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Humans Today, Machines Tomorrow by Cristy White Does the Future Need Us? I would like to think so, but I do not expect it. Why? Well, for several reasons. First, humans are animals, governed by Mother Nature just like any other animal. To try and rebel against her or alter her course is foolish; however, humans naively think they are capable of governing their own evolution. They believe that by controlling technology, they can control humanity’s future. And to an extent, humans can control their future; they have the power of self-destruction. They cannot, however, control the effects technology will have on humanity, whether good or bad. No one can because to do so would mean being able to predict the future, and that is impossible. Caution above all else then should be taken when developing technology, but many scientists do not take caution. They become so preoccupied with whether or not they can create something or do something, they do not stop to think about potential consequences. In Bill Joy’s article, “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us,” Joy, co-founder of Suns Microsystems, warns people about the potential disastrous effects of new twenty-first century technology. He claims that scientists working with the new GNR technology- genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics- do not comprehend the potential danger of their inventions. Like Malcom says in Jurassic Park, “[scientists] were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think about if they should.” In the case of genetic engineering and nanotechnology both “devices can be built to be selectively destructive” (Joy 246). And unlike previous technology, GNR technology has the potential to “self-replicate”, nor does not “require large facilities or rare raw materials. Knowledge alone will enable the use of them” (Joy 240). This could be globally disastrous if terrorists or rival nations obtained such technology. Not only could discriminated cultures or ethnic groups be decimated, but millions of innocent bystanders could be as well. Decimate enough cultures and innocent bystanders and you have the end of humanity. Personally I agree that it is good to be cautious, however, people like Joy should be not be losing sleep over GNR technology. At this stage the technology is still being developed and still in its premature stages. I think it is better if people concentrate on the problems of today instead of imaginary problems of tomorrow. Humans using GNR technology against one another is only one fear that Joy presents in his article. In another scenario, Joy describes Ray Kurzweil’s dream of a utopian robotic society, a society where humans “gradually replace [themselves] with…robotic technology, achieving near immortality by downloading [their] consciousnesses” into machines. Joy asserts that such an existence has no guarantees of being a human existence. He says, “A robotic existence would not be like a human one in any sense that we understand…robots would in no sense be our children…our path to humanity may well be lost” (Joy 244). My question is, “How does Joy know this?” He doesn’t. No one can determine the future. What if it is humanity’s destiny to evolve into machines? It’s true that a robotic existence wouldn’t be like any we understand right now, but like Joy says, humans have a “bias toward instant familiarity and unquestioning acceptance” (Joy 240). Who’s to say that humans wouldn’t gradually accept a robotic existence without question? People fear the unknown, and the future is very much unknown; however, for centuries humans have evolved and adapted. And now, even though humans have become smart creatures, they are still confined by the laws of Nature and must understand they cannot control their evolution by controlling technology. “If evolution has taught us anything, it’s that life cannot be contained. Life will break free; it will find a way.” (Jurassic Park). If it is Nature’s will that we become machines then it will be so. Another fear that some have, including Kaczynski, the Unabomber, is that robots will succeed humans or that humans will become so dependent on machines they will eventually be governed by them. Who knows if this is a possibility or not? But if it is, I have every faith in humans that we will pitch a fit and revolt. It’s our nature to do so when we are not happy. History is full of revolutions. Who is to say though that humans wouldn’t live more harmoniously governed by machines? Right now humans kill and enslave one another, many times for power. Perhaps being governed by machines would eliminate the human desire or ability to have power. In the Matrix humans were used as batteries and not only mentally enslaved, but physically enslaved. This is not a type of future I would want to have. But honestly, I don’t see how it is much different than the world we live in right now. We are enslaved to society. Television and cyberspace, they are today’s distractions. Society uses them to manipulate us and restrain us by telling us what is cool or not cool, what to eat, what to wear, how to act, how to live, how to be happy. It is ridiculous. I agree with Joy in that humans should be concerned about the future. I don’t want my life or humanity for that case to end prematurely; however, I’m not going to fret and cry over the inevitability of human extinction, nor am I going to try to use technology to alter humanity’s evolution path. If Mother Nature decides that it is time for us to relinquish our earthly domain to another creature, like the dinosaurs did for us, then so be it. We are not gods. We should leave creation to Mother Nature. Instead, we need to focus on living our own lives to the fullest. Put useless worries about tomorrow aside and worry about today. Society is messed up enough as it is with all the indifference, crime and immorality. Try worrying about that instead.
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Wired 8.04:
Why the future doesn't need us.
Wired 8.04: A Tale of Two Botanies
Wired 8.07: Rants & Raves
Executive Bios: Bill Joy
Valley to Bill Joy: 'Zzzzzzz'
Debating Humanity's Demise
Why the future needs Bill Joy
cluebot.com | Why Bill Joy is Elitist, Myopic, and Wrong
Special Focus on Bill Joy's Hi-Tech Warning - The Center for the
Study of Technology
Bill Joy Hopes Reason Prevails
In Search of Cyber Humanity
Oh Joy, Another Futurist Rant
Pop!Tech: Praises and Protests
The Rise of Dot-Communism
Sep/Oct 00: Not by Reason Alone
ZDNet: Printer Friendly - Rage Against The Machine
HotWired: Unabomber's Manifesto: Index
Hans Moravec home page
Peek at new book: ROBOT by Hans Moravec
Background 2: Accidents, Malice, Progress, and Other Topics
The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil The Kurzweil Companies http://www.kurzweiltech.com/companies_static.html
Social Life of Information Home Page
Foresight Institute
Can Robots Rule the World? Not Yet
BBC News | FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT | Robots rule OK?
ABCNEWS.com : WNT: What if Machines Get Too Smart?
Privacy's Yin and Yang
Promise and peril of technology:
The future is already written
Bill Joy, Killjoy? by Robert Wright The Future Needs Us: A Rejoinder to Bill Joy - Terry van der Werff - Global Future Global Future Reportô March 14th, 2000 Dr. Terry van der Werff, CMC Speaker Consultant http://www.globalfuture.com/wired-joy.htm |
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© Copyright 2000 Christine Boese and the students listed above. |