The Greeks agreed that the earlier something appears, the later people understand it. As technology appeared in the remote early time of human society thus far people understand it only to a small extent. In the West, technology has been differently appraised, and in history attitudes toward it have undergone diametric changes. Today, worldwide, understandings of technological development and attitudes toward technology in Eastern and Western, developing and advanced, countries are evidently different. Generally speaking, in the West before the 20th century an affirmative view of technology was held by most people, whereas since the beginning of this century an anti-technological view has come to be held more and more by the educated class. However, the developing and underdeveloped countries usually hold favorable views of technology and often take an optimistic attitude toward an ambitious development of technology. This contrast is a remarkable feature of contemporary views of the development of technology.

Despite such different understandings and attitudes to technology, since the 20th century progress and achievement in this one broad field of human activity have surpassed all those attained throughout history. There have been many inventions, including the airplane, rockets and spaceships, electronic techniques, atomic energy, antibiotics, the computer and robots -- even the simulation of the human gene. This has resulted in an unprecedented social situation, at once hopeful and potentially dangerous. All this was inconceivable before this century.

In the middle of the 19th century a splendid accomplishment was attained in modern technology which culminated the modern natural sciences as represented by Newtonian mechanics. At the London Fair of 1851 many novel and striking machines and products were shown in the Crystal palace. This seemed to prove Frances Bacon’s projection that all things could be realized. The American, Edward Bellamy, in his novel, Review, foretold that technology would play the most magnificent and positive role in the ordered society of 2000. Inasmuch as technology has been highly developed and played an unprecedented role in social life in the 20th century, some thinkers have called the 20th century "the beginning of the technological era".

However, while homage was made to these great accomplishments, a warning was issued: "Do not become the slave of technology." The English writer, E. Huxley, in his well-known novel, Brave New World, described a future society fully dominated by technology. In this society, there will be comfort, not poverty and pain, but at the same time there would be no freedom, beauty or initiative, and no private life for individuals. In various science fiction novels, technology began to show its ability to control humans. Those situations in which scientific monsters and robots reigned over the world indirectly reflected the fear of technology. The formerly popular optimistic attitude whereby technology is considered the means for extending human nature and a powerful tool in hands of mankind is onesided at best. The view that technology is neutral does not accord with actuality; the time when technology was considered neutral is gone forever.

The modern progress of technology not only has profoundly influenced nature, but has penetrated all fields of social life, with ever increasing impact on society and its development. Fundamental change is introduced into the productive mode of society and its life. This has profoundly influenced the development of the human being himself, thereby making a deep impression on the interaction between humans and nature and on interpersonal relations, in a word on the comprehensive development of contemporary human life.

The anti-technological tendency is growing primarily because the tremendous destructive power of technological progress during wars constitutes a grave danger to the life environment of humans and to the existence of humans themselves. This is due to such visibly harmful social outcomes caused by technological progress as traffic accidents, pollution of air and water, noise and damage to the ecology environment. These negative effects of technology are at a superficial level but are immediately obvious. At a deeper level the negative effects are mainly the domination of humans by technology and the bondage of their spiritual life and comprehensive development.

Source of inventions: the many inventions and products found in daily life derive from new techniques. For example, the wireless, telephone, telex, television, computer, microwave oven, electric heater, air conditioner, high speed vehicle, high speed locomotive, airplane, etc. These countless new inventions and technological products provide comfort in our daily life.

Source of riches: the progress of science and technology enhances directly the productivity of industry and agriculture, thus increasing the total value of national production and income and improving the national welfare and level of life. The living standard of the American people in 1990 is double that of 1950, which mainly is the result of the development and application of science and technology. The realization of China’s goal of doubling twice the total value of the national product also depends mainly on science and technology.

Creator of miracles: technology is equipment which at the bidding of humans assists in accomplishing human intentions; it enables the realization of miracles inconceivable by previous people by enhancing human abilities.

In contrast to the above, technology is accused of dominating human life and controlling any comprehensive development of humanity. By increasing the limitations on human life and work, technology becomes sovereign over social life. On the production line it is imperative for workers to follow in an absolute manner strict procedures, thereby becoming "part of the machine". In other words, man is not able to master technology, which stands in opposition to him.

Though automation implements the human strength of the worker, the operation of pressing a button reduces the operator to a sense of monotony, suppressing thought and creativity. Man gradually changes into a robot in charge of some operation. Spare time also is limited by technology for one cannot change the programs on radio and TV; fast food and basically homogeneous modes of spending leisure time render daily life dry and lacking in individuality. Technologization of one’s mode of life limits one’s freedom to act and people have to select the technological formulas.

Further, as this effects all the fields of social life it deprives interpersonal relationships of interchange in feelings, mental communication and understanding. The use of socio-psychological consultations and hotlines reflect the weakening of interpersonal communication.

Thirdly, the development of high technologization decreases spiritual and cultural level. In advanced industrialized countries technologization places excessive emphasis on material results, thus relatively reducing the function of spiritual values. For the young this promotes their indulging in material enjoyment while putting aside the spiritual search; it urges paying great care to technological sciences while ignoring the humanities. While new technology and its instruments cause material progress, this is of no help for lasting inquiry into the human spirit and philosophy. Therefore, many religious and moral groups, and even men of ideas, have considered technology a reaction against spiritual life, lowering its quality and that of culture and turning to more superficial modes of intelligence. School examinations using technology allow students only to make choices and fill in elements of knowledge, but not of wisdom.

