American's most challenging game show Jeopardy! introduced a different kind of technology to the world; they called it Watson. This computer, designed by IBM, was created as an experiment to test computer intelligence against human knowledge. With this, the goal of IBM was to create a machine that could defeat the most intelligent opponents in a game of Jeopardy! IBM was very successful and proved that computers do have the potential to be smarter and think more efficiently than the human brain. So what does this all mean? Inventors and scientists are constantly advancing technologies in hopes to better the efficiency and happiness of society. However, these advancements are changing the ways humans evolve on a physical and mental basis. Thus, the emergence of AI should be closely monitored and considered as it becomes more prominent in all aspects of society.  

The progression of advancements in technology forces the human body to negatively adapt. Specifically, the daily technology that people use is changing the structure of their bodies and the results are permanent. Arthritis is one of the many problems that result from frequent mobile device use. Moreover, research has proven that children who are found constantly texting and playing on cellphones suffer joint pain in their fingers and wrists (Illiades). On a larger scale, teens are also found constantly using their cellphones spending an "average 95 minutes of texting every day" (Illiades). A specific case where a 48 year old man, who texted an average amount daily, developed severe pain in his left and right thumb (Ming et al). X-rays then showed "tenderness over both of the first carpometacarpal joints (CMCJ) and positive grind test of right side" (Ming et al). The doctors could not explain any other reason to why the man had severe joint problems other than the overuse of his thumbs during the movement of texting. Texting, although seems harmless and fun, should be reconsidered in its quantity in order to avoid these serious effects.

The dangers of texting also extend to simply looking at a cellphone. Surgeon Kenneth Hansraj discovered that the tilt of a person's head while looking at a cellphone is 60 degrees, which puts 60 pounds of pressure on the neck (Holmes). In other words, each degree the head tilts is another pound on the neck. This scientific idea accounts for issues beyond just cellphone users. Moreover, any employee who works on a computer is a victim to this injury; even a person looking down reading a book is a subject to this idea. However, this phenomenon is more problematic in technology because there is increase of time put into these devices. Thus, the extra pressure on the neck for extended time can lead to a misalignment known as Forward Head Posture (Goldschmidt). In turn, FHP can lead to "neck and shoulder pain, headaches, impaired nerve function and decreased lung capacity"(Goldschmidt). Cellphones and tablets encourage this problematic behavior and significantly affect the health of users. Repetitive technology use is countlessly seen changing the physical properties of humans, which disrupts the functions the body is evolved to perform. In addition, technology's fault extends farther than what scientists can see.  

Scientists have been able to observe that technology is changing how the brain thinks. It is said that attention is "a highly malleable quality and most directly influenced by the environment in which it is used" (Taylor). In the past before advanced technology was created, people were consumed in a reading environment. This domain "encouraged our brains to be focused and imaginative" because there were no other distractions (Taylor). However, the attentiveness of individuals have changed because television "[offered] children visual stimuli, fragmented attention, and little need for imagination" (Taylor). In other words, television took away the need to envision a story because it was already displayed.  Consequently, removing the need of any imagination. 

The television is just one example of a tool that can be placed into the category of technology that Tim Wu has reasoned "convenience technology" (Wu). These being inventions that "require little concentrated effort and yield predictable results" are what classify technology as convenient (Wu). Television, along with many other frequent products, is a convenient technology that leaves individuals unable to fail. These technologies, which do not require any intelligence or focus, are detrimental to society because they do not serve a purpose other than making subjects negligent but entertained. Thus, one could argue that the Internet is a tool people use for quick answers. The easier these answers become to find, the quantity of simple questions increase, leaving society "plagued by a tyranny of tiny tasks, individually simple but collectively oppressive" (Wu). This entertains individuals entertained by forming and finding the solutions to questions because the answer only takes one Google search. 

