Why the Future Does Not Need Us

Topics: The dangers posed by Science and Technology and the insights from William Nelson Joy’s (2000) article, Why the
future doesn’t need us?, in evaluating contemporary human experience in the midst of rapid developments in science and
technology.

Humans and Robots

 Automation, increasing sophistication of computers, and robots may be threatening the usefulness of humans and
threatening human employment.
 The development of artificial intelligence may make robots act or decide like humans.
 This possibility needs reflection regarding ethical considerations concerning robots.
 A robot is an actuated mechanism programmable in two or more axes with a degree of autonomy, moving within its
environment, to perform intended tasks.
 Autonomy means the ability to perform intended tasks based on current state and sensing without human intervention.
 According to Dylan Evans in his article “The ethical dilemma of robots”, some countries are drawing ethical codes and
legislation regarding human abuse to robots and vice versa.
 The development of emotional robotics which allows robots to recognize human expressions of emotion and to engage
in behavior that humans readily perceive as emotional also contributes to the ethical dilemma regarding robots and
humans.
 Some of the ethical questions that are relevant to this issue include:
1. What does it mean for humans to be replaced by machines?
2. Is the value of a human inversely proportional to that of a machine exhibiting artificial intelligence?
3. How do we guard against mistakes committed by machines?
4. If a robot injures someone, is the designer to blame, or the user, or the robot itself?
5. If robots can feel pain, should they be granted certain rights?
6. If robots develop emotions, as some experts think they will, should they be allowed to marry humans?
7. Should robots be allowed to own property?
8. If we see machines as increasingly human-like, will we come to see ourselves as more machine-like?

Humans, Television Sets, Mobile Phones, and Computers

 Almost every household contain television sets, mobile phones, and computers.
 There are hundreds of millions of mobile phone subscription, millions of active Facebook accounts, and several hours of
mobile phone and computer interface.
 The Philippines has currently one of the highest digital populations in the world and is the fastest-growing application
market in Southeast Asia.
 These devices are used as platforms for advertisements, propaganda, and advocacies for communication, for
information dissemination, as recreational activity and stress reliever, and as way to bond with family members.
 Though there are uses, some argue that there are ethical dilemmas that these advancements bring forth. These
include:
 Parents argue that they make children lazy and unhealthy.
 People become alienated from other people because they are fixated with these devices. Instead of connecting
people, they tend to separate them.
 People who are unable to distinguish from what is right and wrong are exposed to things which are not suitable for
them.
 Also, according to the article “Is Google making us stupid?” by Nicolas Carr, we become dependent on the Internet
that our intelligence is affected.
 We begin to lose our way of concentration and contemplation and we began to lose interest in reading longish
articles or books.
 Instead, we rely on the speed and ease of the Internet.

 In April 2000, William Nelson Joy, an American computer scientist and chief scientist of Sun Microsystems, wrote an
article for Wired magazine entitled Why the future doesn’t need us?
 Joy warned against the rapid rise of new technologies.
 He explained that 21st century technologies - genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics (GNR) - are becoming very
powerful that they can potentially bring about new classes of accidents, threats, and abuses.
 He further warned that these dangers are even more pressing because they do not require large facilities or even rare
materials
 Knowledge alone will make them potentially harmful to humans
 He argued that robotic, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology pose much greater threats than technological
developments that have come before
 He cited the ability of nanobots to self-replicate, which could quickly get out of control
 He also voiced out about the rapid increase of computer power
 He was also concerned that computers will eventually become more intelligent than humans, thus societies into
dystopian visions, such as robot rebellions.
 Joy’s article tackles the unpleasant and uncomfortable possibilities that a senseless approach to scientific and
technological advancements may bring.
 It is very unavoidable to think of a future that will no longer need the human race.
 It makes thinking of the roles and obligations of every stakeholder a necessary component of scientific and
technological advancement.
 In this case, it is very necessary that the scientific community, governments, and businesses engage in a discussion to
determine the safeguards of humans against the potential dangers of science and technology.