Critical Annotated Webliography (by Margaux Leung)

3. Frankenstein continues to occupy the popular imagination as a monstrous scientist. Analyse some of the ways in which Frankenstein haunts discussions of recent technologies.



Technology is developing rapidly in these days. Undoubtedly, we will come across with technology in our everyday lives and technology is vitally important to us. Nonetheless, at the same time, we are afraid of the technology. Sometimes, it seems like a monster. Availing myself of this opportunity, I would like to look into the matter of how technologies in nowadays are regarded as monster.

As technology is developing rapidly, some problems have been triggered off. In Shrader-Frechette and Westra’s article [1], they pointed out that in our current society, people tended to put a lot of effort in developing technology. Yet, most of them had neglected the ethic problem laid behind. In fact, technology can put human being into jeopardy. For example, it may cause social or environmental problems such as provoking war or pollution, which will put many people’s lives at risk. “Because our chemical, nuclear, biological, industrial, and agriculture technologies now cause more premature cancers and deaths than any other source, including crime and natural causes, we humans are literally killing ourselves” ( Shrader- Frechette and Westra, pp.5).I totally agree with this statement. As a matter of fact, we are harming ourselves in some ways. For example, as technology develops, we are producing materials that are polluting our environment. In the result, the climate change and the earth may no longer suitable for us to live. This is not the only case. There are many other examples to name but a few. I am going to elaborate further in the following cases.

GM food is one of the most controversy topics among the world in nowadays. In the article, Whitman [2] gave a thorough definition of what is GM food (genetically modified foods), that is “to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology techniques” (Whitman, pp.1). Nowadays, GM food can be found in many places. The genetically modifying technique is commonly used in food production. It does benefit human being a lot. In the article, the author had explained quite a number of the advantages of GM food. For instance, it can make the crops become pest and resistance. By doing so, we do not need to pour pesticide onto the plants and we can avoid consuming the hazard pesticide. There are still several benefits mentioned in the article such as cold and hot tolerance, disease resistance and so on. On the other hand, the author had provided some drawbacks of using the genetically modifying technology. For examples, it may threaten other organisms and reduce the effectiveness of pesticide. At worse, it may be also harmful to human being such as causing allergy or other diseases.

Technology is also applicable in reproduction. Bloomfield and Vurdubakis [3] had discussed some of the issues on reproductive technologies. They had picked out two occasions on using the genetic reproductive technology. The first case is “custom-made” boy. Some of the diseases are inherent. Therefore, by changing some genetic materials inside body, people may avoid carrying the fatal genetic diseases. In this case, it is really a great breakthrough in medical science and it is definitely a good news for human.

The second case is “designer baby”. That is to rearrange the genes of oneself in a bid to make them become more intelligent or good in particular fields. That is what we called eugenics. The authors argued that it seemed to commodify baby, which means letting babies to become commodities. It is a matter that we really have to think twice before utilizing this technology. I agree with what the writers just stated at the end of the article, technology can create utopia, but also dystopia. It depends on how we utilize and handle the technologies.

As technology is developing rapidly, scientists have used genetically engineering in many fields. However, since the technology of genetically engineering is so updated, many people fear that the technology will be used in military field, or adopted by the terrorists. According to Amajad [4], some people have used pathogens that are lethal or have the power to cause illnesses in an attempt to harm people. For instance, few years ago, anthrax was found in some letter in the US. Anthrax is a kind of pathogen which can be fatal if inhaled. Some people were died due to the anthrax letter. The more terrifying news is that, by using the genetically modified technology, pathogens can be made to be more fit and suitable for bioweapons. For example, these bioweapons can be very toxic and highly infectious. It can kill many people or make a large number of people infected in a short period of time. The author had mentioned a number of possible bioweapons and their effects. The technology can bring catastrophe if using it in an inappropriate way.

Computer and internet is another technology that is developing rapidly. In Floridi’s article [5], he explained how computer and network developed rapidly. It is undeniable that computer has eased our everyday lives. For instance, we can arrange our data in a more organized way by the help of computer. We can also create some diagrams or graphics by using some software in computer. With the help of internet, it makes our lives even more convenient. We can access to the information at home easily by searching from the internet. We can also purchase grocery by clicking buttons on the website instead of going to a supermarket. There are so many similar cases to name but a few.

Though computer and internet can make our lives become more convenient, there are several problems created due to the technology. The author of this article pointed out some of the problems such as it may wider the gap between the illiterates and the intellects. People who are able to access to the internet can gain knowledge easily whereas those who are unable to afford the technology can hardly access to the knowledge. This will generate inequalities in the world and the vicious circle can hardly come to an end. In addition, the author also stated that, as internet is more and more accessible, computer virus is becoming a serious problem. Hackers may get information (such as credit card number or bank account number) from other users’ computer by using spywares. We can see that even though computer and internet can improve our quality of life, it still has its own drawbacks which need to be solved.

We have covered some of the recent technology of which people may concern with. All in all, every coin has two sides, so as technology. As Bloomfield and Vurdubakis mentioned in their article, technology can create utopia, but also dystopia. Whether technology is a blessing or a curse, it depends on how we human being utilize it.

(1130 words)





Reference:
[1]Shrader-Frechette, Kristin S and Laura Westra (1997) “Technology and Value.” http://books.google.com/books?hl=zh-TW&lr=&id=y5BfvU6uMQMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=Frankenstein+technology&ots=9pFeAExzz1&sig=POKrmGSEmpAbzbYpUjJON1IVKLw (accessed 24 February 2009)

[2]Whitman, Deborah B (2000) “Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?. ” http://www.csa1.co.uk/discoveryguides/gmfood/review.pdf (accessed 26 February 2009)

[3]Bloomfield, Brain P. and Vurdubakis, Theo “Frankenstein unbounded? : Monster Myths and Metaphors in the Debate over Reproductive Technologies” http://www.wickedness.net/Monsters/M2/vurdubakis%20paper.pdf (accessed 24 February 2009)

[4]Amjad, Halima (2004) “Biological weapons: The current threat level and the risk of genetically engineered pathogens.” http://jsaw.lib.lehigh.edu/viewarticle.php?id=123&layout=html (accessed 27 February, 2009)

[5]Floridi, Luciano (1995) “Internet: which future for organized knowledge, Frankenstein or Pygmalion? https://uhra.herts.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/2299/1823/1/901824.pdf (accessed on 24 February 2009)