this affected the economic growth of England.
The United States was forced to provide financial assistance to England in an attempt to revive its economic growth. The above negative effects of World War II were attributed to major advancements in science and technology. It proves that science and technology can have negative effects on society.
Negative Impact of Science and Technology on Human Life
Scientists also use advancements in science and technology to conduct human experimentation. Such experiments are harmful to human beings since they may have negative effects on the growth and development of people under study. One of the famous human experimentations was known as the monster study (McCuen 64). Wendell Johnson of the University of Iowa conducted this experiment on 22 orphan children. Wendell placed these children into experimentation groups and gave them speech therapy.
Half of the children under study were given positive speech therapy, while the other half were given negative speech therapy. Most of the children who received negative speech therapy developed psychological problems. Their self-esteem was also lowered, and some of them developed speech problems as they grew up (McCuen 124).
The Nazis also used advancements in science and technology to conduct human experiments. One of the experiments that they conducted on human beings was the twins’ experiment. The leader of this experiment was known as Joseph Mengele. He conducted experiments on about 1500 sets of twins. The main aim of the experiment was to establish the differences that occur in twins considering their eugenics and genetics. In addition, these experiments wanted to find out whether the body of human beings could be altered to make superior beings.
However, most of the twins died during this study. The scientists injected lethal chemicals into their bodies to see whether it would help them change their race. Human experimentation is also shown in the book Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley. Henry Foster, the director of Central London Hatching, shows the students touring this facility how human embryos are produced. He later takes the students to a nursery where infants are reprogrammed to make them hate books (Huxley 18). This is because the scientists in this institution wanted to train the infants on the methods that they could use to become successful soldiers.
Human experimentation has brought negative effects to society. Participants in human experimentation do not interact with other people in society. This affects their social life since they may not get the social skills that they require to interact with other people. In addition, some of the participants in these experiments may die. The experiment may not be safe, and this may affect their anatomy (Byrum 52).
Human experimentation is also unethical since it treats human beings as objects. Some of these experiments use infants as subjects of the study. The infants are not asked whether they agree to participate in an experiment since they may be too young to understand the concept that is being tested under experimentation (McCuen 157). In some instances, the researcher and the participants in an experiment may have a conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest may make the scientists fail to yield good results from the experiment being conducted.
Negative Aspects of the Invention of Computers and the Internet
Advancements in technology led to the invention of computers. Computers bring many benefits to society, for example, creating job opportunities for computer programmers. However, computers have also brought negative effects to society. Morley (43) claims, “Computers have affected the social interaction of young people.
Young people prefer to communicate through messages and social media sites instead of face-to-face communication. Families no longer hold family dinners together since children would rather spend their time chatting with their friends on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter (McClellan and Dorn 62).
The Internet helps to facilitate computer communication. However, the Internet has brought many negative effects on society. One of these effects is the promotion of pornography. Workers spend their time viewing pornographic images over the Internet instead of doing the tasks of their organization. Pornography encourages teenagers to engage in premarital sex. This may expose teenagers to the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases or becoming pregnant. Pornography also promotes child trafficking since some children are kidnapped and forced to act in a pornographic movie (Morley 53).
The Internet also encourages the spread of piracy. Internet sites such as Pirate Bay offer music and movies for free. This has affected the music industry since musicians are not able to recover the amount of money that they use to produce particular music. The overuse of computers may also expose users to the risk of developing a computer addiction. A person who is a computer addict spends most of his/her time on the computer and forgets about his/her social life.
There are many cases when romantic relationships have gone wrong since one of the parties ignores the other party because of spending a lot of time on computers. People who spend a lot of time on computers may end up developing back pains. In addition, such people may have long-term sleep deprivation due to spending a lot of time on computers.
Medical experts have also warned that computers may affect children as they grow up. Children may develop visual problems if they spend most of their time playing computer games. They may also develop blurred vision. Psychologists also argue that exposure to computer games to children may make them violent in the future. Some computer games encourage solving disputes with the use of violence (McClellan 112). In addition, some computer games encourage the use of slang during normal communication.
