The ideas and examples referenced below are notes compiled by Robert Keel from his reading of Volti, Rudi. 2014. Society and Technological Change. 7th edition. New York, NY: Worth Publishers. They are intended for classroom use.

Government and the Control of Technology

• To an increasing extent, governments are controlling the pattern of technological change.
• Does government involvement in the development of technology necessarily result in more beneficial technologies?
• Are democratic ideals realized in the operation of gov’t policies and processes?

Government Actions and The Shaping of Technology

• Government involvement in technology is nothing new.
• Government granting patents has provided a legal framework for technological innovation.
• Government has provided infrastructure essential to the development of new technology.
• Schools funded by government become a source of transmitting technology information.
• Government provides auxiliary goods and services needed for technology.
• Airplanes require regulation, air traffic controllers, etc.
• Extensive government involvement surrounding automobile.
• Government tax policies affect technological advance by (dis)encouraging capital investment.
• Innovation does not always respect existing social and legal arrangements: TV and VCR’s being used to videotape movies — infringement of copyright. Now, peer-to-peer file sharing and CD/DVD ripper software are being used to go around existing copyright laws.
• Government involvement in technological research has been heavily skewed toward defense and space exploration.

But Is It Necessary?

• Why has government involvement increased to such a marked degree?
• Our wealth is tied to our ability to advance technologically.
• Free market cannot stimulate every type of technological advance.
• We need some technology but few are willing to pay for it.
  1. e.g. technology creating a cleaner environment is needed. Yet, no one wants to pay for it. Yet, if it is initiated, everyone will benefit from it ("free-ride").
• Thus, social benefits may be great, but benefits to industry may be small and unprofitable.
• This is why 2/3 of "pure" science is financed by the federal government.

Government Institutions for the Guidance of Technology

• A nation’s economic and military security is directly tied to its ability to produce new technology.
• Special government departments are established to meet this need.
  1. There is no Department of Technology, per se, only a collection of committees dealing with various technological issues.
  2. 1957-1973: the Presidential Science Advisory Committee (defense and space--abolished when ran afoul of Nixon's policies).
  3. National Science Foundation--advice on scientific and technological advice to president--reconstituted in 1976.
  4. OSTP: Office of Science and Technology Policy (1976). Since 2009, the domain of the "Chief Technology Officer".
     1. National Science and Technology Council (1993).
        1. Policy-making
        2. Align with executive branch goals
        3. International cooperation.
     2. Make government more effective and accessible .
• The President, while not necessarily directly involved, makes important decisions relating to technology.
  1. President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) — major redirection in U.S. defense policy.
• Other Government involvement in technology.

  The Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) — est. 1972 by congress (closed 1995)

  1. Provided information on technology to congress. Helped to guide its decisions and gain more leverage over the president in matters relating to technology.
  2. OTA — overseen by board of 6 congressmen and 6 senators.
  3. Unclear whether OTA has had any impact on guiding technological policy.
  4. Criticism of OTA — "does not always find the perfect balance between the goals of its political masters in Congress and the goals of objectivity and neutrality that are more common to the scientists and engineers who perform its tasks." (page 285, 4th edition)
• Otherwise--government oversight and budgeting handled by over a dozen committees and sub-committees (armed services to agriculture)

Processes

• Congress most directly affects technology through its passage of laws.
• Congress also affects technology through its control over budgets.
  1. 1971 — supersonic transport plane never got off the ground because of lack of federal funds.
  2. G. W. Bush administration restricted funding for stem-cell research using human embryos.
• BUT, some technologies face government scrutiny while others are highly unregulated.
  1. Birth control, x-ray machines, microwave ovens, cars.
• Technologies that are large scale failures (nuclear reactor accidents) are more likely to catch attention of government than supposedly innocuous technologies.
• Widespread public debate over new technology is rare, most emerge with little public attention.
• Since there is no central authority for technology, many decisions are made by mid-level government officials
• Often, technologies are supported by the government because of the powerful lobbies who have a stake in their success
• Also, once technology is underway, it builds momentum— by the people who have interest in seeing it to fruition.
• Thus, a "bad" technology may make it to the market because of influential people and organizations. Once a technology is on the market it is difficult to reverse.

