Clemson English 102 Webbed Argument Analysis

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Mini-Essay on Bill Joy's question
"Does the Future Need Us?"

by James Mullinix

Does the Future need us? I have a few opinions on this question which differ depending on which way you are asking it. If the question is referring to whether or not the world (or universe) can go on without us, obviously the answer is YES, the universe can go on without us… we are not needed for that. We (the human race) haven't been here forever, nor do I think we will be, so obviously we are not required. However, that is not the focus of this question. The question relates more to the future we are creating of the human race. Will the future we design eventually outgrow us? Does OUR future need US??? That is the real question. Time will obviously go on without us, but will something we create become greater than us and eventually become superior to the human race? After much thought, my answer to the question "Does the future need us?" is YES… it does.

I do believe however, that the human race could create something that could destroy us all. But, I do not believe that thehuman race could create a superior being that would not "need" us anymore. Many things that Joy sees as threats to our future ARE threats. Atomic disasters, genetic and chemical disasters are all a very serious and real threat to humans. However, if these things did happen and wiped out the human race, it wouldn't be because the future didn't need us. It would be because we messed up add created a mindless monster from messing with something we shouldn't have. I don't think we could create

Humans right now posses more than enough destructive power to wipe ourselves out. We could do it by choice, or we could, like Joy worries, do it on accident. By messing with DNA and cross breeding plants humans could unleash a killer virus that we could not control. However, this "creation" would not consciously decide that it did not need us.

Therefore, my opinion on the matter is that the future WE create will need us, however, it is a possibility that we could cause our own destruction. We will never have a future that will decide it doesn't need us.

Anatomy of an International Debate

Wired 8.04: Why the future doesn't need us.
Archive | 8.04 - Apr 2000 | Wired Magazine http://www.wirednews.com/wired/archive/8.04/joy.html

Wired 8.04: A Tale of Two Botanies
Archive | 8.04 - Apr 2000 | Wired Magazine http://www.wirednews.com/wired/archive/8.04/botanies.html

Wired 8.07: Rants & Raves
Archive | 8.07 - July 2000 | Rants & Raves Wired Magazine http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/8.07/rants.html

Executive Bios: Bill Joy
sun.com http://www.sun.com/aboutsun/media/ceo/mgt_joy.html

Valley to Bill Joy: 'Zzzzzzz'
Lycos Home Wired News Wired Magazine http://www.wirednews.com/news/technology/0,1282,35424,00.html

Debating Humanity's Demise
Lycos Home | Wired News Wired Magazine http://www.wirednews.com/news/culture/0,1284,35106,00.html

Why the future needs Bill Joy
Why the future needs Bill Joy A Response to Bill Joyís "Why the future doesnít need us" Bill Joy is worried that robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology http://www.islandone.org/MMSG/BillJoyWhyCrit.htm

cluebot.com | Why Bill Joy is Elitist, Myopic, and Wrong
search cluebot.com: cluebot.com - http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=00/10/30/2058257&mode=thread

Special Focus on Bill Joy's Hi-Tech Warning - The Center for the Study of Technology
Special Focus Bill Joy's Hi-Tech Warning (By Center Researcher Jason Specht) Latest News DISCUSSION: Why Bill Joy is Elitist, Myopic and Wrong (Cluebot) http://www.tecsoc.org/innovate/focusbilljoy.htm

Bill Joy Hopes Reason Prevails
Lycos Home Wired Magazine http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,39864,00.html

In Search of Cyber Humanity
In Search of Cyber Humanity by Patrick McGee 2:00 a.m. Oct. 28, 2000 PDT CAMDEN, Maine -- In his groundbreaking book The Age of Spiritual Machines, Ra http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,38846,00.html

Oh Joy, Another Futurist Rant
Lycos Home | Wired Magazine Oh Joy, Another Futurist Rant by L http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,35539,00.html

Pop!Tech: Praises and Protests
Lycos Home | Wired Magazine Pop!Tech: Praises and Protests by http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,32099,00.html

The Rise of Dot-Communism
Lycos Home | Wired Magazine The Rise of Dot-Communism by Theta http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,31922,00.html

Sep/Oct 00: Not by Reason Alone
September/October 2000 Michael Dertouzos ï The Peopleís Computer Not by Reason Alone In a recent Wired magazine article http://www.techreview.com/articles/oct00/dertouzos.htm

ZDNet: Printer Friendly - Rage Against The Machine
http://www.zdnet.com/filters/printerfriendly/0,6061,2628553-35,00.html

HotWired: Unabomber's Manifesto: Index
Wired News Wired Magazine The Unabomber's Manifesto http://hotwired.lycos.com/special/unabom/list.html

Hans Moravec home page
Hans Moravec Mobile Robots since 1963 Hans Moravec Robotics Institute Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~hpm/

Peek at new book: ROBOT by Hans Moravec
Preview of a new book by Hans Moravec Current readers may wish to visit the book supplement instead. mere machine to transcendent mind Available now http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/~hpm/book97/index.html

The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil
The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil http://www.penguinputnam.com/kurzweil/

The Kurzweil Companies http://www.kurzweiltech.com/companies_static.html

Social Life of Information Home Page
Informative site for new book on cyberspace [March 2000] http://www.slofi.com/

Foresight Institute
preparing for nanotechnology http://www.foresight.org/

Can Robots Rule the World? Not Yet
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/12/science/12ROBO.html

BBC News | FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT | Robots rule OK?
Computer power is rapidly turning science fiction into science fact, but some US experts are voicing concerns, the BBC's Peter Day reports. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/from_our_own_correspondent/newsid_88...

ABCNEWS.com : WNT: What if Machines Get Too Smart?
- Here at the start of the new millennium, technology seems poised both to extend human life and to enrich it in ways we can now only imagine. http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/CloserLook/wnt000811_CL_manmachine_feature

Privacy's Yin and Yang
Wired Magazine http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,37610,00.html

Promise and peril of technology:
Promise and peril of technology: Between innovation and annihilation Page 1 In a recent Wired Magazine story , SunMicrosystems co-founder BillJoy urge http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/crh112.htm

The future is already written
The future is already written Inventor`s technology predictions are out there -- or are they? By Karen Thomas , USA TODAY Words and music : Ray Kurzweil http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/review/crg994.htm

Bill Joy, Killjoy? by Robert Wright
The Earthling in Slate: This week I was fast-forwarding through my daily tapings of the Charlie Rose show when I saw a guy who looked like the grim reaper. http://slate.msn.com/earthling/00-03-17/earthling.asp

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