Summary: The Significant Writing Project that I will post on here is my Paper 3. It is important to show different drafts and revisions to show how writing is recursive and always being edited. This is an important skill to have, to be able to improve upon your drafts.

Outline 3

Thesis: Technology needs to be regulated strictly and carefully examined in order to keep the sense of technology ethical.

1. Unmonitored technology can lead to disturbing events due to the lack of accountability.
   1. Using a scene from the movie The Circle, the protagonist realizes that there is a huge lapse in privacy brewing in the company and only the lower positions in the company will be required to partake, while the upper management is exempt from this problem in their life.
      1. This is already a problem in today’s society. We see it all throughout the government with many different hearings and testimonies of different social media companies.
   2. “Although a huge amount of footage has been collected, the program is classified, and few people have ever seen images of the drone war and its casualties” (Van Houtryve).
      1. This proves how the government can try to cover up and has covered up various different atrocities and how regulation and accountability is important.
2. Too much technology in substitute to real life interactions can create issues for humans now, and generations to come.
   1. In Turkle’s article, she presents the idea of how society will be affected by, “there would be cohorts of children who grew up with smartphones, social media, and chatty digital assistants. Today, these children, no longer children, are our teachers, businesspeople, doctors, and parents… Without conversation, studies show that we are less empathic, less connected, less creative and fulfilled” (Turkle 349).
      1.  Society will be negatively affected when eventually it will become run by a generation of people with so much access to technology and social media.
   2. “Technology enchants… but in our eagerness, we forget our responsibility to the new, to the generations that follow us. It is for us to pass on the most precious thing we know how to do: talking to the next generation about our experiences, our history; sharing what we think we did right and wrong” (Turkle 350).
      1. The current generation is obligated to educate and nurture the future generations, and technology can hinder that. Not only do we teach verbally, we also teach visually and with experiences which cannot happen with technology.
3. Technology has many negative effects, and can be used to oppress and control the population.
   1. In The Circle, the company uses technology and surveillance to essentially eliminate privacy.
      1. If everyone is being watched carefully, people will be scared to be themselves. In a world where technology thrives and privacy is decreasing, something needs to be done policy-wise to eliminate citizens’ dwindling  privacy.
   2. Van Houtryve explains how drones are already being used for surveillance, and are being used throughout the government for various purposes. “Often, unarmed versions of military aircraft are used, such as the fleet of Predator drones operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Initially, the fleet was meant for border surveillance, but records indicate that drones were lent out hundreds of times to other government entities” (Van Houtryve 357).
      1. Drones used by the government are being lent out for other implications than what they were intended for. This is a huge problem because without regulation, there is no telling what the drones can be used for.

Paper 3:

Ethics are a part of human nature that has been intertwined in all walks of life. Society’s norms are based upon ethics. Ethics are a set of values that are perceived to be morally correct. Ethics play a role in politics, religion, and human relationships, but there has been no set of ethics created for technology. Various researchers and media have shined a light upon the dangers of technology in our society driven by the lack of regulation over modern technology. Authors such as Sherry Turkle and Thomas Van Houtryve express concerns and issues regarding the effects of technology, their concerns are backed by an interesting pop culture representation; a movie called “The Circle”. In these sources technology is seen as dangerous and evolving and without regulation many issues arise. Technology is a very relevant issue in our society today and will only become more of a talking point as it evolves. Technology needs to be regulated strictly and carefully examined in order to keep the sense of technology ethical. 

Unmonitored technology can lead to disturbing events due to the lack of accountability. Using a scene from the movie The Circle, the protagonist realizes that there is a huge lapse in privacy brewing in the company and only the lower positions in the company will be required to partake, while the upper management is exempt from this problem in their life. This is already a problem in today’s society. We see it all throughout the government with many different hearings and testimonies of different social media companies. Citizens’ data and privacy are at risk every day with these large social media companies. These hearings are a step in the right direction but still allow for the government to exploit, use, and sell the citizens data essentially eliminating privacy. For an ethical technological society, personal privacy is very important. No one wants to live their life constantly being watched. This will create distrust between the citizens and the government if the citizens are being monitored and subconsciously regulated with this use of technology. Another researcher and journalist, Thomas Van Hourtyve is a drone photographer that examines the implications of drones for commercial, personal, military, and government uses. He explains his issues and “Although a huge amount of footage has been collected, the program is classified, and few people have ever seen images of the drone war and its casualties” (Van Houtryve). Without this accountability there is no telling what is going on in these classified missions. With regulation, the general public can know what the government is doing with these drones and can determine themselves if they are being used ethically. This point is one way technology can regain its ethical sense. If the government is being monitored and having to be open and public, they are less likely to exploit this technology. This can create a good basis of regulation for all branches of government and the technology used.

