LAS432 – Tech, Society and Culture – Week 3 – Discussion

Winner says, “It is clear that in decades to come a great many things like telephone answer machines and automatic bank tellers will become, in effect, members of our society.” More recent technologies that could be included in Winner’s list include the smart phone, online banking, and online shopping. Winner suggests that we surrogate our responsibility to these technologies. Do you think Winner is right or wrong? Be sure to give reasons for your answer and include specific technologies to support your point.
 

A kind of genetic engineering happens in nature, with naturally occurring mutations and the dominance of certain strains. What is different about today’s processes? What makes them potentially dangerous? What should we consider natural and what is artificial?