paper 2- assignment 5

Both the novel Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut and Technology: The Emergencies of a hazardous Concept, by Leo Marx bring up interesting points about technology. Vonnegut writes about a machines taking over the U.S. society and Marx writes about how technology is becoming way too advanced. Both of these sources connect because if technology keeps advancing, something could eventually be created that lessens the need for human labor.

The novel, Player Piano, is set in the United States in the future. The U.S. society is highly technologically advanced and most human labor is eliminated because of the use of machines. Engineers keep the society running and they regulate the machinery that is being used. Eventually a conflict between the upper class, the engineers, and the lower class emerges. The lower class is upset because they were replaced and their jobs were taken over by machines. Paul Proteus is the leader of the rebellion against the machine society and eventually they are able to defeat the machine society. The title Player Piano is used because it was one of the first applications of automation being used.

Nye writes about Player Piano in Chapter 7, Work More or Less, Better or Worse. He uses this example because he was talking about our society being taken over by the use of machines and other forms of technology. Nye states that “Vonnegut depicted a future in which most people are idle, purposeless, and powerless” (121). The fear of machines taking over the need for human labor was a major concern from 1930-1980 (120).Vonnegut wrote player piano in 1952 to show what could become of the American society if everyone’s fears came true. But some jobs have already been taken over by the use of machinery. Assembly lines were created to make jobs go faster. The need for human labor did not disappear because of the use of assembly lines and other technology. In Piano Player, people were watched over by the engineers and they were taken care of and given what they needed to survive. But there was a rebellion because not everyone was content with this situation. A society like the one is player piano would not be possible because I don’t think people could live an idle life without a purpose or power. But new technology is always being created so, could something that took over the need for human labor eventually be created?

Technology: The Emergence of a Hazardous Concept, is about things that go wrong with technology. Marx discusses how technology is a threat to society because people have turned technology into something apart from people who invent it. He sees technology as something that is outside of society’s control.

Nye writes about Marx in the Chapter 1 of Technology Matter. Nye discusses what technology and what type of objects can be considered technology. Technology: The emergence of a Hazardous Concept, was used because Marx describes how technology is becoming so advanced that is could cause problems in our society. Technology has become so advanced because people in our society have made it that way. Nye also used this novel as an example because Mark’s discusses how technology is getting out society’s control because it is getting so advanced and eventually most people will not understand how to use it.