Plenary | In What Ways Can Technology Be an Idol? (Dr. Mihretu Guta and Ms. Anna Vollema) скачать в хорошем качестве

Plenary | In What Ways Can Technology Be an Idol? (Dr. Mihretu Guta and Ms. Anna Vollema)

In What Ways Can Technology Be an Idol? Presented by Mihretu Guta, PhD and Anna Vollema, PhD (Cand.) It is an indisputable fact that technology plays a central role in every area of our lives. In light of this, it is easy to conclude that what we mean by technology is nothing more than a sophisticated tool we humans invented to solve practical problems (e.g., diagnosing diseases) and ensure efficiency in various sectors such as transportation, business, education, and media. However, taking technology as nothing but a mere useful tool is a deeply superficial conception of what it is. Properly understood, technology reflects what we humans believe about ourselves, the world we live in and our own ultimate destiny. In this regard, contemporary discussions on artificial intelligence and transhumanism are good examples of the underlying assumptions that derive our view of technology. In light of this, technology raises deeply important philosophical, theological, and ethical/bioethical questions that need to be taken seriously. In this regard, our main focus is to explore whether or not technology can be an idol, building a biblical theological understanding of the nature of idolatry and connecting this to a philosophical analysis of technology. Our goal is to argue that technology shapes our worldview and in doing so, it has a great potential to become our idol. We will make a strong case as to why this is so and also draw some implications for issues in bioethics. From CBHD's 2024 Summer Conference, The Future of Health: Faith, Ethics, and Our MedTech World