With more cooperation taking place in modern society, whether people rely more on others has sparked continuous discussion. While some people argue that people in recent years engage more in collaborative projects, some believe that one has stronger ability of solving various problems independently and prefers to stay alone. In my view, people can no longer live completely independent in urban areas in the contemporary world.
The proponents of independence argue that people, having access to cutting-edge tools, have capacity to finish more complicated tasks alone. Only by entering natural languages, can people who do not have any knowledge in programming take advantage of the ChatGPT to generate the codes automatically. On the other hand, it is undeniable that increasing people move from rural areas to flats in high-rising buildings, where people usually lack strong connections with neighbors and prioritize a lifestyle to focus on his small family.
Conversely, supporters of being dependent contend that the modern society has an emphasis on collaboration in various fields, leading to people depending on others inevitably. Various scientific projects were conducted in interdisciplinary settings, where investigators owning expertise from a wide range of subjects collaborated with each other to boost the development of state-of-the-art technologies. For instance, in order to invent an advanced material to monitor patients suffering from chronic diseases, like type 2 diabetes, a professor in materials science may come to professionals in ultrasounds and artificial intelligence, skill sets of whom are essential to bring products to the real world. Additionally, international cooperation could benefit in trades and manufacturing, thus saving costs and accelerating economic growth.
From my perspective, modern society, especially in metropolitans, allocates tasks and responsibilities to every single individual clearly so that one individual can not live even one day without anyone’s help. With no access to public transportation, a one-hour distance between flats and workplace seems to be unsurmountable. Even if one owning his private vehicle can drive to his company, it is other manpower that produced the automobile years ago. What’s more, as there is no vacancy in downtown to grow vegetables and food, one can not meet his fundamental living requirements if he is completely independent. Hence, with a tendency of work segmentation, people are heavily dependent on others.
In summary, though advanced technologies do enhance everyone’s problem-solving skills, people benefit from collaboration in various fields and work segmentation, thus being less independent in modern society.