Editing Technology (section)

==Impact==
{{main|Technology and society}}
Technological change is the largest cause of long-term economic growth.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Solow |first=Robert M. |date=1957 |title=Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1926047 |journal=The Review of Economics and Statistics |volume=39 |issue=3 |pages=312–320 |doi=10.2307/1926047 |jstor=1926047 |issn=0034-6535 |access-date=15 January 2023 |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115022751/https://www.jstor.org/stable/1926047 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bresnahan |first1=Timothy F. |last2=Trajtenberg |first2=M. |date=1 January 1995 |title=General purpose technologies 'Engines of growth'? |journal=Journal of Econometrics |volume=65 |issue=1 |pages=83–108 |doi=10.1016/0304-4076(94)01598-T |issn=0304-4076|doi-access=free }}</ref> Throughout human history, energy production was the main constraint on [[economic development]], and new technologies allowed humans to significantly increase the amount of available energy'''.''' First came fire, which made edible a wider variety of foods, and made it less physically demanding to digest them. Fire also enabled [[smelting]], and the use of [[tin]], copper, and iron tools, used for hunting or [[tradesman]]ship. Then came the agricultural revolution: humans no longer needed to [[Hunter-gatherer|hunt or gather]] to survive, and began to settle in towns and cities, forming more complex societies, with [[militaries]] and more organized forms of religion.<ref name=":10">{{Cite journal |last=Wrigley |first=E. A |date=13 March 2013 |title=Energy and the English Industrial Revolution |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |volume=371 |issue=1986 |page=20110568 |doi=10.1098/rsta.2011.0568|pmid=23359739 |bibcode=2013RSPTA.37110568W |s2cid=10624423 |doi-access=free }}</ref><!-- paragraph is not done (obviously stops abruptly) -->

Technologies have contributed to human welfare through increased prosperity, improved comfort and quality of life, and [[Health technology|medical progress]], but they can also disrupt existing social hierarchies, cause pollution, and harm individuals or groups.

Recent years have brought about a rise in social media's cultural prominence, with potential repercussions on democracy, and economic and social life. Early on, the internet was seen as a "liberation technology" that would democratize knowledge, improve access to education, and promote democracy. Modern research has turned to investigate the internet's downsides, including disinformation, polarization, hate speech, and propaganda.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-media-and-democracy/E79E2BBF03C18C3A56A5CC393698F117 |title=Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform |date=2020 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1108835558 |editor-last=Persily |editor-first=Nathaniel |series=SSRC Anxieties of Democracy |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/9781108890960 |hdl=11245.1/cf2f5b6a-8dc8-4400-bc38-3317b0164499 |s2cid=243715477 |editor-last2=Tucker |editor-first2=Joshua A. |access-date=19 October 2022 |archive-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019091703/https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/social-media-and-democracy/E79E2BBF03C18C3A56A5CC393698F117 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Since the 1970s, technology's impact on the environment has been [[Criticism of technology|criticized]], leading to a surge in investment in [[Solar power|solar]], [[Wind power|wind]], and other forms of [[clean energy]].

