Technology and Cyberculture in ‘The Machine Stops’ Fiction Essay
The research interprets Edward Forster’s science fiction story, ‘The Machine Stops’ (1909), and its relationship with the current overreliance on technology and the increasingly growing cyberculture. Forster uses imagination to create a world that solely relies on a machine for living and interacting with each other. This predicted the current world where technology and the internet have changed people’s ancient way of life. Some of the questions that acted as a guide to the research include: What does the machine represent in the current world? What are the benefits and threats of technology? What are some of the current signs that technology might lead to human and property destruction? The research links some of the instances in the story with what is happening today in a world where technology has been both a blessing and a threat. The information hazards and agential risks are likely to become uncontrollable with some individuals and countries developing technologies like nuclear bombs capable of wiping almost the entire world’s population. Generational mistakes and ignorance are also discussed as some other reasons why technology might cause the end of humanity. The research concludes that changes and developments that have been happening are a creation of people’s freedom and constraints. It is high time that people take early interventions and embrace otherness before technology destroys everyone together with their properties. Governments and organizations should spearhead the development of rigid policies and laws that prevent the ill use of technology and mend areas where technology has compromised people’s lives.
