Make Technology Your Slave

“If Prometheus never stole the fire from Zeus on Mount Olympus and gave it to humanity, where would we even be?”

With the fire of knowledge in humanity’s hands, we’ve achieved unimaginable things. From controlling fire to cook, provide warmth, and keep us safe, to inventions like the printing press, electricity, and transformational modes of transportation and communication—the automobile, airplanes, and now, the internet. In 2024, we live in a hyper-interconnected world shaped by mobile phones, artificial intelligence, and systems that define our daily lives.

But what if this interconnected world has turned against us? What if we’ve designed a system of slavery that we all involuntarily agree upon? When technology controls us instead of serving us, we become the slaves, submitting to a gridlock of our own making.

Public School Breeds Slaves

Think of a child—free, unburdened by expectations, exploring the world through curiosity. Personally, I learned the most as a kid through play: in the woods, carving paths, building stone bridges, forts from sticks, sharpening spears, climbing trees, and wandering into the unknown. These activities weren’t mandated or graded; they were rooted in an innate human nature to explore, conquer, and become master of our own small domain.

However, once we enter the public school system, this spirit of mastery is extinguished. We’re placed into a box, stripped of autonomy, and taught to follow orders. In this transition, we become ideal subjects—obedient, docile, and conditioned to submit.

Public schools often resemble a glorified prison more than an environment of freedom and growth:

• Restricted Environment: Locked exits, limited outdoor time, and confined classrooms with perfectly controlled air conditioning and comfort.
• Comfortable Conformity: Vending machines with junk food, surveillance, and security checkpoints at the doors reinforce an environment of submission.
• Absence of Freedom: For eight hours a day, students sit within four walls, conditioned to accept confinement as the norm.

Reclaiming Control: Technology as a Tool, Not a Master

What we need is a re-evaluation of our relationship with technology. Rather than letting technology dictate our routines, thoughts, and relationships, we must reclaim it as a tool—a servant to humanity, not our overlord.

1. Question the System: Just as Prometheus defied Zeus, we must question the systems that keep us in metaphorical chains. Education, technology, and societal structures should serve our human potential, not limit it.
2. Cultivate Autonomy: Like the child in the woods, our best learning and growth come from self-directed exploration. Reclaiming this mindset, even in a technological world, means using these tools with purpose—not allowing them to use us.
3. Embrace Freedom: True mastery over technology comes when we recognize it as a means to freedom, not confinement. Unplugging, creating, exploring, and questioning are the paths to reclaiming the fire of knowledge in a way that empowers rather than entraps.

As we progress, let’s remember that technology was meant to serve us, not enslave us. It’s up to us to decide if we’ll remain within the gridlock or carve our own paths into uncharted territory, reclaiming control of the tools in our hands.

“Master your tools, or they will master you.”