Ethos is the part of the argument that deals with the author's presentation
of him or herself. Ethos is what gives the author credibility; it
is what tells the reader why he or she should pay attention to the author.
In "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us", Joy describes his rich technological
background, and uses his experiences in the world of technology in order
to gain the attention of the reader. Joy feels that his intelligence
and his experience with technology qualify him to argue that the rapid
advancement of technology will cause the demise of the human race.
Bill Joy begins by telling the reader about his childhood. He describes
himself as a child prodigy; he began to read at age 3, started school early,
skipped a grade, and was "incredibly motivated to learn" (Joy, 242).
Joy informs the reader of his intelligence in order to prove that he has
always been smart, and therefore should not be taken lightly. He
spent his high school years socially isolated, but "awash in ideas" (Joy,
242). Joy is telling the reader that he has always been somewhat
of a philosopher, and is therefore qualified to argue about major issues
like the one he focuses on in his article. Joy continues to support
his claim regarding his intelligence through his description of his college
years, in which he not only excelled in math but also gained interest in
computers.
Joy's technical experience began during his college years. He uses
his long history of interaction with computers in order to prove that he
of all people should know of their potential dangers. He has made
many ventures into the software world; his work includes Unix utilities
and an instructional Pascal system. He has also worked on "advanced
microprocessor technologies and Internet technologies such as Java and
Jini" (Joy, 243). Joy sees himself as qualified to argue about the
dangers of technology, since he has been involved with it for a large part
of his life.