Nowadays, Apple is one of the most advantageous companies in the sphere of mobile and computer technologies. From year to year, its developments become more advanced and include Siri, Touch ID, and Apple Pay, mobile service that allows making payments due to a combination of NFC, Touch ID, and Wallet. The performance of “Apple Pay” is based on digitization of the card with ITunes or photo and replacement of the card chip with wireless communication – Touch ID on IPhone 6/6s/6SE/6Plus/6sPlus and IPad Air 2/Pro or double clicks on Apple Watch. In other words, “Apple Pay” virtually stores your debit and credit cards and provides contactless payments with the permission of your fingerprint. “Apple Pay” sounds to be easy in use, and this is the case, but besides the fascination from this development, it causes lots of controversies. The mixed feelings about the benefits of technological progress continue to reflect here: “Apple Pay” eases the payment procedures, but how safe is it and what is the impact it can possibly have on people, their spending, and the market? In the age of computer technologies, people need to review their attitude towards technological developments and understand that they should not be afraid of them. “Apple Pay” eases life and saves time; it does not determine people’s lives but their cultural values determine its use.
The concerns of potential consumers of “Apple Pay” have the background. Lots of studies and arguments regarding advantages and disadvantages of technological progress confuse ordinary people and trouble their views and choices. MacKenzie and Wajcman support the theory of technological determinism and state that technologies influence society in the issues of gender and ethnicity; thus, one can assume that technologies can influence other social spheres too (MacKenzie and Wajcman 26). Trütsch supports their point of view and writes that the eased technologies of contactless payment influence people and make them buy more (Trütsch 93). At the same time, Nye argues with them and states that the adequacy of the theory of technological determinism has a lack of evidence and the use of technologies is determined by social culture and its values (“Does Technology Control Us?” 31). This research is aimed to support Nye’s point of view as exemplified by “Apple Pay.” The development of technologies is inevitable, and they help us in our career successes and personal achievements (“Work: More, or Less? Better, or Worse?” 134). Furthermore, the modern world works upon the “networks” system that is based on the wireless connection between system elements (Hughes 282). “Apple Pay” connects payment procedures with smartphones and combines the most often used things in people’s lives significantly contributing into the saves of time and actions in the rapid modern world. The security concerns also have nothing to worry about; despite the lack of regulatory laws, people have nothing to worry about, and their optimization is near (Burge 56).
Annotated Bibliography:
Burge, M. E. “Apple Pay, Bitcoin, and Consumers: The ABCs of Future Public Payments Law.” 67 Hastings Law Journal (forthcoming 2016), 1-57. PDF.
The paper deals with the legislative side of “Apple Pay” and similar technological advances. Burge argues that despite the fact the current laws go behind technologies, which use they should regulate, the new payment systems provide them a bright future. He investigates the work of technologies, potential risks, and changes that should be made in the law system to prevent these risks and to protect users.
The paper contains the subsection that closely describes the work of “Apple Pay” and its security issues. Moreover, the author highlights the problems mobile payment systems have with the current law regulations in this area but states that the changes can be achieved with the move to the private laws, which could protect the users of “Apple Pay” and similar systems in full.
Hughes, Thomas P. “The Seamless Web: Technology, Science, Etcetera, Etcetera.” Social Studies of Science 16 (1986): 281-292. Print.
Hughes writes about internalist and contextual approaches to the history of technologies and science and the modern “networks” approach that unites heterogeneous professionals and organizations and connects them with the seamless web. He writes about the development of the technological and scientific perception, their interconnection, and the movements from internalist history to the contextual approach, the interactive model, and the system approach and describes the structure of networks. Hughes highlights that we need to change our cognitive mode, to depart from traditional analytic perceptions of technologies and science, and to accept the abstractions and neologisms to look at the issue from a different perspective.
The “networks” approach and the new look at the issue of technological progress and such technologies as “Apple Pay” can be used to contravene the widespread opinion and to prove that technologies connect us and make our interaction with the world easier and that we should reconsider our outdated views on technological advances.
MacKenzie, Donald, and Judy Wajcman. “Introductory Essay: The Social Shaping of Technology.” The Social Shaping of Technology. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press, 1999. 3-27. Print.
The essay deals with the problem of mutual interaction between ethnic and gender issues and technologies. The authors discuss the theory of technological determinism and the factors that contribute shaping of technology and state that technology influences society.
Nye, David E. “Does Technology Control Us?” Technology Matters. Cambridge, US: MIT Press, 2006. 17-31. Print.
In the chapter, Nye tries to find the answer to the question if technology and technological progress really control people and if technologies are deterministic. At first, he introduces examples of the communities, which are able to resist technological progress, and questions determinism of technologies; then states that lots of people believe that technologies are deterministic but immediately refutes this belief. Nye argues that the use of technologies is determined by cultural choices and supports his point of view with the examples from Marx and Sombart. He writes about the historical perceptions of technological determinism and draws the conclusion that despite its popularity, technological determinism lacks philosophical traditions and strong theories that can prove its adequacy.
Nye’s research can be used to prove that such technologies as “Apple Pay” do not influence our lives in a negative way and make us dependent but make our lives easier, and it is nothing to afraid, as technologies do not determine us, but we determine their use.
Nye, David E. “Work: More, or Less? Better, or Worse?” Technology Matters. Cambridge, US: MIT Press, 2006. 109-134. Print.
The chapter deals with the developmental history of work and occupations and their changes. The author highlights that nowadays, one can succeed in one’s work only due to education and advanced technologies that ease life and save time.
Trütsch, Tobias. “The Impact of Contactless Payment on Spending.” International Journal of Economic Studies III.4 (2014): 70-98. PDF.
The article deals with the impact contactless payment has on people’s spending. The author proves that the ease of the payment procedure leads to the increased number of transactions and gives appropriate recommendations to card issuers and policy makers.
“Apple Pay” eases the payment procedures, and, according to the article, it could lead to the increased spending. In other words, the eased payment procedures influence people and make them buy more that supports the point of view of MacKenzie and Wajcman regarding the impact technologies have on society.
Point-form Plan of Action:
Introduction and thesis statement – done
The research of the historical background of the problem – till 25/06
Literature overview – till 28/06
The investigation of the “Apple Pay” work and potential risks – till 2/07
The study of the current laws in the area of mobile payments and their gaps – till 5/07
The study of the regulatory improvements that would grant security of the users – till 7/07
The analysis of the obtained data – till 10/07
Summarizing the research and writing the essay – till 15/07
Works Cited
Burge, Mark Edwin. “Apple Pay, Bitcoin, and Consumers: The ABCs of Future Public Payments Law.” 67 Hastings Law Journal (forthcoming 2016), 1-57. PDF.
Hughes, Thomas P. “The Seamless Web: Technology, Science, Etcetera, Etcetera.” Social Studies of Science 16 (1986): 281-292. Print.
MacKenzie, Donald, and Judy Wajcman. “Introductory Essay: The Social Shaping of Technology.” The Social Shaping of Technology. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press, 1999. 3-27. Print.
Nye, David E. “Does Technology Control Us?” Technology Matters. Cambridge, US: MIT Press, 2006. 17-31. Print.
Nye, David E. “Work: More, or Less? Better, or Worse?” Technology Matters. Cambridge, US: MIT Press, 2006. 109-134. Print.
Trütsch, Tobias. “The Impact of Contactless Payment on Spending.” International Journal of Economic Studies III.4 (2014): 70-98. PDF.
