During the course of this summer, I have decided to take a college class for future credit. My professor while teaching the inequality within society went on to say that in "20-30 years, human kind will have built a machine with intellectual capabilities greater than that of man." Now, this statement although very interesting to me at that time never really set in as a problem until later on that same day. While at home, I became captivated with a documentary which listed technological advancement to be the third most likely cause of human extinction. Even greater than the possibilities of the destruction of our ozone layer, as well as the chance that the already ongoing sudden climate changes will end the world. Now as you might guessed at this moment, I had become absolutely engaged on the topic; Which led me to think of the idea of human destruction under the hands of our own creation as well...possible.
On the next day, I decided to have a conversation regarding this topic with my very intelligent yet incredibly stubborn friend. Upon hearing the basics of this theory, she immediately disagree claiming that if such an outcome was possible, then it would require an immense amount of energy that we simply do not have. Why this is a very interesting critique, I find it very hard to believe. I mean think about it, history has thought us that even the shortest gap as the day can bring upon severe changes. Now comparing the 21st century to the 20th, then what is the flaw in saying that in 20-30 years, a new form of energy would have been discovered. As many flaws as human kind may possess, progression certainly isn't one of them. Upon hearing of this theory of progression, she then coined a statement that I found really hard to accept despite its many appeal to logic. her words were as follows "No matter how smart technology becomes, it will always require some form of human command as well as a safeguard." We humans are reckless and subject to dependency; with that said, it is quite likely that our need for dependency will over shadow our judgement. The effort we put into lessening our labor, the more power we relinquish into the hands of these machines. In other words, we as humans in our need to lessen our labor will unintentionally relinquish our power to these machines.
The purpose of this article is not to discuss the chances of a mechanical doom, but to discuss our vulnerability to become far to dependent. 50 years ago, not even the highest in the social ranking would have had the liberty to say "I have a personal computer." Today however, most people have access to a working computer with ease. What we do not realize, is that even with these new accommodations, there are consequences. Think about it, the fun of learning has been significantly reduced. Back then, to gain knowledge was almost like an adventure, you were required to investigate, research and actually go to a library. Learning was not just for the sake of...learning, but because you had a passion for the topic. A passion that drove you to investigate, a passion that gave life meaning, a passion that made every passing day magnificent. We have lost so much of that passion for knowledge, that learning something is only a few buttons away. It has become so easily available to us, that we see no value for it and as such really have no passion for it. Even after analyzing this, we have the audacity to ask why our youth are so lazy, or why they show no passion for education, or even why our moral code has been reduced to nothing more than a minuscule blemish on the face of society. Rather than blaming our youth, the proper way to deal with all these problems is to really look at the toll that these new technologies has taken on our society.
We have become so dependent as a result of technological advancements that we literally jump into every opportunity that demands the least work, regardless of its effect on the people around us. This is why the United States is dependent on other nations for its energy source, this is why we depend so much on the government to take care of us. We have been raised in an environment where within seconds, we can get answers with the simple push of a button, and as a result have developed a system of belief that requires our dependency on others and other things. As a result of this dependency, we have relinquished so much of our power and free will to this entity. In today's world, a computer bridge is equivalent to an apocalypse. So much of our individuality and power to control out lives has been given to these mechanical "marvels," that an individuals computer keeps hold the story of his or her life. It holds his/her financial stance, it holds his/her security, it essentially holds his/her life. If this computer where to be bridged, this individual....well is danger of virtually losing his/her life. It is very sad to think that with the press of several buttons, ones life could be destroyed, yet this is a situation that we created. The effect of technology on our ability to control our lives has been devastating. We no longer have much of that power thanks to our dependency on technologies...and yet we strive to update and give these technologies more control over our lives.
Technology without a doubt has made life easier for us in many ways; however it is equivalent to trading our soul to the devil. We have sold our soul, in return for accommodates...Good job human kind.
On the next day, I decided to have a conversation regarding this topic with my very intelligent yet incredibly stubborn friend. Upon hearing the basics of this theory, she immediately disagree claiming that if such an outcome was possible, then it would require an immense amount of energy that we simply do not have. Why this is a very interesting critique, I find it very hard to believe. I mean think about it, history has thought us that even the shortest gap as the day can bring upon severe changes. Now comparing the 21st century to the 20th, then what is the flaw in saying that in 20-30 years, a new form of energy would have been discovered. As many flaws as human kind may possess, progression certainly isn't one of them. Upon hearing of this theory of progression, she then coined a statement that I found really hard to accept despite its many appeal to logic. her words were as follows "No matter how smart technology becomes, it will always require some form of human command as well as a safeguard." We humans are reckless and subject to dependency; with that said, it is quite likely that our need for dependency will over shadow our judgement. The effort we put into lessening our labor, the more power we relinquish into the hands of these machines. In other words, we as humans in our need to lessen our labor will unintentionally relinquish our power to these machines.
The purpose of this article is not to discuss the chances of a mechanical doom, but to discuss our vulnerability to become far to dependent. 50 years ago, not even the highest in the social ranking would have had the liberty to say "I have a personal computer." Today however, most people have access to a working computer with ease. What we do not realize, is that even with these new accommodations, there are consequences. Think about it, the fun of learning has been significantly reduced. Back then, to gain knowledge was almost like an adventure, you were required to investigate, research and actually go to a library. Learning was not just for the sake of...learning, but because you had a passion for the topic. A passion that drove you to investigate, a passion that gave life meaning, a passion that made every passing day magnificent. We have lost so much of that passion for knowledge, that learning something is only a few buttons away. It has become so easily available to us, that we see no value for it and as such really have no passion for it. Even after analyzing this, we have the audacity to ask why our youth are so lazy, or why they show no passion for education, or even why our moral code has been reduced to nothing more than a minuscule blemish on the face of society. Rather than blaming our youth, the proper way to deal with all these problems is to really look at the toll that these new technologies has taken on our society.
We have become so dependent as a result of technological advancements that we literally jump into every opportunity that demands the least work, regardless of its effect on the people around us. This is why the United States is dependent on other nations for its energy source, this is why we depend so much on the government to take care of us. We have been raised in an environment where within seconds, we can get answers with the simple push of a button, and as a result have developed a system of belief that requires our dependency on others and other things. As a result of this dependency, we have relinquished so much of our power and free will to this entity. In today's world, a computer bridge is equivalent to an apocalypse. So much of our individuality and power to control out lives has been given to these mechanical "marvels," that an individuals computer keeps hold the story of his or her life. It holds his/her financial stance, it holds his/her security, it essentially holds his/her life. If this computer where to be bridged, this individual....well is danger of virtually losing his/her life. It is very sad to think that with the press of several buttons, ones life could be destroyed, yet this is a situation that we created. The effect of technology on our ability to control our lives has been devastating. We no longer have much of that power thanks to our dependency on technologies...and yet we strive to update and give these technologies more control over our lives.
Technology without a doubt has made life easier for us in many ways; however it is equivalent to trading our soul to the devil. We have sold our soul, in return for accommodates...Good job human kind.
Post a Comment
Be the first to comment on this article!