September 10, 2007

Technology Gone Mad

It's amazing how much tv I ingest while wallpapering.
Now, I'm watching the Science Channel. A program about robots. A robotocist says, 'Our goal is to create sentient beings.'
And my antennae begin quivering.

The scientist quickly assures the audience that WE have nothing to fear from these entities.
That may be true -- or not.
But, what have they to fear from US?
Why are we interested in creating them -- beyond the idea of proving we can?
To do tedious jobs we don't want to do ourselves? To do dangerous jobs, ditto? To go into combat in our steads?

If they're sentient, might they not recognize their own 2nd class citizenship? Might they not resent it? Wouldn't you? I sure as hell would.
Even if I'd been programmed not to do anything about it -- maybe especially if I'd been so programmed -- what would that make me? In a word, it would make me a slave.

Do we truly want to go down that road?
Brave New World, here we come-- once again without thinking through the consequences of our actions.

11 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

I want a robot to come over and finish this job of re-finishing my kitchen cabinets I've started. It's really messing with my blogging time.

Larry said...

Someone has thought about the consequences of our actions, bad thing is it was the wrong people doing the thinking.

two crows said...

LOL -- ME!
if I know you, you'd offer the robot tea and cookies, have it put its feet up, maybe have it do a blog post on the robots' plight while you refinished the cabinets-- :D

hi, larry--
ain't that always the way?
the ones who are helpless to influence policy are the ones who think these things through.

TomCat said...

Such creaqtions already exist, and they do two things.

1) Watch Fox News
2) Vote

Mary Ellen said...

two crows-

You know me too well!

two crows said...

oh, TC--
please don't insult our cyborg friends that way!
better watch out, they'll send some of their nano-relatives to invade your house and mess up your computer!

two crows said...

caughtcha, ME! :)

what _I_ want is for a robot to come over here and set up an IV valium drip so I can sleep through the next 1 1/3 years. if I show signs of stirring, increase the dose.

if Bush enacts the finding giving himself dictatorial powers, transport me to mexico before waking me

wake me in november to vote and again in january '09 if the country is still here.

TomCat said...

LOL TC. In fact I just had to change firewalls.

two crows said...

yo, tc--
tol'ja! don't mess with techs. :)

TomCat said...

:'-(

And my DSL line is on the fritz.

two crows said...

hey, TC--
that's what happens when you compare robots to republicans!

sorry it's happening but I DID warnya!
;)