McLuhan talks about how technology became somewhat of extension or even substitution of a human. Even at that time, in the 1960s, people already thought about machines, technology will replace people at work. It will influence people’s behavior, or give more opportunities in such fields as politics, family matters, jobs; people will look at themselves from a different angle. A person is no more fully isolated from others in their thoughts, they are alone no more. As the author said, there is a “…tyrannical… surveillance [that] are causing very dilemma between our claim to privacy and the community’s need to know”. The same goes with families: now, there is an influence on parents’ decisions, it is no more about two people, now the whole world is an expert.
The hazards that the technological process, or rather, evolution may bring is that many workplaces are replaced by machines, robots. They are afraid that many people will lose their jobs, and since they cannot do anything else besides their specialty in a field, there will be a high percentage of unemployment. Yes, that could be the case even in the last century, but not anymore. Now, thanks to the same technology, one can learn some new skills at home, and if something happens in his old work, like being fired, he can easily switch the fields. I do not think, that it is a big problem anymore. If a construction worker will be replaced by androids, I guess he can be now a supervisor of these androids, because supervising requires not only a physical ability to build, or bring the plates/bricks, but also one needs to be a good manager. I don’t think, robots can do that. On other hand, the same used-to-be construction worker now could do whatever he wants, he dreamed about; or go to a similar field, where his skills are still required.
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