Technology

Technology is the application of <a href="/facts/Conceptual_model/hgysE2kP">conceptual knowledge</a> to achieve practical <a href="/facts/Goal/N5UtLKVk">goals</a>, especially in a <a href="/facts/Reproducible/yh5pawMj">reproducible</a> way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible <a href="/facts/Tool/KhhEHz1I">tools</a> such as <a href="/facts/Kitchen_utensil/d0T8Letc">utensils</a> or <a href="/facts/Machine/Dq1W2kwI">machines</a>, and intangible ones such as <a href="/facts/Software/RP79lVSW">software</a>. Technology plays a critical role in <a href="/facts/Science/IJoaD7rs">science</a>, <a href="/facts/Engineering/RFVg8H3I">engineering</a>, and <a href="/facts/Everyday_life/2PsHYt5D">everyday life</a>.
Technological advancements have led to significant changes in society. The earliest known technology is the <a href="/facts/Stone_tool/JQxItKEm">stone tool</a>, used during <a href="/facts/Prehistory/52D6oKM4">prehistory</a>, followed by the <a href="/facts/Control_of_fire/fkuAeEAV">control of fire</a>—which in turn contributed to the <a href="/facts/Brain_size/K0xy5XT5">growth</a> of the <a href="/facts/Human_brain/qfSwSB8K">human brain</a> and the development of <a href="/facts/Language/IRcTok2q">language</a> during the <a href="/facts/Pleistocene/0ya9eUp5">Ice Age</a>, according to the <a href="/facts/Cooking_hypothesis/fkuAeEAV">cooking hypothesis</a>. The invention of the <a href="/facts/Wheel/SlIWX3xd">wheel</a> in the <a href="/facts/Bronze_Age/c09qWcTt">Bronze Age</a> allowed greater travel and the creation of more complex machines. More recent technological inventions, including the <a href="/facts/Printing_press/7I3laFE0">printing press</a>, telephone, and the <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a>, have lowered barriers to communication and ushered in the <a href="/facts/Knowledge_economy/RseSF1pV">knowledge economy</a>.
While technology contributes to <a href="/facts/Economic_development/4KRrMBaM">economic development</a> and improves human <a href="/facts/Prosperity/R5vLdAHY">prosperity</a>, it can also have negative impacts like <a href="/facts/Pollution/JRagxumQ">pollution</a> and <a href="/facts/Resource_depletion/q654FUqh">resource depletion</a>, and can cause social harms like <a href="/facts/Technological_unemployment/96aJLKzD">technological unemployment</a> resulting from <a href="/facts/Automation/3YlF2K5q">automation</a>. As a result, philosophical and <a href="/facts/Politics_and_technology/TFnN4l4u">political debates</a> about the role and use of technology, the <a href="/facts/Ethics_of_technology/1gyWrC7W">ethics of technology</a>, and ways to mitigate its downsides are ongoing.

Technology open-in-new

Technology