Joy has a pre-printed copy of Roy Kurzweil’s book The Age of Spiritual Machines. Joy tells us in his intro that his run-in with Kurzweil is what sparked his attention to this subject. As he reads through this work, he finds part of it that really draws his attention. After flipping the page, he finds out that this is the writing of Ted Kazzynski, the Unabomber. The first thought by Joy would be to throw out the views of this person. But, the views have started a revolution in his head. He starts showing the quote to many of his friends. Although, he does not show them the fact that Kaczynski wrote it. He waits to see what their reaction is when they flip the page and read who it is by.
Kaczyski’s passage tells about a dystopian society. This starts to
worry Joy. He is reading about how machines might take over our lives,
or if not take over, cause us to be so dependent on them that we cannot
turn them off. His passage also goes on to tell us, that with nothing
to do, humans would have to be genetically engineered to be able to live
in such a situation. The big hit comes where he states that humans
would no longer be free in an environment like this.
If you want to read the analysis that Matt Ciuca wrote on this section of Bill Joy's text, click on ANALYZE THIS button here or anywhere else on the site. Who knows, his ideas of the future may intrigue you, or maybe even enlighten you.
©Christa Benton & Matt
Ciuca
Contact Matt Ciuca or Christa Benton mail
address bentonc@clemson.edu
Introduction | Unabomber Influence | Supportive Texts | Early Childhood Influences | Main Concerns for GNR | Dose Of Reality | Bibliography