The Internet achieves its purpose for convenience, but may not be the most valuable for an individual because it hinders cognition. In other words, "reading uninterrupted text results in faster completion and better understanding, recall, and learning than those who read text filled with hyperlinks and ads" as seen on the Internet (Taylor). Uninterrupted texts are original printed books or papers that have been provided by the publisher. As mentioned previously, those who read books are more attentive because they have to focus on illuminating the text. Hyperlinks and ads distract readers from fully focusing on understanding the text, then increasing the time it takes to read it. Secondly, reading online "is almost always accompanied by numbers representing volumes of Facebook "likes," Twitter mentions, readers' comments," which distracts a reader from interpreting a text independently. By subconsciously knowing other's thoughts and the popularity of a text, readers lose their sense of isolation in reading. This then makes people read less efficiently and less likely to create a personal meaning of the text. 

Beyond changing the brain's thought process, advanced technologies can encourage unhealthy habits and mental illness. For one, constant cellphone use is mentally harmful for users. It is seen in society that "cell phones have become the 'acceptable' addiction" (Jackson). The reason why it is now considered acceptable is that "the main characteristic of addiction is the loss of control over a particular behavior" (Jackson). This means that this addiction affects an enormous amount people because so many unconsciously reach for their phones and cannot help but to check them ever so often. Chemically, it is seen "that brains get a hit of dopamine as soon as a person's phone gives off a chirp, ring or vibration," which could conclude why people are addicted to their phones (Jackson). Along with constant phone use, a research experiment was performed on 28 adults, where the participant's phones were chipped to track phone use (Jackson). Along with this, participants completed a depression diagnoses exam and the results show the people who spent more time of their phones ranked higher towards depression. Thus, being more connected through technology makes individuals unhappy. 

However, cellphones currently offer more than just texting and calling but also access to social media cites. Again, scans show that when a person posts on Facebook, the dopamine reward pathway is triggered (Vedwan). This dopamine release could signal that social media is just as addictive as cellphones. The University of Bergen concluded that all adolescents are "venerable to social media addiction" (Al-Khatib). Moreover, this falls under the constant urge to check a Facebook or Instagram and not even realizing it. The University of Glasgow performed many experiments and found that "social media use ...  led to poorer sleep quality, lower self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety" (Al-Khatib). Many teenagers believe that social media makes their lives worse because they are constantly comparing themselves to their peers (Al-Khatib). By being more connected on social media websites, people can view one another's profile. This leaves people to be constantly aware of other people and subconsciously compare them to one's self. Moreover, "a Stanford study of undergraduates finds that usage of social media promoted feelings of inadequacy and unhappiness" because people become addicted making differentiations. In turn, social media is doing more harm than good because of its addictive qualities and the negative baggage that comes with it. 

Technology is already hindering human evolution, thus society should be cautious of the emergence Artificial Intelligence. AI sets itself apart from other technologies because it is "teaching computers to think for themselves and improvise solutions to common problems" (Clark). To put it simply, technology that has the thought process similar to the brain. Currently, the AI that exists on the Internet is called neural nets and they function in search engines (Metz). Neural nets use algorithms to learn about an individual by analyzing what they search on the Internet and "tools such as the "like" button on Facebook, the '+1' button on Google+, or "retweeting" on Twitter" (Brossard). With this information, neural nets "[provide]  ...  automated services such as Google News to spot the most popular stories on the web and to feature them in a prominent fashion" on almost every website of that individual's browser (Brossard). This AI studies individuals by what they search on the Internet and uses it against them through advertisements. Neural nets were created to understand a searcher better than he/she knows him/herself. Once the neural nets accomplish enough information about a person, the search engines begin to offer search phrases and products to buy. Neural nets are manipulating people through these search engines and interrupting the privacy an individual believes he/she has. Reading online, as mentioned before, leaves people accompanied with hyperlinks and comments of others. The development of AI would be a third body to add to the Internet because it is alive and working towards an individual. 