=== Social ===

==== Jobs ====
Since the invention of the wheel, technologies have helped increase humans' economic output. Past automation has both substituted and complemented labor; machines replaced humans at some lower-paying jobs (for example in agriculture), but this was compensated by the creation of new, higher-paying jobs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Autor|first=D. H.|year=2015|title=Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace|journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives|volume=29|number=3|pages=3–30|doi=10.1257/jep.29.3.3 |url=https://economics.mit.edu/files/11563|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901060615/http://economics.mit.edu/files/11563 |archive-date=1 September 2022 |doi-access=free|hdl=1721.1/109476|hdl-access=free}}</ref> Studies have found that computers did not create significant net [[technological unemployment]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bessen |first=J. E. |date=3 October 2016 |title=How Computer Automation Affects Occupations: Technology, Jobs, and Skills |journal=Economic Perspectives on Employment & Labor Law EJournal. |volume=15{{hyphen}}49 |location=Rochester, NY |doi=10.2139/ssrn.2690435 |ssrn=2690435 |s2cid=29968989 |url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/813 |access-date=20 January 2024 |archive-date=10 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310050823/https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/813/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Due to [[artificial intelligence]] being far more capable than computers, and still being in its infancy, it is not known whether it will follow the same trend; the question has been debated at length among economists and policymakers. A 2017 survey found no clear consensus among economists on whether AI would increase long-term unemployment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 2017 |title=Robots and Artificial Intelligence |url=https://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/robots-and-artificial-intelligence/ |access-date=17 September 2022 |website=igmchicago.org |publisher=[[Initiative on Global Markets]] |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920171212/https://www.igmchicago.org/surveys/robots-and-artificial-intelligence/ |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the [[World Economic Forum]]'s "The Future of Jobs Report 2020", AI is predicted to replace 85 million jobs worldwide, and create 97&nbsp;million new jobs by 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2020 |title=The Future of Jobs Report 2020 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf |access-date=16 January 2022 |website=www3.weforum.org |archive-date=15 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115173909/https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Robots and AI Taking Over Jobs: What to Know {{!}} Built In |url=https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-replacing-jobs-creating-jobs |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=builtin.com |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116171804/https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-replacing-jobs-creating-jobs |url-status=live }}</ref> From 1990 to 2007, a study in the U.S. by [[MIT]] economist [[Daron Acemoglu]] showed that an addition of one robot for every 1,000 workers decreased the [[employment-to-population ratio]] by 0.2%, or about 3.3 workers, and lowered wages by 0.42%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How many jobs do robots really replace? |url=https://news.mit.edu/2020/how-many-jobs-robots-replace-0504 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=MIT News {{!}} Massachusetts Institute of Technology |date=4 May 2020 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116171803/https://news.mit.edu/2020/how-many-jobs-robots-replace-0504 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Acemoglu |first1=Daron |last2=Restrepo |first2=Pascual |date=1 June 2020 |title=Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/705716 |journal=Journal of Political Economy |volume=128 |issue=6 |pages=2188–2244 |doi=10.1086/705716 |hdl=1721.1/130324 |s2cid=7468879 |issn=0022-3808 |hdl-access=free |access-date=16 January 2023 |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116171811/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/705716 |url-status=live }}</ref> Concerns about technology replacing human labor however are long-lasting. As US president [[Lyndon Johnson]] said in 1964, "Technology is creating both new opportunities and new obligations for us, opportunity for greater productivity and progress; obligation to be sure that no workingman, no family must pay an unjust price for progress." upon signing the National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress bill.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Remarks Upon Signing Bill Creating the National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress. {{!}} The American Presidency Project |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-bill-creating-the-national-commission-technology-automation-and |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116174700/https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-upon-signing-bill-creating-the-national-commission-technology-automation-and |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 1966 |title=Technology and the American Economy |url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED023803.pdf |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=files.eric.ed.gov |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116174655/https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED023803.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=If Robots Take Our Jobs, Will They Make It Up to Us? |url=https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/if-robots-take-our-jobs-will-they-make-it-us |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=The University of Chicago Booth School of Business |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325132904/https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/if-robots-take-our-jobs-will-they-make-it-us |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=GovInfo |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/STATUTE-78/STATUTE-78-Pg462 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=www.govinfo.gov n |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116174655/https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/STATUTE-78/STATUTE-78-Pg462 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1963 |title=H.R.11611 – An Act to establish a National Commission on Technology, Automation, and Economic Progress |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/88th-congress/house-bill/11611/text |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=www.congress.gov |archive-date=16 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230116180845/https://www.congress.gov/bill/88th-congress/house-bill/11611/text |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Security ====
With the growing reliance of technology, there have been security and privacy concerns along with it. Billions of people use different online payment methods, such as [[WeChat Pay]], [[PayPal]], [[Alipay]], and much more to help transfer money. Although security measures are placed, some criminals are able to bypass them.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Elizabeth |author1-link=Elizabeth Rosenberg |last2=Harrell |first2=Peter E. |last3=Shiffman |first3=Gary M. |last4=Dorshimer |first4=Sam |date=2019 |title=Financial Technology and National Security |publisher=Center for a New American Security |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep20404 |access-date=19 January 2023 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119140345/https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep20404 |url-status=live }}</ref> In March 2022, North Korea used [[Blender.io]], a [[Cryptocurrency tumbler|mixer]] which helped them to hide their cryptocurrency exchanges, to launder over $20.5&nbsp;million in cryptocurrency, from [[Axie Infinity]], and steal over $600&nbsp;million worth of cryptocurrency from the game's owner. Because of this, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Blender.io, which marked the first time it has taken action against a mixer, to try to crack down on North Korean hackers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. takes aim at North Korean crypto laundering |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/us-takes-aim-north-korean-crypto-laundering-rcna27660 |access-date=19 January 2023 |website=NBC News |date=6 May 2022 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119140345/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/us-takes-aim-north-korean-crypto-laundering-rcna27660 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. ties North Korean hacker group to Axie Infinity crypto theft |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/north-korea-lazarus-axie-infinity-crypto-theft-rcna24518 |access-date=19 January 2023 |website=NBC News |date=15 April 2022 |archive-date=19 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119140346/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/north-korea-lazarus-axie-infinity-crypto-theft-rcna24518 |url-status=live }}</ref> The privacy of cryptocurrency has been debated. Although many customers like the privacy of cryptocurrency, many also argue that it needs more transparency and stability.<ref name=":11" />

