Ex-minister warns of technology pitfalls<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia should learn from the developed
\ncountries that have suffered from the domination of technology
\nso as not to suffer the same negative effects, an ex-minister
\nsaid yesterday.<\/p>\n
Former education minister Fuad Hasan said that there are signs
\nof Indonesia's growing fascination with technology, whose
\nglorification could come at the expense of indigenous cultures.<\/p>\n
At a ceremony marking the 27th anniversary of the Ismail
\nMarzuki Arts Center, Fuad said that technology has now been
\nturned into a yardstick with which the country assesses its
\nmodernization progress.<\/p>\n
In his speech called \"A Note on Technology and Technocracy\",
\nFuad explored what he described as the \"phenomenon of
\ntechnocracy\", which reveals the increasing domination of
\ntechnology in society. The phenomenon, the professor of
\npsychology said, turns human beings into an extension of
\ntechnology.<\/p>\n
Technocracy affects human beings individually and
\ncollectively, he said. \"The pattern of human interactions has
\nchanged because of the intervention of tools...work patterns
\nchange, too, because of the substitution of humans by machines.\"<\/p>\n
Standardization and uniformity of technology has replaced the
\nhuman factor in work activities, he said.<\/p>\n
Fuad said the phenomenon could reverse human life and
\ncultures, particularly if the technology is brought about by an
\nunbalanced flow of information.<\/p>\n
\"The transfer of information (on technology) is one
\nsided...from well-equipped centers of information...to areas with
\nless-equipped technology,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the United Nations had taken stock of the trend of
\ntechnocracy and established the Decade of Cultural Development in
\n1988 as a way to strengthen a country's cultural defense against
\nit.<\/p>\n
He said Indonesia should learn from other countries on how
\nbest to absorb technology without letting it dominate society.
\n\"Indonesia must anticipate by preparing society before it enters
\nthe phenomenon of technocracy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"This is not a matter of a like or a dislike of technology.
\nRather, (it's a matter) of how to prepare the society to
\nimplement technology effectively,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We should watch the various phenomenons accompanying
\ntechnology and technocracy occurring in societies which are more
\nadvanced than us,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Backwardness in technology has only one advantage, and that is
\n\"the opportunity not to repeat mistakes made by those who have
\nadvanced before us\", he said.<\/p>\n
Quoting author Jean Ladriere, Fuad said \"the scientific-
\ntechnological system, in its evolution toward increased self-
\nconsistency, is...tending to move further...away from man, even
\nthough it owes its development entirely to him.\" (01)<\/p>",
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