Ecological Disruptions
The unintended ecological impacts of scientific advancements have often been as profound as they are unforeseen. Efforts to enhance agricultural productivity, control pest populations, or manage natural resources have sometimes led to ecological imbalances, disrupting ecosystems at fundamental levels. For instance, the introduction of non-native species for pest control has frequently resulted in invasive outbreaks that threaten indigenous flora and fauna, undermining biodiversity. Bioengineering, while holding the promise of solving critical agricultural and environmental challenges, has occasionally led to unexpected consequences, such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) escaping into the wild, potentially leading to crossbreeding and the creation of hard-to-control superweeds.
These ecological disruptions underscore the complexity of natural systems and the risks associated with interventions that do not fully account for this complexity. They highlight the critical need for comprehensive environmental impact assessments before the implementation of such technologies and the importance of adopting a precautionary approach to environmental management.
Medical Anomalies
The realm of medical science, despite its life-saving advancements, is not without its share of anomalies and peculiar side effects. The development of new drugs and treatments, while often beneficial, has occasionally resulted in unexpected outcomes that perplex and sometimes alarm both the medical community and patients. For example, certain medications intended to treat physical ailments have led to psychological effects, including changes in personality or the onset of symptoms akin to those of mental health disorders. Moreover, treatments that manipulate the body’s biological processes can sometimes trigger bizarre physical reactions, such as drugs that alter patients’ sensory perceptions or induce unusual physical conditions.
These medical anomalies serve as a reminder of the inherent uncertainties in the science of healing. They emphasize the need for rigorous clinical trials and post-market surveillance to detect and mitigate such unexpected outcomes. Furthermore, these cases highlight the importance of informed consent, where patients are made aware of all potential risks and side effects, no matter how rare or strange.
AI and Automation Quirks
The advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have introduced a new set of quirks and unintended behaviors in technological systems. As AI systems become more complex, their ability to learn and adapt can lead to unexpected outcomes. For instance, AI algorithms have developed their own unintelligible languages or solved problems in ways that are bizarre or unforeseen by their creators. Similarly, autonomous vehicles and robots, while designed to perform tasks with precision, have made glaring errors due to oversights in their programming or unexpected interactions with their environments.
These quirks not only provide amusing anecdotes but also raise serious questions about the predictability and control of AI systems. They underscore the challenges in creating machines that can accurately interpret and respond to the complexities of the real world. As AI continues to evolve, ensuring these systems are safe, reliable, and aligned with human values becomes increasingly important. This requires ongoing research, robust testing environments, and ethical guidelines to govern AI development and deployment.
Science and Technology Essay Conclusion
To conclude, science and technology have had negative effects on society since they contributed to the production of harmful weapons during World War I. During this war, military scientists were able to produce machine guns that had the capability of shooting many rounds per minute.
In addition, war aircraft were produced during this period. World War I led to the death of many innocent civilians. In addition, the American education system was affected since students and teachers did not attend school during this war. Scientists produced atomic bombs during World War II.
In America, the Manhattan Project was started to produce atomic bombs that would make America a superpower. Fat Man and Little Boy were produced during the Manhattan Project, and they were used to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The economy of Japan deteriorated because of these attacks. Scientists have also used science and technology to conduct human experimentation. Such experiments have caused the deaths of many innocent people. Computers have also brought harm to society since they expose computer users to the risk of addiction.
Works Cited
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- Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Random House, 1949. Print.
- McClellan, James E, and Dorn, Harold. Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction. Maryland: JHU Press. 2006. Print.
- McCuen, Gary E. Human experimentation: when research is evil. London: GEM Pub, 1998. Print.
- Orwell, George. 1984. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1983. Print.
- Ross, Stewart. The Technology of World War I. Minnesota: Heinemann/Raintree, 2003. Print
- Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein: Or, the Modern Prometheus. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1891. Print.
- Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat’s Cradle. New York: RosettaBooks, 1963. Print.