Module 12

At first glance Bill Joy’s article in Wired Magazine called “Why the future doesn’t need us,” seemed rather pessimistic about moving forward in the field of technology but, I found the article to be very thought provoking and eye opening. This article has a lot of good points and made me realize that just because we can doesn’t mean we should. Technology is a great and powerful machine that we have learned to harness, but without the right precautions and right people, technology could get out of control. Joy’s article explains the threats that technology could impose. The threat he focuses on the most is GNR. He defines GNR as Genetics, Nanotechnology, and robotics.

Advancements in the field of genetics could help in many areas of science. Joy points out that we have already started using genetics in farming. We have used genetics to produce food with the flavor and size that we want. We have also produced foods that contain a much smaller amount of pesticides, making the food healthier. At the same time, we have to be very cautious about our genetically modified food. If a scientist either accidently or purposely creates a malicious crop through genetic engineering and allows it to corrupt farmers crops we could have a large problem on our hands.

Genetics also brings up the touchy subject of cloning.  As we progress in our ability to clone foods and animals, the thought of cloning humans is a very intriguing possibility. Whether it be to save someone’s life or in Star Wars case to create a clone army that could help save or destroy humanity. Regardless of what the human cloning is for the question of “is this ethical?” arises.

Joy expresses his fears with Nanotechnology by describing nanobots; which are Nano sized robots that have the ability to self-replicate. I think his fear regarding nanobots is very realistic. If we lose control of this technology, I can easily see these robots replicating at a pace at which we have no control and causing massive destruction, especially when the nanobots are in the wrong hands.

 As I was reading this article, I began to wonder as to why we would even want to explore this area of technology, but Nanotechnology has so many constructive and lifesaving implications. Ideally they could be used to locate and destroy cancerous cells. They could also be used to devour oil spills and cleanup large areas of garbage and debris. But if we lose control, these same nanobots that were supposed to clean up oil spills could potentially devour our oil supply itself.

Due to sci-fi, a vast majority of individuals think that robot means a human like machine with similar mental and physical capabilities. We have had robots for a long time some more lifelike then others. Joy feels that in the foreseeable future robots could become a threat.  I can see where he gets his cautious notions, but we are not at a point where such predictions can be made. Many countries have made robots that seem very intelligent and lifelike. All these function are programmed into the robot. Unless the robot is programmed to attack the human race, it will not go rogue and start wiping out the human race. I’m not saying that this is not a possibility further down the road, but with our advancements in robotics up to this point, we are nowhere near creating a robot capable of making significant decision based on emotion and overriding its own programming. Although, I do feel like sometimes my computer has a mind of its own.

Robots help in many aspects of life. In a factory production line robots are used all the time to speed up production and do very dangerous tasks. Some retirement homes in Japan use robots to help care for the elderly. This doesn’t completely rule out the need for nurses, but when a nurse isn’t available the patient can get the help they need. Robots can also be used for entertainment. Toyota has created a robot that can play various violin songs and can even achieve the vibrato technique.

 Technology has the potential to make our lives so much easier and connect us to people in ways we would never have thought possible, but that is only if it is being used for the right purposes. There are enough good hearted people in the world that technology has become a very beneficial part of our lives.  Technology is not something that should be feared. It should be embraced.