Nonhuman Technology Research Paper

Rhashequa Downs
Prof. John Johnson
SOC 110HA

Journal Entry 3
Nonhuman Technologies This dialog will cover Ritzers discussion on Control: Human and Nonhuman Robots. Nonhuman technology is when a machine replaces a human employee, the control comes in when the companies try to control the customer actions by their response to the machine. The businesses try to predict an outcome because the machine is programmed to one task, therefore they will be able to predict how a customer will react.
The control of humans by nonhuman technology is growing. Employers are seeking to have control over people with these technologies. This technique implements replacing people with machines. Businesses expect there to be less mess ups
in the systems, and be able to predict the reaction of consumers to these machines. It may seem rational to put machines in place of humans, to increase productivity, less miss haps, the ability to control the working environment, and less cost. Replacing nonhuman for humans is irrational. First the machines can bread down or have a malfunction that is not easily fixable, the company will still have to call in a human to fix the machine that replaced a human. A problem such as this will not only slow production, but if the problem is severe enough a company may have to shut down for a day or two.
Ritzer points out how nonhuman technology is not only to control customers, but it is to control employees.
The control comes in when a workers job is being threatened by being replaced by a machine. If the employee has frequent foul ups, in productivity, or with the system they can be replaced. In a case such as this the employee will work harder to have less mess ups, which can cause loss in the quality of work. Mistakes are bound to happen they are unavoidable with human workers; however in nonhuman technology there can be miss haps as well such as a machine not functioning properly. For example let us look at online education, you have to log into what is called a blackboard. You have to log in so many hours each week, and hand in assignments through this system. Imagine the system is down you cannot hand in assignments, or log in your class hours. This can cause you to fall behind in work, and you have to wait for technical support to fix the issue. Regular maintenance would have to be done which can be costly. The same would have to go for nonhuman technology. A regular maintenance of the machines would have to be done in order to try to make sure they function properly. That still does not guarantee it will not break
down.
I now do a lot of my banking online or over the phone. Now with nonhuman technology in play you do not have to go into the banks any longer. You can make cash deposits through the ATM, you can get your bank statements email to you, I remember when your bank would know you personally by name even, it was welcoming. Now everything is done by machines, I was even offered to open an account with my bank right over the phone. I believe with the banking systems changing tellers may become obsolete. With this system the control is shown over the employee and customers. The employee because their jobs are in jeopardy of being replaced by machine, and the customer by having their banking needs met by a machine. They will not have to go into a bank. It seems as if living like the jetsons is not far-fetched anymore.
I completely agree with Ritzers discussion, nonhuman technologies are controlling over the customer and employee.

Works Cited
Ritzer, George. "Control: Human and Nonhuman Robots." The McDonaldization of Society. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2013. 102-03. Print.