Diana T – HD Holograms in your Every Day Lives

Today in class we talked about wearable technology and I came across an interesting technology called HoloLens by Microsoft that some schools are trying to use to enhance education, specifically in the medical field.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKpKlh1-en0

What other things, both good and bad, can this technology be used for? Do you think the invention of such technology and its powerful positive uses such as studying medicine, outweighs its other uses that might have a negative impact such as virtual reality shooting games?

Diana T – New form of birth control with cyborg technology

We’ve talked a lot about technologies in a technological determinism point of view, a cause and effect manner, by discussing the impacts of various products or services on society, such as social media on self-esteem. I’d like to introduce a product and ask you to think of it from a social construction point of view of technology. The Bimek SLV is a new contraception method for men that links to the concept of cyborgs, man and machine together. This is a valve that is inserted on each spermatic duct in men’s bodies and disrupts the flow of sperm cells when closed, which is controlled with a flip of a switch. This is an operation that provides a life time of sperm cell flow control, eliminating the use of hormonal medication as a contraceptive. Check out the link describing the product: https://www.bimek.com/?lang=en

Using a social construction method you could say that this technology might have been created due to the discourse around the health risks of hormonal pills on women’s bodies and the debate that men should be responsible for contraception as well. What other social forces might have been the cause of the invention of this technology and what positive or negative impacts might it have on society? Is this a technology you think people would use, or is it another example of technology going too far?