Robots a possibility? Maybe, but the kind that cause us real harm in the future I doubt are as close as Bill Joy leads us to believe. It seems a bit outrageous to me and more like a scary science fiction movie than something that could happen, but then again there are a lot of things in old science fiction that have come into existence and are even now taken for granted...so who's to say it can't happen?
More likely I think, is the possibility of technology doing us in. The example in the article about people abusing antibiotics and creating resistant bacterias...that happens all the time! I can't count the number of times I hear of people taking antibiotics every time they get a little stuffy nose or tickle in their throat! The doctors are just as much to blame for this problem. And don't get me started on Genetically Modified Organisms....talk about bad news! We are literally poisoning ourselves into extinction with this crap! Don't believe me? Do some research, now that's some scary shit!
Another problem with technology is that we are living longer than before. This sounds great, but think about this...with increased life expectancy and decreased resources we will have some issues. Look at China with their one child policy. Imagine if that became a reality everywhere? Or even worse if you had to get permission to have a child at all? On the one hand that doesn't sound too bad since there are definitely people out there who should not be procreating, but seriously, it's scary on the other hand because it puts all the power into the hands of the government and we know that they are such great decision makers...I mean look at the deficit. Yeah, they'd do a wonderful job at dictating who can breed and who can't! My point is that technology affects us in so many more ways that we think of. As we discussed in class most of us are already dependent on at least one form of technology...usually several types of technology. I hate to admit it, but I definitely fall prey to that vice.
More likely I think, is the possibility of technology doing us in. The example in the article about people abusing antibiotics and creating resistant bacterias...that happens all the time! I can't count the number of times I hear of people taking antibiotics every time they get a little stuffy nose or tickle in their throat! The doctors are just as much to blame for this problem. And don't get me started on Genetically Modified Organisms....talk about bad news! We are literally poisoning ourselves into extinction with this crap! Don't believe me? Do some research, now that's some scary shit!
Another problem with technology is that we are living longer than before. This sounds great, but think about this...with increased life expectancy and decreased resources we will have some issues. Look at China with their one child policy. Imagine if that became a reality everywhere? Or even worse if you had to get permission to have a child at all? On the one hand that doesn't sound too bad since there are definitely people out there who should not be procreating, but seriously, it's scary on the other hand because it puts all the power into the hands of the government and we know that they are such great decision makers...I mean look at the deficit. Yeah, they'd do a wonderful job at dictating who can breed and who can't! My point is that technology affects us in so many more ways that we think of. As we discussed in class most of us are already dependent on at least one form of technology...usually several types of technology. I hate to admit it, but I definitely fall prey to that vice.
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