GP essay question guide
Has technology improved people's lives?
Avoid treating invention as improvement. Judge technology by access, real outcomes, work conditions, autonomy, and whether institutions distribute its benefits.
Unpack this question first: 'Improved' is a value word. Set criteria first, such as health, freedom and fairness, then test technology against each one. 'People' invites you to ask which people. Lesson: Abstract and values questions
Use this question in writing - Sign in, check the question, then write your response.
Topics: Science and Technology, Society and Culture, Economics
Three argument directions
Expand capability
Medical and assistive technologies can directly improve health, independence, and participation.
Qualification: High cost, weak infrastructure, or limited access can keep the benefit narrow.
Create flexible access
Digital platforms can connect people to work and services more quickly.
Qualification: Flexibility can transfer risk and insecurity to workers.
Judge distribution
Technology improves society only when skills, connectivity, and public systems let many people use it.
Qualification: Access alone does not remove bias, poor design, or unequal bargaining power.
A model paragraph
Our own paragraph for this question. Copy its moves, not its words.
Technology has improved people's lives most clearly where it extends what the body can do, but the gain depends on who can afford it and use it. A cochlear implant can let a child born deaf hear speech, and a power wheelchair lets someone travel without help. Both give people independence, which is a basic part of a good life. The same test shows the limit. Devices that cost thousands of dollars help little where incomes are low and clinics are far away. A smartphone can open banking and health services, yet an elderly person who cannot use one may find that the bank branch or clinic counter has closed. Technology improves lives when public systems spread access and teach the skills to use it. On its own, it can widen the gap between those who gain and those left behind.
How it is built
- Criterion: independence and access, set before judging.
- Case: implants and wheelchairs pass the test; cost and closed counters fail it.
- Judgement: improvement depends on access, so the answer is 'for some people, under some conditions'.
Six examples to compare
Singapore Protects Platform Workers
Singapore gave platform workers stronger retirement, injury, and representation protections while retaining a distinct employment category.
Possible essay use
technology can create flexible work, but the law must catch up to give gig workers the protections other workers have
Limitation
The law's existence does not show that every platform worker is better off; higher contributions can reduce take-home pay and outcomes depend on enforcement and worker coverage.
Case or source date: 2025-01-01
Source: Ministry of Manpower
EU Sets Rules for Platform Work
The EU Platform Work Directive introduced rules on employment-status determination and algorithmic management in platform work.
Possible essay use
The EU Platform Work Directive introduced rules on employment-status determination and algorithmic management in platform work.
Limitation
Common rules still depend on national transposition and enforcement and may affect platform costs or work availability.
Case or source date: 2024-10-14
Source: Council of the European Union
Assistive Tech: Restoring Abilities, Lives
Assistive technologies, like brain implants that turn thoughts into computer commands, can restore some independence to people with severe paralysis, but are still in early trials.
Possible essay use
The first US patient received Synchron's Stentrode at Mount Sinai in New York on 19 July 2022, in the FDA-approved COMMAND trial.
Limitation
These are small early trials with a handful of patients; the device is not an approved treatment, and long-term safety and cost are unknown.
Case or source date: 2022-07-19
Source: NeuroNews International
WHO Recommends Injectable Lenacapavir for HIV Prevention
WHO recommended twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir as an additional HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis option in 2025.
Possible essay use
WHO recommended twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir as an additional HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis option in 2025.
Limitation
A less frequent medicine can improve choice and adherence, but price, supply, stigma, testing, and health-system access remain barriers.
Case or source date: 2025-07-14
Source: World Health Organization
Digital Gap: Widening Social and Economic Splits
Unequal tech access deepens social and economic gaps, limiting education and job chances for many globally. This affects personal growth and national progress.
Possible essay use
In August 2020 UNICEF estimated that at least 463 million schoolchildren, about a third, could not access remote learning during school closures.
Limitation
The figure is a model estimate of who could not be reached based on household access to technology; it does not measure how much learning each child actually lost.
Case or source date: 2020-08-27
Source: UNICEF
Gig Work: Freedom or Fragile Future?
The gig economy offers worker flexibility through platforms like Uber but challenges job security and traditional employee rights, creating new economic debates.
Possible essay use
A New York City study found app-based delivery workers averaged about US$7.09 an hour, about US$4 after costs, before tips.
Limitation
Earnings vary widely by city, hours and tips; New York's figures are for one city's food delivery workers and do not describe all gig work.
Case or source date: 2023-06-12
Source: NBC New York