Idea of Progress terminale S

Anglais LV2 « IDEA OF PROGRESS » FICHE NOTION In a first place we can define progress as an improvement, a development or a change like a technical, scientist or social advance which contributes to making the world a better place. What effect does this progress have on our society? Does it have a positive or a negative effect? Firstly, I will illustrate this notion with a report of the CBS News an American news channel, which consists of a presentation of Amazon’s robots: the KIVA robots used by Amazon in fulfillment centers. It is a little orange robot equipped by motion sensors to detect obstacles and which is able to bring the shelves and the items directly to the workers. Before the Kiva robots, the workers used to walk the warehouse’s aisles, picking up these items. With them, Amazon has improved efficiency by 20%, but above all, they have replaced human beings into difficult works or boring labors. It helps people in their jobs. So, this document is a pertinent example of the technological progress at the service of social advance at work. Then, according to a recent issue of Time Magazine, children born today could to live to be 142 years old. Significant advancements in health care, such as regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies, will clearly be a foundational element upon which this projection is brought into fruition. Many reasons explain why this baby may extend the frontiers of longevity: thanks to medical progress of course, especially in research to heal diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer’s. Moreover, thanks to selective breeding and PGD which will eradicate genetic dideases, children will be healthier and will live longer. Technological breakthroughs will assist these children in their daily life, and avoid them to arduous tasks. Consequently, this document illustrates very well the notion: science will help human beings to have a better and longer life. By another way, technological and scientist progress give cause of concern. Therefore, I will talk about a Washington Post’s article published in April 2013, which details how most of schools and American states have decided to stop teaching handwriting and cursive written in elementary schools. The people testifying in this article explain that they prepare children better to face the future: mastering technology is a necessary skill. Nonetheless the article highlights many paradoxes which illustrate the negative aspect of the progress. On the one way, the use of technological devices at school shows how technology used in education is a good thing to be more prepared to live in modern societies, but on the other hand, it’s proved that students who use cursive handwriting perform better during their tests. Moreover, this new educative method worries because in the future, American citizens will not be able to decipher hand-written historical documents such as The Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. In my opinion, hand-writing is a fancy skill, and everybody has his/her own writing, it’s a form of individuality in a conformist world built by the GAFA. I consider that write make all of us kind of artists, in addition, write is a good way of memorization. And this document is a relevant one which shows risks of an excessive use of technology. Similarly, an article published in September 2014, by Nick Bilton in the NyTimes which consists of a Steve Jobs’ interview revealing that he was a low-tech parent. In the article, we learn that most CEOs of the Silicon Valley are weary about new technologies. They all tend to limit the amount of time that their children spend at home on devices. These high-tech specialists are especially aware of the dangers related to screens, in particular: internet addiction, nomophobia, online harassment and exposure to violent content and pornography. Indeed, new technologies and technological devices represent progress and evolution of information access, entertainment; they can also be the origin of dependence or social exclusion. In my opinion, the using of these technologies isn’t a dangerous thing itself. However it’s true that a bad using can lead to severe consequence: it’s the negative effect of the progress. To conclude, progress evolved every time. No matter the domain, we create, discoverer and change things. However we should keep in mind that like in everything, there are advantages and inconvenients. We must also not forget the moral aspect or consequences that the progress can have on people too. I have the feeling that it must have a limit based firstly on respect of living beings.