The future doesn’t need us, but it will take a lot to get rid of us. In an article in Wired Magazine, Bill Joy talks about it concerns of our future and the possibilities that technological advances could lead to the extinction of the human race. The idea is simple, ever since man stood out among other living things on Earth as intelligent we have been trying to invent machines to make our lives easier. These may someday become so advance that they can actually perform our human functions better than we can ourselves and our presence is just simply not necessary. One day a caveman said, “My feet hurt and I don’t want to walk anymore,” and then he started rolling around on wheels. In the near future someone might say, “My brain hurts and I don’t want to think anymore,” and then we will have machines that think for us. The problem is that they could think better than us and decide that they do not need us around. Joy points out some things that many people either ignore, do not understand, or do not know about that could completely change life or end it all together. We have spent so much effort trying to make our lives easier but may not know the consequences of developing out of our limits.
Joy uses a great description to show the difference between the twentieth century and the twenty-first century. He says that the twentieth century was the century of weapons of mass destruction. That makes sense, with the World War II and the Cold War, the advances in technology were driven towards finding the biggest bomb to gain power. It was not until the end of century that things really took off in the computer world and led into the twenty-first century that is the century of genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics. These new ground breaking technologies were hard to regulate so it was and can be easy to abuse them. Nuclear bombs were used to scare people for power and were used to kill a lot of people. The technologies in the twenty-first century are very useful but can easily be used for destructive purposes. If there was an accident with an atomic bomb, it could cause a lot of damage, as well as if something happened with robotics or nanotechnology that we did not expect, we may not be prepared to defend ourselves. Technological advances really means we can manipulate our surroundings more and more. With genetics we can change and affect living things. Nanotechnology has the power to perform huge tasks with little effort. Robots will do anything we want them to, for now. Bill Joy’s concern is that, as humans, we are focused on developing and keep designing and building without considering the consequences that may arise in the future.
It is hard for me to think of machines that we built becoming superior and eventually replacing us. It seems goofy that humans with bodies, minds, and feelings would be an unnecessary accessory to the machines, but I do not think Joy is suggesting that they will becoming evil and turn on us like iRobot. I do not think that will happen, maybe because I do not want it to. He is suggesting that if it does get to the point that humans as they are now will not be of value, then it will happen gradually over time so that we will have already accepted it bit by bit when it actually it happens. I do think that could happen. We already rely on machines so much that whether or not we need more efficient and capable ones is not even a question. We will continue to build faster smarter machines and make them more affordable so that everyone in the world has access to the benefits.
I think Joy is correct in thinking that there are problems on the horizon that we are not ready for. All the time, we are continuously amazed by the new products and abilities we come up with. The thought of inventing things we are not ready to handle is not too far off. Most advances and ideas are created for money and physical gain. New products worth a lot of money can easily block out important considerations for effects it could have on society. What we need to do is study all angles even looking may years later if this is something really worth the cash. Moral considerations may slow the process but the thing that worries me is that it is going to happen anyway. If we can imagine it we will find a way to bring it to life, even if it means jeopardizing our own.
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