The Inherent Good or Bad of Technology
By Emma Oneto
I want to discuss Wole Talabi’s “Necessary and Sufficient Conditions.” When I first read the story, I did not think much of the title, nor did I understand its meaning until class. Apparently in the fields of math or law, the phrase “necessary and sufficient conditions” indicates a proof or justification of something. The author seems to apply this phrase to Professor Olukoya’s justification for killing Yemi’s mother: to make the African continent a world superpower.
According to Professor Olukoya, power over world affairs overshadows the significance of a human life. Based on past and current events, many leaders share the same sentiment. Even though they understood the moral dilemma of declaring that “all men are created equal,” the Founding Fathers still allowed slavery in the Constitution to ensure the continued economic growth of the agricultural states. As Professor Donig mentioned in class, the Chinese government currently holds millions of Uighurs, a Muslim minority in Xinjiang, China, in concentration camps to prevent separatist movements from igniting in a region rich with natural resources that China economically depends on. After Pearl Harbor, the US government placed Japanese Americans in internment camps, claiming the nation’s safety justified their actions. Time and time again, people prioritize national power over human lives.
This makes me wonder why we tend to naturally associate power, economic growth, and technological advancement with good. World leaders use these motives to justify starting wars and committing other acts harmful to human lives. So where does this narrative come from? Does the government or corporations condition us to think this way? A country’s economic state, military strength, or technological advancements does not reflect the health and well-being of its citizens. As we read in Homo Deus, more people die from heart disease, stress, and diabetes nowadays than war, famine, or plague. In my philosophy class last quarter, we read Rousseau’s Discourse on the Origin of Inequality, where he expresses the belief that humans become worse with progress; we become more unhappy, unhealthy, and overly dependent on one another. I do not know the answer to the inherent good or bad of technology, but I question our immediate tendency to associate growth and advancement with good and where that belief comes from.
In this story, Professor Olukoya murders Omolara, knowing he would leave his own son without a mother. He chose what he considered the good of the African continent over his family. I think similar mentalities exist today where friends and families cannot get along due to differing political views, religious beliefs, or other values. People exert so much energy towards feeling angry at society or politics. Not to diminish the importance and gravity of the issues facing our society and political system today, but I sometimes feel that people focus too much on big systematic problems when they can make a greater impact on the people in their immediate surroundings.