Machines: Helping or Enslaving?

"In this age of automation, many people complain that humans are becoming subservient to machines. But, in fact, machines are continually improving our lives."

Discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the opinion expressed above. Support your point of view with reasons and/or examples from your own experience, observations, or reading.

Machines improve our lives by making things easier for us. In fact, machines have come to represent the human civilization's scientific prowess. Nevertheless, human beings are increasingly getting dependent on machines for most basic of tasks. When children fail to learn basic arithmetic due to presence of calculators, you know that there is something seriously wrong. Then what is the role that machines play in our lives: a facilitator or an enslaver?

I think that machines are a positive influence in our lives. The same sword that protects also kills. Then, is the sword good or is it bad? It really depends on the hands that are wielding it. Similarly, machines are here to make our lives better. Having said that, nobody stops us from abusing the comfort.

The first reason that machines are good is that they can do complex, repetitive mechanical tasks accurately. This in turn helps to drive down production costs for all people. The success of assembly line production is a classic point in case. The success of production line system enabled Henry Ford to revolutionize car production and bring in cars for everybody. If not for machines, this would not have been possible. 

The second reason that machines improve the quality of our lives is that they help us to do daily chores  faster. Vacuum cleaners make cleaning faster, washing machines make washing easier and sewing machines enable faster sewing. This saves humans precious time that they can invest in other useful, productive activities. 

Lastly, machines can do tasks deemed too dangerous or almost impossible for human beings for the benefit of everyone. NASA's use of a robot to explore Mars clearly illustrate this point. Without using machine it would not have been possible to collect so much data from such a far-off, inhospitable planet. Such explorations may one day be crucial to the very survival of human beings.

Concluding, machines are human being's best allies in progress. They improve our lives continually. Using better tools allows human being to rule this planet, and machines are a tool. Nevertheless, every tool has a usage and one cannot use a sword when one needs a needle. It is always possible to abuse a facility. In such cases the fault lies with the user and not the machine. On their own machines are useful and contribute positively to our lives.