Introduction
The rapid proliferation of technology in the twenty-first century has brought undeniable conveniences, yet it has simultaneously introduced dangers that are qualitatively different from those of any previous era. From nuclear weapons capable of annihilating civilisation to cyber-attacks that can cripple national infrastructure, technology has vastly expanded the scale, speed, and reach of potential harm. This essay argues that technology has, to a significant extent, made the world a more dangerous place by creating new categories of existential risk, empowering malicious actors, and eroding the stability of established social and political institutions.
Technology has created weapons of unprecedented destructive capacity, including nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons
Explain
The development of weapons of mass destruction represents the most direct way in which technology has made the world more dangerous. Unlike conventional arms, nuclear weapons possess the capacity to annihilate entire cities in an instant and render vast regions uninhabitable for decades. The ongoing proliferation of these technologies, combined with advances in chemical and biological warfare, means that the potential for catastrophic conflict has increased immeasurably.
Example
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 killed over 200,000 people and demonstrated the terrifying destructive power of nuclear technology. Today, nine nations possess approximately 12,500 nuclear warheads, and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has set its Doomsday Clock to 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been, citing nuclear escalation risks related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In Southeast Asia, Singapore's defence establishment has repeatedly identified the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction as a key security concern in the region.
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The existence of weapons capable of ending human civilisation is a danger unique to the modern technological era, lending strong support to the argument that technology has made the world a significantly more dangerous place.
Cyber technology has created entirely new vectors for attack on critical infrastructure and national security
Explain
The digitisation of essential services, including power grids, financial systems, healthcare networks, and military communications, has created vulnerabilities that did not exist in the pre-digital era. Cyber-attacks can now disrupt the functioning of entire nations from thousands of miles away, and the anonymity of cyberspace makes attribution and deterrence extremely difficult, creating a destabilising environment in which attacks are cheap and consequences are severe.
Example
The 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack affected over 200,000 computers across 150 countries, crippling the United Kingdom's National Health Service and forcing hospitals to cancel surgeries and divert emergency patients. In 2021, the Colonial Pipeline cyber-attack in the United States shut down the largest fuel pipeline in the country, causing widespread panic and fuel shortages. Singapore's SingHealth data breach in 2018, in which the personal records of 1.5 million patients including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong were stolen, underscored the vulnerability of even well-defended nations to sophisticated cyber intrusions.
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The emergence of cyberspace as a domain of conflict represents a qualitatively new category of danger that technology has introduced, demonstrating that technology has made the world more dangerous in ways that are difficult to defend against.
Social media technology has destabilised democracies by enabling the rapid spread of misinformation and extremism
Explain
Social media platforms have fundamentally altered the information environment, making it possible for misinformation, conspiracy theories, and extremist content to spread with unprecedented speed and reach. The algorithmic amplification of emotionally charged and divisive content has contributed to political polarisation, the erosion of trust in institutions, and the radicalisation of individuals toward violence, making democratic societies more fragile and fractious.
Example
The role of Facebook in amplifying hate speech and inciting violence against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar was documented by a United Nations fact-finding mission, which concluded that the platform had played a 'determining role' in fuelling the genocide. In the United States, the January 6th Capitol insurrection in 2021 was organised and coordinated in part through social media platforms, demonstrating how technology can enable political violence. In Singapore, the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act was enacted in 2019 precisely because the government recognised the destabilising danger that misinformation spread through technology poses to social cohesion in a diverse, multiracial society.
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The capacity of social media technology to undermine the informational foundations of democracy and incite real-world violence demonstrates that technology has made the world more dangerous not only in a physical sense but also in its threat to political and social stability.
Counter-Argument
Defenders of technology argue that by virtually every measurable indicator, from life expectancy to child mortality to deaths from violent conflict, the world is safer today than at any point in human history, and technology is the primary driver of these improvements. Medical technology alone has eradicated smallpox and enabled COVID-19 vaccines that saved an estimated 20 million lives in their first year.
Rebuttal
While technology has reduced many everyday dangers, it has simultaneously created entirely new categories of existential risk, including nuclear annihilation, engineered pandemics, and catastrophic cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure, that previous generations never faced. The 2017 WannaCry attack that crippled the UK's National Health Service and the Doomsday Clock's position at 90 seconds to midnight illustrate that the nature of danger has shifted from frequent, localised hazards to rare but civilisation-threatening catastrophes.
Conclusion
On balance, while technology has delivered significant benefits, its capacity to magnify the destructive potential of both state and non-state actors, combined with the emergence of entirely new categories of threat, means that it has made the world a substantially more dangerous place. The fact that a single cyber-attack, engineered pathogen, or nuclear weapon can now threaten millions or even billions of lives represents a qualitative increase in danger that earlier generations never faced.