=== Environmental ===
Technology can have both positive and negative effects on the environment. [[Environmental technology]], describes an array of technologies which seek to reverse, mitigate or halt environmental damage to the environment. This can include measures to [[Pollution prevention program|halt pollution]] through environmental regulations, capture and storage of pollution, or using pollutant byproducts in other industries.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Austin |first1=David |last2=Macauley |first2=Molly K. |author2-link=Molly K. Macauley |date=1 December 2001 |title=Cutting Through Environmental Issues: Technology as a double-edged sword |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cutting-through-environmental-issues-technology-as-a-double-edged-sword/ |access-date=10 February 2023 |website=Brookings |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209002853/https://www.brookings.edu/articles/cutting-through-environmental-issues-technology-as-a-double-edged-sword/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other examples of environmental technology include [[deforestation]] and the reversing of deforestation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grainger |first1=Alan |last2=Francisco |first2=Herminia A. |last3=Tiraswat |first3=Penporn |date=July 2003 |title=The impact of changes in agricultural technology on long-term trends in deforestation |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837703000097 |journal=The International Journal Covering All Aspects of Land Use |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=209–223 |doi=10.1016/S0264-8377(03)00009-7 |bibcode=2003LUPol..20..209G |via=Elsevier Science Direct |access-date=10 February 2023 |archive-date=10 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210214149/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0264837703000097 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Emerging technologies in the fields of [[climate engineering]] may be able to halt or reverse global warming and its environmental impacts,<ref>{{cite web|author=EPA|date=19 January 2017|title=Climate Impacts on Ecosystems|url=https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-ecosystems_.html#Extinction|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127185656/https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-ecosystems_.html#Extinction|archive-date=27 January 2018|access-date=5 February 2019|quote=Mountain and arctic ecosystems and species are particularly sensitive to climate change... As ocean temperatures warm and the acidity of the ocean increases, bleaching and coral die-offs are likely to become more frequent.}}</ref> although this remains highly controversial.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=6 November 2017 |title=What is Climate Engineering? |url=https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/what-climate-engineering |access-date=2024-10-28 |website=www.ucsusa.org |language=en |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027225649/https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/what-climate-engineering |url-status=live }}</ref>  As technology has advanced, so too has the negative environmental impact, with increased release of [[greenhouse gas]]es, including [[methane]], [[nitrous oxide]] and [[carbon dioxide]], into the atmosphere, causing the [[greenhouse effect]]. This continues to gradually heat the earth, causing global warming and [[climate change]]. Measures of technological innovation correlates with a rise in greenhouse gas emissions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Chaudhry |first1=Imran Sharif |last2=Ali |first2=Sajid |last3=Bhatti |first3=Shaukat Hussain |last4=Anser |first4=Muhammad Khalid |last5=Khan |first5=Ahmad Imran |last6=Nazar |first6=Raima |date=October 2021 |title=Dynamic common correlated effects of technological innovations and institutional performance on environmental quality: Evidence from East-Asia and Pacific countries |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1462901121001921 |journal=Environmental Science & Policy |volume=124 |issue=Environmental Science & Policy |pages=313–323 |doi=10.1016/j.envsci.2021.07.007 |bibcode=2021ESPol.124..313C |via=Elsevier Science Direct |access-date=14 February 2023 |archive-date=14 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230214142841/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1462901121001921 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==== Pollution ====
Pollution, the presence of contaminants in an environment that causes adverse effects, could have been present as early as the [[Inca Empire]]. They used a [[lead sulfide]] [[Flux (metallurgy)|flux]] in the [[smelting]] of ores, along with the use of a wind-drafted clay [[kiln]], which released lead into the [[atmosphere]] and the [[sediment]] of rivers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smol |first=J. P. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/476272945 |title=Pollution of Lakes and Rivers : a Paleoenvironmental Perspective. |date=2009 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1444307573 |edition=2nd |location=Chichester |page=135 |oclc=476272945 |access-date=14 February 2023 |archive-date=29 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240429043125/https://search.worldcat.org/title/476272945 |url-status=live }}</ref>