Too much technology in substitute to real life interactions can create issues for humans now, and generations to come. In Turkle’s article, she presents the idea of how society will be affected, “there would be cohorts of children who grew up with smartphones, social media, and chatty digital assistants. Today, these children, no longer children, are our teachers, businesspeople, doctors, and parents… Without conversation, studies show that we are less empathic, less connected, less creative and fulfilled” (Turkle 349).  Society will be negatively affected when eventually it will become run by a generation of people with so much access to technology and social media.This is a huge issue if widespread technology use continues. Going forward, regulation and limitations of technology and social media is very important in order to prevent this issue from occurring. This will also create a more ethical sense of technology for the future generations to adhere by. Another quote from Turkle states, “Technology enchants… but in our eagerness, we forget our responsibility to the new, to the generations that follow us. It is for us to pass on the most precious thing we know how to do: talking to the next generation about our experiences, our history; sharing what we think we did right and wrong” (Turkle 350). The current generation is obligated to educate and nurture the future generations, and technology can hinder that. Not only do we teach verbally, we also teach visually and with experiences which cannot happen with technology. This point coincides with Turkle’s other idea. There will be a domino effect of increasing problems with technology with the future generations and humanity may be doomed in a short time.

Technology has many negative effects, and can be used to oppress and control the population. In The Circle, the company uses technology and surveillance to exploit and influence the people of the company. Technology can be used to mask injustice and it can also be used to spread information, good or bad. The company promoted a candidate for an up and coming election. The candidate is shown in a great light to the people of the company in order to get votes. While behind the scenes, the candidate is in a mutual agreement to help the company stay out of trouble with policies and regulations. This obviously is very deceitful and harmful to a society and its democracy. This is important to examine and recognize in order to prevent it from happening. Van Houtryve explains how drones are already being used for surveillance, and are being used throughout the government for various purposes. “Often, unarmed versions of military aircraft are used, such as the fleet of Predator drones operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Initially, the fleet was meant for border surveillance, but records indicate that drones were lent out hundreds of times to other government entities” (Van Houtryve 357). Drones used by the government are being lent out for other implications than what they were intended for. This can create a whole bundle of unforeseen issues. The government can abuse these drones and face no backlash due to little to no reports and accountability. This is a huge problem because without regulation, there is no telling what the drones can be used for. 

Regulation of technology is crucial in the ethics of technology.As seen in The Circle, there is already a set of ethics for technology, however the movie paints this set of ethics as incorrect or harmful.This can  Society needs to weigh different options and determine a set of ethics that includes both personal freedom, but also privacy and protection. In The Circle, there is neither privacy, protection, nor freedom. Ethics are not black and white, and The Circle shows that even if a set of ethics are in place, it might not always end well. That’s why we as a society need to listen to researchers like Turkle and Van Houtryve. Policy makers should examine their research and apply it to create and enforce a new code of ethics of technology that is backed by research and evidence. This will allow for the best code of ethics to implement into society. 

Works Cited

Ponsoldt, James. The Circle. STX Entertainment, 2017.

Turkle, Sherry. “The Empathy Diaries.” Emerging, edited by Barclay Barrios, Macmillan, 2022, pp. 343-354.

Van Houtryve, Thomas. “From the Eyes of  a Drone.” Emerging, edited by Barclay Barrios, Macmillan, 2022, pp. 355-359.

Learning Outcomes:

LO1- This paper shows my ability to draft an organized and detailed outline, and then synthesize that outline into a complete paper that has been edited and proofread.

LO2- In this paper I use ideas and quotes from multiple sources and combine them all together to create one complete cohesive argument from the sources assigned.

LO5- I used MLA and demonstrated that I can write a paper following MLA guidelines with both quotations and the works cited page.

LO6- This also demonstrates how I am fluent in writing and my work has little to no grammatical/spelling issues.