Thus, governance of technology is faced with a paradox:

• "Change is easiest in the beginning, but this is when the need can’t be foreseen." (page 398)
• "Technologies do not simply stand or fall on their own merits; their success or failure can often be attributed to the political support that they receive." (pages 398-399)

The Democratic Control of Technology

• Decisions are made by experts, managers, and government officials.
• The larger society is typically little more than a consumer of technology.
• Whether technology is "good" or "bad" can be determined only by one’s values and beliefs.
• As individuals, are we destined to live out a passive acceptance of the technology that is given to us?
• A democratization of technology may be appealing but it also has its costs.
• The greater the number of people involved, the more likely the order will be disrupted.
• Is it possible to reconcile technological advance and democratic particiation in decision-making?
  • It might depend on how one defines democracy — "the people as a whole are able to participate in making meaningful choices about the things that affect their lives." (page 400)
• The people do make choices that affect technology, but it is usually "after the fact"
• People favored videocassettes over videodiscs, and now streaming over discs. But the choices were made from existing alternatives.
• In some ways, technology has increased democratization.
• TV — made current events and politics accessible to public. Now may be leading to apathy.
• Vietnam War protests were often in response to TV coverage of War. Operation Desert Storm was a media event.

BUT, exposure does not guarantee an intelligent response.

• Many critics say TV has defiled the political process, turning candidates into sound bites
• Can the individual affect technological change?

Democracy works best, perhaps, at a local level, when individual can get directly involved. (page 401)

• Many technological issues take the back burner to a person's family, home, and job
• Given overall voter apathy in the political arena, people are, perhaps, less likely to involve themselves in this arena
• Even if electorate became highly involved in technological concerns...

"No system of guiding technology will guarantee a utopia." (page 402)

The Challenges of The Future

Shift Happens 2015: https://youtu.be/wMB77eJPYs8

Some general predictions:

• Transportation and electronic communication will continue to bring the world closer together.
• Computers will have massive memories, putting TONS of info at people's fingertips.
• Microprocessors will result in the redesigning of existing objects: 3-D printers, nano-technology.
• Applications of Artificial Intelligence will improve and alter just about everything we do.
• Genetic engineering is allowing for the design of Human Beings.
• How Much of Hunmanity is in Your Hemishpere?
  
  Watch human population grow from 1 CE to present and see projected growth in under six minutes. One dot = 1 million people. Video via WorldPopulationHistory.org. (WorldPopulationHistory)

BUT...

• Technology is a human creation and we have a responsibility to direct its course.
• One challenge to this is a lack of a knowledgeable citizenry.

"If we think [the people] not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion." Thomas Jefferson (quoted in Volti, page 403).

Questions (pages 403-404):

1. Do you think that the government should establish an agency similar to Japan's METI as a way of stimulating technological advance? What obstacles would such an agency confront in the American political climate?
2. Very few elected officials in America have professional training in science or technology. Does this inhibit the effective governance of science and technology? Do you think that American government would be substantially different if most senators and representatives previously worked as scientists or engineers instead of as lawyers, as is the case today?
3. Can you think of any potentially important technologies that have languished because they have lacked political support? How could they gain this support?
4. What is your definition of democracy? On the whole, has technological advance increased or decreased the amount of democratic participation in modem society?
5. In the text it is argued that citizen involvement in local issues will aid in the democratic shaping of technology. But local concerns have at times blocked technologies such as wind power installations that may contribute to the general good. Is it possible to address local concerns when pursuing projects that may benefit the nation as a whole?
6. Which emerging technologies will have the greatest impact on life during the opening decades of this century? Will they have any unfortunate consequences? Should the government restrict or prevent any of them? Do you intend to exert any influence over these decisions? How will you do it?

• Back to Chapter 18
• Back to the impact of Organizations (Chapter 19)
• Back to the Role of Experts
• Chapter 6: Technology and the Environment

URL: http://www.umsl.edu/~keelr/280/soctechchange/soctech20.htm
Owner: Robert O. Keel: rok@umsl.edu
Last Updated: Monday, March 7, 2016 11:58