Fearing One's Own Creation (Blog 2)

"We must begin to say 'no' to certain kinds of technology and to begin to control technological change because we've now reached the point that technology is so powerful and so rapid that it could destroy us unless we control it."

Since technology boomed, humans have watched it grow from a baby to a toddler to a child and to a teenager. But now, in 2012, technology has become overwhelming and hard to handle. And in some cases, it doesn't even have to rely on its parents to care for it. It has become a quickly growing being that may strike fear in the uneducated masses that can't keep up. What came to mind immediately was the movie "AI". It is a movie that explores the moment when technology becomes self aware and capable of having intelligence. Although the movie is glamorized with sleek robots with human forms and a future world, we are closer to that future than we think. When you sit down at the computer and lose yourself in the world of news, social interaction, humor, and every form of entertainment at your fingertips, you unknowingly surrender yourself to it's grasp. Technology has you. And if, due to some new invention, it became self aware, it would quickly realize that you rely on it more than it relies on you.

Now, those circumstances are very much fears of a future that is far away, but it puts in perspective what we as people have the ability to create. We have created technology that we can foresee having to fight against for the fate of our world. This fear is of our own creation, technology. There is going to be a point where technology advances so much that we cannot hold on. Our brains will not be able to keep up, and we will surrender ourselves to it. But what does that surrender bring? A halt to technology? A "dark ages" period? Technological takeover? Who knows...what we can predict though is when the event may happen. That technology is faster than our own understanding or comprehension. And it may be even as close as 2045. Predictions from a leading scientist in the understanding of theories on Technological Singularity predict artificial intelligence becoming a reality:

"Kurzweil believes that we're approaching a moment when computers will become intelligent, and not just intelligent but more intelligent than humans. When that happens, humanity — our bodies, our minds, our civilization — will be completely and irreversibly transformed. He believes that this moment is not only inevitable but imminent. According to his calculations, the end of human civilization as we know it is about 35 years away."

Grossman, Lev. "2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal."Time Magazine Science. 10 Feb 2011: n. page. Web. 4 Sep. 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2048299,00.html>

So, are we to sit back and fear the impending doom we have brought on ourselves? No.

We must take a look at our creation and face it with a clear mind, and a willingness to sit back and let technology as it is for a while. The ever growing nature of technology isn't a necessity. It isn't needed to advance our civilization. We are moving leaps and bounds faster than other countries in the world. Why not wait and give other a time to catch up? It is not the technology that has created the problem, it is the humans who have. And to save ourselves, we must be aware that we still have time to slow the advancement of technology. It is still in our hands, but sitting around doing nothing won't solve this every growing problem. It is still slow enough to recognize the problem we are facing, but as soon as it begins to grow any quicker, we will lose sight of the problem, and the solution.