Especially, the support by society to profit generating technological sciences, technologies and practical knowledge is in striking contrast to the ignoring culture and the fostering of the quality of human life and of the human sciences. Today there is urgent need for strengthening the link between education and the human sciences; indeed, the development of technology should be guided by the human sciences, and thereby humanized.

Lastly, the influence of technology extends to the political field. Decision making is resolved by counting votes, with the result that opportunities for expressing different opinions are limited, communication channels between higher levels and lower levels are blocked, social democracy is weakened, the field of politics is closed, and the tendency of multiplicity is replaced by one of centralization. In sum, there is a "one dimensional society" dominated by technology.

Future society needs alternate orientations, but today we are alienated as thoughtless, non-creative machines, one dimensional robots, lacking individuality in the process of technological progress and automation. We must open once again a world where the existential conditions for human genius are created as conditions for progress towards comprehensive development. The present situation makes people anxious because the former tendencies outweigh these latter ones. It is essential for us to discover the way to overcome the negative effects of technological development and to change and control its direction and development.

The negative effects of technological development in social life force us to reexamine technology. What is its nature; what is its proper definition? Evidently, in our era, when science and technology have such wide and deep influence on the life of society, the instrumentalist definition of technology and the neutral evaluation are quite insufficient. Webster’s New International Dictionary defines technology as "the end of material civilization". There is a similar definition by Immanuel G. Mason who thought of "technology as a system of knowledge for practical purposes", which incorporates intellectual methods, software, hardware, arts and skills for social welfare.

The American National Committee for Science sees technology also as a problem for the social sciences. Therefore its definition explicitly includes the following: "Technology is a system consisting of a series of interconnected inventions, including those involving the treatment of the environment, of which some are social. Philip Breno explains: "By the word "technology", I mean instruments, machines and applied knowledge, and the political relations for which they are used." He agreed with Paul Goodman who thought that, whether or not it is generated by new scientific inquiry, technology forms not only a branch of the physical but of the social sciences, and its assessment should be carried out firmly in accord with social goals. Bukharih definitely saw technology as connected with society: therefore there is no pure technology, only social technology. The dual nature of technology, i.e., its character as art and as social, is the source of both the positive and the negative effects of technology. Before industrialization, the influence of technology on social life was too narrow and superficial to take care of its negative effects; hence it was misunderstood as "neutral". It is not possible to grasp the nature of technology without considering its interconnections.

Werner Heisenberg, the well-known German physician and discoverer of quantum mechanics explained the nature of technology through an analogy with a spider and its web. Like technology the web is a tool, yet the spider lives in that framework (Heiddeger’s Gestell).

The social nature of the interconnection of technology with society suggests that from its beginning technology has existed in a certain social environment, for example, the intervention of state, the influence of public opinion, the decisions of technical experts and the stimulus of economic interests brought by society, etc. Making use of this it is possible to orient the developmental direction of technology.

The key to preventing the alienation of humans in the process of technological development lies in human beings themselves. It is imperative for humankind to turn to itself if it is to avoid the catastrophe caused by the development of technology. This is possible if we attend to the humanization of technology, and direct technological development in terms of the comprehensive development of humankind. In this connection, the pessimism in the 20th century for which technological development has been considered as being against humankind is as naive and one-sided as the optimism of the last century’s Victorians who thought technology would elevate human life to heaven. Heisenberg said to correctly: "The day will perhaps come when the relation of much of technology to the human is necessarily the same as that of a shell to its snail and of a web to its spider, that is, technology becomes part of our organism." Humankind still will be the master, however, for the web can be repaired by the spider.

What should be done comes down to the following three points:

Firstly, a global consensus regarding the general principles of the future development of technology should be attained. As this is a global issue, common opinion in isolated countries is of no use. These principles should include: war should be abandoned, and mass killing and destruction avoided; the ecological environment of humankind should be protected; social problems of the second order should be solved by a humanization of technology. Special institutions are needed to investigate technological problems, taking into account the social factors.

Secondly, it is important for countries and societies to control the direction of technological development. Authoritative institutions must take responsibility for the direction of technological development and decision making regarding important technological projects. These must be constituted of experts in technology and in the social and human sciences who are devoted to the humanization of technology. These experts should be familiar with the general principles of future technological development and its humanization.

Lastly, the education of students must be concerned with the complementarity and fusion of two cultures (liberal arts and physical sciences) and of two trends in ideas (scienticism and humanism). It is essential to strengthen the humanities and social sciences in physical and engineering programs, and for liberal arts students to study the history and philosophy of science and technology. In this way, as Marx said, the two cultures can be integrated in a unified science of man and education.

The future society conceived by Marx is one in which the talents of all its members are "developed comprehensively". Based on the development of technology, everyone has opportunities to realize his or her free development. This ideal society can be realized only through the humanization of technological development.