Introduction
While the dangers associated with modern technology are real and deserve serious attention, it would be historically myopic to conclude that technology has made the world a more dangerous place overall. By virtually every measurable indicator, from life expectancy to child mortality to deaths from violent conflict, the world is safer today than at any point in human history, and technology is a primary driver of these improvements. This essay contends that technology has, on balance, made the world safer by enhancing public health, enabling better communication, and improving our capacity to predict and respond to threats.
Medical technology has dramatically reduced mortality and made the world safer from disease
Explain
Advances in medical technology, from vaccines and antibiotics to diagnostic imaging and surgical techniques, have transformed diseases that were once death sentences into manageable or curable conditions. The resulting increase in life expectancy and decrease in child mortality represent perhaps the most significant safety improvement in human history, dwarfing the new dangers that technology has introduced.
Example
The global eradication of smallpox through vaccination in 1980 eliminated a disease that had killed an estimated 300 million people in the twentieth century alone. More recently, the development of mRNA vaccine technology enabled COVID-19 vaccines to be produced in record time, saving an estimated 20 million lives in their first year of deployment according to a study published in The Lancet. In Singapore, advanced medical technology has contributed to one of the world's highest life expectancies at 84 years, and institutions such as the National Heart Centre Singapore use robotic-assisted surgery to achieve survival rates that rank among the best globally.
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The millions of lives saved annually by medical technology represent a concrete and measurable reduction in danger that far exceeds the new threats technology has introduced, supporting the view that technology has made the world safer overall.
Communication technology has improved early warning systems and disaster response, reducing deaths from natural and man-made hazards
Explain
Modern communication and sensing technologies, including satellite imaging, seismic monitoring networks, and mobile alert systems, have vastly improved humanity's ability to predict, prepare for, and respond to natural disasters and other emergencies. These technologies save thousands of lives each year by providing advance warning and enabling faster, more coordinated relief efforts.
Example
The Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System, established after the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed over 230,000 people, uses a network of seismographic stations, ocean buoys, and satellite communication to issue warnings within minutes, dramatically reducing potential casualties from subsequent events. In Japan, the earthquake early warning system provides seconds to minutes of advance notice before tremors strike, enabling automatic shutdown of trains and industrial machinery. Singapore's Meteorological Service uses advanced weather radar and satellite technology to issue warnings for floods and severe storms, while the SGSecure mobile application enables real-time emergency communication with citizens during security incidents.
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The ability of technology to provide early warning and coordinate rapid response to dangerous events has measurably reduced the death toll from disasters, demonstrating that technology has, on balance, made the world a safer place.
Technology has reduced deaths from violent conflict by enabling more precise military action and better peacekeeping
Explain
Contrary to the narrative that technology has made warfare more dangerous, advances in precision-guided munitions, satellite surveillance, and communication technology have actually reduced the collateral damage and civilian casualties associated with armed conflict. Furthermore, technology facilitates peacekeeping, monitoring of ceasefires, and the documentation of human rights abuses, contributing to a long-term decline in deaths from organised violence.
Example
According to Steven Pinker's research in 'The Better Angels of Our Nature', the rate of death from armed conflict has fallen dramatically over the past several decades, from 22 deaths per 100,000 people during the Second World War to fewer than one per 100,000 in the early twenty-first century. Satellite surveillance technology has been used by organisations such as Human Rights Watch to document atrocities and hold perpetrators accountable, while GPS-guided munitions have reduced unintended civilian casualties in military operations. Singapore's defence technology, developed through the Defence Science and Technology Agency, emphasises precision and situational awareness to minimise collateral harm in any potential regional conflict.
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The long-term decline in deaths from violent conflict, facilitated in part by technological advances in precision and accountability, suggests that technology has made the world less, not more, dangerous in the domain that historically posed the greatest threat to human life.
Counter-Argument
Critics contend that technology has created weapons of unprecedented destructive capacity and enabled mass surveillance and cyber-warfare that make the world qualitatively more dangerous than in any previous era. The existence of approximately 12,500 nuclear warheads and the vulnerability of digitised critical infrastructure to remote attack represent dangers unique to the technological age.
Rebuttal
However, this focus on worst-case scenarios ignores the statistical reality that technology-enabled improvements in medicine, disaster warning systems, and precision military capabilities have reduced the overall rate of violent death to its lowest point in history. Singapore's deployment of advanced weather radar and the SGSecure emergency communication system exemplify how the same technological capabilities that create new threats also provide the tools to mitigate them far more effectively than was ever previously possible.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the claim that technology has made the world more dangerous reflects a cognitive bias toward spectacular new threats while ignoring the quieter, cumulative ways in which technology has made everyday life vastly safer. The evidence overwhelmingly suggests that technology has reduced danger on aggregate, even as it has shifted the nature of the threats we face. The challenge for the future is not to retreat from technology but to govern it wisely.