In the article, Tim Wu describes the possible impacts of technology in the society by using the Oji-Cree story. He explains that prior to technological revolution the Oji-Cree community inhabited the Hudson Bay. The population was made up of people full of “ingenuity, courage, and self-sacrifice” who lived in the cold and desolate land. However, after the arrival of the European settlers, the Oji-Cree began to experience changes accompanied by large trucks visiting the area. The advanced technology including electricity and combustion engine brought development including generation of food to address the cases of starvation in the area. However, the technology inventions have also generated a lot of challenges including Type 2 diabetes, heart diseases, obesity, drug addiction, idleness, suicide, and alcoholism. The author asserts that these negative effects are observed in other parts of the world and cautions that if precautions are not taken towards advancement, the result will be sofalarity.
The author’s argument is logical as the negative impacts of technology can be witnessed in the current society. With new innovations, many nations are able to utilize the natural resources to produce materials that increase the comfort of humanity. This has not only degraded the environment, but has also resulted in the production of unnecessary goods and services which continue to pollute the environment. For instance, many companies currently generate millions of cars, and majority of households continue to purchase as many as they can afford. Vehicles are, however, major pollutants that cause global warming and climate change. In addition, their production has increased the rate of obsolete materials in the world as the old vehicles get disposed in the environment which causes solid pollution. Furthermore, a greater population in the United States is currently affected by Diabetes 2 and obesity due to the poor lifestyles. People have replaced physical activities with technology-related indoor activities like video games which continuously result in weight gain particularly among those who consume fast foods produced by similar technologies.
