Ex-minister warns of technology pitfalls

Ex-minister warns of technology pitfalls

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia should learn from the developed
countries that have suffered from the domination of technology
so as not to suffer the same negative effects, an ex-minister
said yesterday.

Former education minister Fuad Hasan said that there are signs
of Indonesia's growing fascination with technology, whose
glorification could come at the expense of indigenous cultures.

At a ceremony marking the 27th anniversary of the Ismail
Marzuki Arts Center, Fuad said that technology has now been
turned into a yardstick with which the country assesses its
modernization progress.

In his speech called "A Note on Technology and Technocracy",
Fuad explored what he described as the "phenomenon of
technocracy", which reveals the increasing domination of
technology in society. The phenomenon, the professor of
psychology said, turns human beings into an extension of
technology.

Technocracy affects human beings individually and
collectively, he said. "The pattern of human interactions has
changed because of the intervention of tools...work patterns
change, too, because of the substitution of humans by machines."

Standardization and uniformity of technology has replaced the
human factor in work activities, he said.

Fuad said the phenomenon could reverse human life and
cultures, particularly if the technology is brought about by an
unbalanced flow of information.

"The transfer of information (on technology) is one
sided...from well-equipped centers of information...to areas with
less-equipped technology," he said.

He said the United Nations had taken stock of the trend of
technocracy and established the Decade of Cultural Development in
1988 as a way to strengthen a country's cultural defense against
it.

He said Indonesia should learn from other countries on how
best to absorb technology without letting it dominate society.
"Indonesia must anticipate by preparing society before it enters
the phenomenon of technocracy," he said.

"This is not a matter of a like or a dislike of technology.
Rather, (it's a matter) of how to prepare the society to
implement technology effectively," he said.

"We should watch the various phenomenons accompanying
technology and technocracy occurring in societies which are more
advanced than us," he said.

Backwardness in technology has only one advantage, and that is
"the opportunity not to repeat mistakes made by those who have
advanced before us", he said.

Quoting author Jean Ladriere, Fuad said "the scientific-
technological system, in its evolution toward increased self-
consistency, is...tending to move further...away from man, even
though it owes its development entirely to him." (01)