This blog post uses the example of the movie Jurassic Park to convey the message that science and technology must be considered not only for their benefits and convenience, but also for the dangers and negative impacts they can cause.
With carbon dioxide emissions becoming a pressing issue, eco-friendly science and technology are gaining prominence. While the term “eco-friendly science and technology” is relatively new, it essentially refers to adding environmentally conscious aspects to existing science and technology. The introduction of these technologies emerged as a kind of stopgap measure to address environmental problems that have become severe worldwide. The environmental issues we face today are precisely the result of scientists ignoring foreseeable risks and using science and technology indiscriminately in the past. Science and technology developed for human convenience failed to sufficiently consider the potential negative consequences and instead continued advancing while turning a blind eye to them. By overlooking the risks of science and technology and pursuing only profit and convenience, problems have arisen, and only now are we attempting to clean up the mess.
In this context, the film Jurassic Park (1993) comes to mind. Though nearly 20 years old, I believe it vividly illustrates the mistakes scientists make today. This article will examine the proper perspective and attitude toward science and technology through the events and characters depicted in Jurassic Park.
The film begins with businessman Hammond extracting dinosaur DNA from the blood of a mosquito trapped in amber to resurrect dinosaurs, establishing Jurassic Park on a remote island. When a fatal accident occurs at the soon-to-open Jurassic Park, investors begin to doubt the park’s safety. Hammond invites paleontologist Dr. Grant, his colleague Dr. Ellie, mathematician Dr. Malcolm, and lawyer Dr. Gennaro to conduct a safety inspection tour of the park. Dr. Grant and Dr. Ellie, who had only seen dinosaur bones and fossils, marvel at the living creatures. Even lawyer Zennaro, initially skeptical of the park’s safety, supports it, anticipating enormous profits. Only mathematician Malcolm criticizes Hammond and Zennaro, arguing they are chasing profit and defying nature’s order. Hammond counters that the park has a safety control system in place, ensuring no problems will arise. However, the situation rapidly changes when a park employee shuts down the safety control system to steal dinosaur eggs. The park’s dinosaurs break free from control and begin attacking humans. Fortunately, the survey team escapes the island safely, evading the dinosaurs, but the film ends leaving a lingering impact.
While the outcome may seem like a happy ending where they overcome danger and survive, I believe we should focus more on the film’s starting point. The technology to extract dinosaur DNA from mosquitoes and resurrect dinosaurs is clearly capable of generating enormous profits. However, we need to deeply consider why this technology was created. One of the main reasons biotechnology advanced was to improve human life and ensure better health. Nevertheless, in Jurassic Park, this technology is being used solely for one person’s profit. This action considers only one aspect of the technology’s many facets.
Excluding profit generation is impossible in modern capitalist society. While many develop and use science and technology for their own gain, profit alone should not be the pursuit. Science and technology provide profit and convenience, but they also contain hidden risks and negative aspects. This is not merely a simple concern that science and technology themselves will cause negative impacts. It means we must remember the warning that human narrow-mindedness can lead to unnecessary risks. In the film, Hammond and Gennaro, blinded by profit, overlook other crucial aspects and consequently face a severe crisis. Thus, science and technology can have either positive or negative impacts depending on how they are used. The negative aspects of science and technology must never be overlooked, and when using technology, greater attention should be paid to the risks it poses rather than just the benefits.
Meanwhile, Dr. Grant and Dr. Ellie, who were initially positive about the park’s safety, also change their minds after being attacked by the dinosaurs. Hammond, too, begins to have doubts about opening the park when his grandchildren are put in danger. Their change mirrors modern scientists who only began to grasp the severity of carbon dioxide emissions after global warming had already occurred. Jurassic Park’s safety control systems appeared flawless until the accident, but predicting the future perfectly is impossible. The petty greed of one park employee brought the park’s potential danger to reality, leading to a great tragedy.
On March 11, 2011, an earthquake in Japan caused a nuclear power plant to explode. While the benefits of nuclear power are undeniably immense, the damage it caused was incomparably greater. Although extensive precautions were likely taken when building the plant, it is worth questioning whether it was truly appropriate to use earthquake-vulnerable technology in earthquake-prone Japan.
Had nuclear engineers prioritized the risks more seriously, the reactor explosion might have been avoided. While it would have been difficult to abandon the immense benefits of nuclear energy, robust countermeasures should have been implemented. Examples from films like Jurassic Park and real-world nuclear accidents demonstrate that the misuse of science and technology is a fundamentally difficult problem to resolve.
Humans are imperfect beings, so we cannot operate science and technology with 100% safety. When science and technology are used solely for personal gain and convenience, humans become more likely to distort or misuse technology to suit their own purposes. While this problem may be impossible to solve, it is not impossible to prepare countermeasures for it.
Everyone involved in developing and using science and technology must not underestimate even the smallest risks it carries. We must anticipate the significant damage that could arise if those small risks escalate. For example, the scene in the movie where a park employee attempts to steal dinosaur eggs only to be attacked by the dinosaur, causing the eggs to be buried in the dirt, symbolically illustrates that even the most advanced technology has aspects that should never be exposed. Similarly, technology with unresolved risks must be kept buried until its potential dangers are addressed.
While the advancement of science and technology signifies human progress, we must constantly ponder and reflect on whether that progress truly brings human happiness. Responsible use and thorough preparation for safety are necessary to ensure that scientific and technological development positively impacts humanity, nature, and society. To develop and advance new technologies, we must adopt an attitude that sufficiently considers the potential risks and negative impacts they may bring, rather than solely pursuing human benefit.
