Control over technology

 The development of technology is not the right of a certain organization or country only. Any individual researcher or organization can invent, develop and sell a certain technological product. Similarly use of technology is not confined to a single group. Every society in the world today is affected by and is a part of technological development. Technology does not remain only a product for processing in industry or advancement of communication. Today it is a part of social process which affects social relationships, methods of communication, behavior patterns and also laws. Lives of people have become so dependent on technology that life system slows down or even sometimes comes to a standstill when technology shuts down. For example, the loss of internet connectivity means time lost on business, cut off from friends on social network etc. Teenagers and adults alike suffer from addiction to mobile phones. Direct communication has suffered due to chat and mails. These issues point out the overly dependent relationship of human beings and technology.

Need for Control There are several concerns of health, ethics, environment and behavioral problems relating to the use of technology. Thus there is a direct need for some kind of control over the use of technology.

Following are some of the issues that require control and discretion in their use:

 1. Children‟ s use of technology: Today the youngest of the children can handle Smartphones with ease. Children are exposed to the wide world of information and communication. Gaming on computers has reduced physical activity among them. They can communicate to strangers and can access pornographic websites easily. Parental control is required to protect children from becoming victims of cyber crimes, bullying and also indulging in prank or act which may become dangerous. Several hardware and software solutions are available to keep ensure parental control on the use of internet by children. Environmental issues: Pollution is one of the biggest ill effects of technology. Excessive use of fuels, cutting down of forest and use of artificial pesticides and chemical fertilizers in agriculture are some of the reasons of pollution. Increasing global heat, the alarming quantities of carbon, mercury and sulphur are adversely affecting the life of flora andfauna.Natural cycles and bio diversity is affected. The concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been developed to ensure environmental protection alongside industrial growth. Genetically modified food: Researches have proved that genetically modified food is better in quality, has better natural features and is also beneficial for farmers. However the production and consumption of genetically modified food raises several ethical and health related issues. Some religious and ethnic groups are against the production of plants with animal genes in them. There are debates over health issues relating to the consumption of such food. Genetically modified plants may require lesser amount of pesticide but it requires much greater amount of chemical fertilizers than natural plants. Adequate research has not yet been carried out to identify the effects of eating animals fed with genetically modified food grains. Genetically modified food is largely used worldwide without much of awareness. Proper research in this area and proper control over the mediums of production of genetically modified is required. Cloning: Be it animal or human cloning, it is considered as unethical by many people, especially those with strong religious beliefs, all over the world. They believe that living beings should not be considered as objects of experiments. Cloning has opened many options for providing solution on several diseases. The US government has approved the consumption of meat from cloned animals.

Forms of Control Various agencies in the society can exercise control over technology, it should be kept in mind that such control should be legal. Moreover it should be exercised in such a manner that research and development in science should not be harmed. The agencies should keep in mind the rights of human society in total and should have proper knowledge of the problems posed by technology. Following forms of control over technology can be seen: State control: Government can exercise effective control over technology by making relevant laws. Cyber laws exist to curb crimes related to technology. Government granting patents has provided a legal framework for technological innovation. Non-governmental organizations: Civil societies can play an important role in exercising control over technology in use. NGOs are in direct contact with the people. They can generate awareness among them, gather feedback from them about their experiences with certain technology and convey such feedbacks to the government and technological experts effectively.  International control: International organizations like the UNO, Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) etc work towards cooperation in production of technology and its use.