Tim: Steve Jobs &​ the Ethics of Technology

Ever the savvy technology expert, Tim continues to research drones and game design.  He has begun to complement these explorations, too, by considering the ethics of technology.  This discipline concerns itself with the ethical (or moral) considerations of implementing technology in our modern age.

Tim possesses opinions that are threefold.  First, he sides with the late Steve Jobs, American entrepreneur, marketer, and inventor as well as the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc.  Jobs differentiates between animals and humans in his Steve Jobs on Bicycle (see below), specifically by citing a study that measures the "efficiency of locomotion" of various animals traveling across a flat plane from Point A to Point B.  In this experiment, researchers concluded that the human cannot measure up as a rival to other animals such as the condor.  However, when the researchers then evaluated a human riding on a bicycle, they compiled data measurements that significantly dwarfed all other organisms previously measured.  After reading this research, Jobs concluded that human beings are essentially tool builders; they compensate for natural/​biological weaknesses with the materials that they create.

But Tim goes on to extend Jobs's thinking into a two-pronged critique our culture.  He argues, on one hand, that militaries may wish to curb innovation for innovation's sake due to the risk of reverse engineering.  If they launch drones without comprehensive research into drone defense, for instance, cultural enemies may seize the equipment and use them for counter-measures.  On the other hand, he argues that humans, although they utilize technology, occasionally do not experiment with this equipment to the best of their ability.  This implicit fear hinders humanity; it retards what otherwise could amount to exponential progress and growth, forcing us instead to repeatedly re-hash the same trying problems.  In this scenario, human risk a vicious circle and a technological gap:  a dissonance between our technological capabilities and the technology that we realize and produce.

What do you think of Tim's reasoning? Do you have feedback or a source that he should explore? Please post in the comments section below.

Description of 1st image:  A computer-generated representation of the ethnics of technology and transhumanism.  Photo located at abc.net.au.  Kildonan and its IP program claim now ownership over the above graphic.