Technology encompasses a wide array of innovations, from the wheel invented millennia ago to the complex artificial intelligence systems powering contemporary advancements. It’s the bridge between scientific understanding and practical implementation, offering a path to progress and efficiency.
It’s easy to see why a student might find technology fascinating: it enables us to create and share knowledge in new ways, and it can help solve problems that affect our lives. It’s also a central component of many jobs today, and understanding the various technologies at play in our daily lives can enhance career opportunities and improve job performance.
But technology is so broad a term that it’s often misunderstood. It can refer to tangible tools like utensils or machines, but it can also refer to intangible tools that are not physically visible, such as software. It can also describe a process, or a technique, that’s used to accomplish an objective—for example, piano playing technique.
To really understand technology, it’s necessary to consider its diverse and nuanced impact on global change as well as our everyday lives. This includes the unforeseen implications of how technologies are actually deployed, and how they’re used in ways that often diverge from their designers’ original intents. For example, the Internet, which was designed to transmit information over computer networks, has become a vital tool for commerce and introduced unexpected avenues for crime and political influence. Similarly, social media platforms designed to connect friends and family through sharing photographs and life updates have become hubs for political controversy and fake news.