AI is an inevitable invention that will be prominent in society. However, if humans become aware of the dangers of technology and practice limiting them, technology like AI could be very beneficial to society. AI methods, as seen on the Internet, are beginning to extend to every smart phone. The invention of cloud infrastructures and other inexpensive software makes neural networks much more affordable to develop (Clark). Thus, MIT created an AI known as Eyeriss, which is small enough to function in every smartphone (Figas). Eyeriss is made up of cores and each of them "has its own memory, and compresses data whenever it leaves" (Figas). Moreover, the cores can take information and compress it's answers small enough to stay within the phone. Because the cores retain this information, cellphones no longer have to search the Internet for answers because cores have the ability to communicate with another to compute an answer (Figas). Apple's Siri is a smaller, less advanced version of Eyeriss. When Siri is confronted with a question it does not have the answer, it immediately asks the user to use the information provided on the Internet. Eyeriss, when confronted with an unknown question, would not refer to the Internet and, instead, reason within the cores. Eyeriss's efficiency becomes beneficial because it saves battery and generates answers quicker for users. However, Eyeriss is left the responsibility of creating answers. The Internet only holds information created by humans. Thus, if humans completely rely on AI and trust in its abilities, than human intelligence becomes irrelevant. 

Although AI cannot be stopped in its entrance into society, humans need to learn to control where AI exists. Moreover, it would be unethical to prevent AI in entering fields where it could crucially help humans. IBM created an AI known as Watson and is currently being designed to work in the medical field to help professionals with accuracy. Doctors are human, therefore make mistakes and "about one-third of these errors appear to be products of misdiagnosis, one cause of which is "anchoring bias": human beings' tendency to rely too heavily on a single piece of information" (Kohn). In other words, doctors may not consider the most rare diagnoses, leading to their mistake. However, Watson has the ability to process up to 60 million pages of text per second making it the most efficient machine ever invented (Kohn). With this, Watson would rank every possibility in a patient that it learned from all the information processed (Kohn). Doctors have most likely learned all the possibilities but anchoring bias proves that humans tend to decide on the most common possibilities. By adding Watson into the medical field, doctors would have an outlet to check their own knowledge against a smart computer. Furthermore, Watson's ability to use information to deductively find answers opens another perspective for research. For example, humans could have found data and equations to solve cancer but have not organized it into a complete answer. AI like Watson would be able to match this information together to find the solution through its algorithms of reasoning. 

Technology as a whole is very beneficial for society. However, technology can damage the human individual in ways that cannot be reversed. Hence, people must change how they use technology so that it is both beneficial for the individual and the population. First, inventions and advancements should consider the definition of technology being that is the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry. The idea of "practical purposes" should be considered when dealing with the ethics of technology growth. Whether technology advancements are reasonable or not, it is important to consider it's purpose in society in its functionalism.  

Additionally, convenient technology advancements should be kept to a minimum while the quantity of demanding technology can flourish. Something can be considered demanding technology if that it "takes time to master, whose usage is highly occupying, and whose operation includes some real risk of failure" (Wu). Examples of demanding technologies include pianos and frying pans (Wu). Demanding technologies encourages individuals to work hard towards a goal and take a risk in doing so. Convenient technologies take away the triumph of activities and, thus, take away the satisfaction and knowledge that accompanies life's hardships. The cellphone is an example of a convenient technology because it is something that all people can comprehend and was intended to make communication among individuals easier. Writing letters as a form of communication forces individuals to master formal writing and better handwriting while still completely the same goal of cellphones. 

Advancements in technology are beneficial for the whole community. However, when these technologies become too convenient, the individual evolves with negative habits and features. It must be considered how each invention functions and benefits society while acknowledging its negative effects too. With this, it can be determined which technologies help society but weaken the individual. These technologies must be recognized and reconsidered how it is used and the quantity of this use. Thus, all technologies should be used in moderation. In doing so, society will be more cautious and aware of developments in AI. AI has the potential to hold too much power based on its self-driven updates and people should be aware where its power is represented. Watson opened a very dangerous door of technology that can easily be abused by inventors and scientists. It is the responsibility of all humans to make sure AI remains as an asset of humans and not become the prominent ruling species. 

