Convergence of new emerging technologies. Ethical challenges and new responsibilities

Human beings are not the only tool-making animals. New Caledonian crows, chimpanzees and various other animals make tools as well.rnNevertheless, we seem to be the only species to have advanced technology from simple tools to extremely sophisticated high tech. This has happened over a period of 2.5 million years. Yet the development of technology has not been linear. Until very recently we have mainly been making stone tools. The pace of technological development was extremely slow for almost the entire history of human tool making.rnSo much so that it would have been difficult to conceive of the idea of emerging technologies, since hardly anyone would have ever seen a new technology emerge during their lifetime. Only around five thousand years ago we mastered bronze metallurgy, and - two thousand years later - iron metallurgy.rnIn antiquity the Greeks were the first to make technology a subject matter of philosophy. Their views, however, were generally not very favorable.rnTechnology