People and Machine

This is an age of machine. Machine has acquired a high priority in the modern era. It has come to occupy a place of major importance in the life of man. In all spheres and walks of life machine comes to the aid of man. Right from the time of waking up in the morning till going to bed at night, man continues to make use of some machine or the other. In short, machine has come to stay as an indispensable instrument of considerable assistance to man at every step.

Countless are the uses which machine has conferred upon man. For example, machine has helped in making man modern and civilized. Machine always brings precision and accuracy into making of articles.

Machine-made articles are also fairly cheaper than those of human handiwork. This is evident from the fact that the human hand requires plenty of time in preparing an article, machine, on the other hand, requires considerably less time. Machines turn out articles in an astonishingly short period.

Machine has reduced the toil and sweat of the laborer. Formerly, when there were no machines, human beings had to work breathlessly in the severities of weather to produce articles. Some articles need tempering under too high or too low temperature. Machine produce numerous articles while a human being, unaided by machine, can produces only very little. However, a machine, attended to by only one man can produce several articles without any difficulty. The attendant is there only to regulate the working of machine. He has not to undergo any stresses or strains which man had to bear formerly. Thus, man has benefited much on this score.

Advance countries send technical experts to less advanced or undeveloped countries for manning technical or teaching posts. Machine thus provides the wherewithal for an emotional amity and co-operation.

Again, machine is responsible for progress and prosperity in the present-day world. It is well-known that countries, which have taken a lead in the matter of machine, are fare ahead of others. Russia, the U.S.A., the U.K., and some other western countries have become considerably advanced, only because of the great progress in scientific and technical spheres. They have taken strides during the twentieth century in the field of machine. Machine is thus the source of wealth and prosperity and helps in eradicating poverty and misery. It is for this reason that western countries are prosperous.

But machine has done a great damage, too, to mankind. It is chiefly machine that is responsible for materialism which m arks the present-day world. The idea is that machine had led man to become very materialistic and forgetful of other human qualities. Money has become the be-all and end-all of everything. Man is now a selfish, arrogant and snobbish creature, forgetful of the misery of fellow human beings. Human values like courtesy, helpful attitude, pity and sympathy have gradually gone into the background.

Machine has led to disputes between man and man. Every man now wants to a mass wealth by harassing and exploiting others to the best of his capacity. The modern capitalist, for example, wishes to victimize his labourers to the utmost. Labour-capitalist conflicts are quite well known to the present day world. However, the worst evil of machine is that it has made the rich richer, and the laborer very poor and this lacuna is a threat as it will expand.

Since machine has generally led to prosperity and awakening and has given man the time for other pursuits, man has taken more interest in politics. This is evident from the history of mankind during the past one or two centuries.

Machine is highly responsible for the evil of unemployment that prevails now. The monster of unemployment refuses to come under control. This is because formerly everybody remained busy in producing some article or the other, but now machine has taken the place of man and, in general, one machine can do as much work as hundreds or thousands of men can do. Machine has also given a death blow to fine arts. Painting, dancing, music and other arts are now fast declining. It is feared that in course of time these valuable human gems will show further decline since man is getting more busy with industrial and mechanical work. Artistic excellences attained by man till now are likely to deteriorate.

The problem is not with the machine: it is with the man who allows himself to become mechanical. People work on machines all day long. Many of these people have worked on a single machine for some years. The longer the people have worked on a single machine, the more they become adept in the use of the machine. When the time comes for a more advanced machine to be installed, such as a computer, the worker may not be able to cope with the massive change.
The computer is an example of a new machine that has created new jobs while driving out workers who were either unwilling or unable to deal with the new technology. Computers have drastically changed many of the jobs on the market.
Twenty years ago you could leave high school and become a car mechanic without any knowledge of computers, but now you must have a college degree to do any car work. The workers need to be able to change and adapt to the new technology they are confronted with. What would have happened if the early sailors would not have learned how to use a steam engine? Airplane pilots had to learn how to fly with jet engines instead of propellers. Navigation, engine control, oil pressure, and various other components of the vehicle rely on the computer. Workers can become so mechanical in their job process that they could do it with their eyes closed, and have actually become a machine themselves. As technology increases at a rapid pace, workers will not be able to become mechanical machines at a job.

Over the years, man has come up with countless inventions, each more resourceful than the last. However, as the computer age continues, mankind is threatened. Ridiculous, some may say, but I say look around! The computer has already begun to control so many of the vital functions that man has prided himself upon before. Our lives are now dependent on a computer and what it tells you. Even now, I type this essay on a computer, trusting that it will produce a result far superior to what I can do with my own to hands.

It has been commonly said that the computer can never replace the human brain, for it is humans that created them. Is this a good reason why the computer must be inferior to humans? Even if we just focus on a single creation of man, say the subject of this essay, the computer, there are many ways in which the computer has the edge over man. The computer has the capability to evaluate problems that man can hardly even imagine, let alone approach. Even if a man can calculate the same problems as a computer, the computer can do it faster than he can possibly accomplish. Say this man can calculate as fast as a computer, but can he achieve a 100% rate of accuracy in his calculation? Why do we now go over the human data entry into a computer when a mistake is noticed instead of checking the computer? It is because computers now possess the ability to hold no error in its operation, where mankind has not advanced in this area at all.