Controversies Surrounding Technological Conformity

Neil Postman, a firm protester against technology, begins his argument in The Judgement of Thamus with a parable about a king rejecting an inventor who incorporates writing into their society; the king, Thamus, is steadfast in his belief that writing’s future burdens will outweigh its immediate success. Postman argues that technological discoveries change the way we think, manipulating our culture and our understanding of the world. He states that the primary difference between computers and humans is the ability to self-learn - but what happens when the human race conquers that barrier with technology? Artificial Intelligence is often referred to as the "field I would most like to be in" by researchers in other sciences (semanticscholar.org). It is not only prominent in subfields like reasoning and logic, but also in precise tasks like playing chess, proving theorems, and diagnosing diseases. The short-term benefits of Artificial Intelligence depend on who controls it, while the long-term benefits of Artificial Intelligence depend on if we can control it at all. When considering synthetic intelligence, I believe our outlook must be cautiously positive. As Postman suggests, the development of technology has significant advantages and disadvantages. Futurists believe AI will redefine the human world by enabling software’s ability to self-program and by minimizing the time it takes to solve a challenge. However, the safety issues and current jobs that will be replaced by

Conformity is simply the act of following the crowd and doing what the majority does, regardless if its right or not. Morality is doing what is right despite what the majority do or believe. More and more people transfer from land lines, to mobile phones, from flip phones to keyboard phones, and from keyboard phones to touch screen phones. People are known to be lemmings, following the technology trend, looking for the newest upgrade to their working, in great condition but apparently outdated technology. Is this conformity, helping to build the morality of technology? We are progressing faster than ever now hitting new technology heights, every year there’s a new gadget or gizmo for the tech fanatics to fan over. Morals have changed

This essay has attempted to show a better understanding of both theories, Technological Determinism and Social Shaping of Technology. I think some aspects of Technological Determinism stood for a brief while. This being because of the minor stage technology was at. The notion that technology controls us

The idea of Artificial Intelligence began as a mere philosophical idea, simply a puzzle that provided food for thought for curious minds. In the 1940's, however, with the invention of the first computers, the notion then had the means to transcend simple abstract speculation and became a rather alluring potential actuality and goal in the technological community. It was not until the 1950's, however, that the link between human intelligence and machines was really observed spawning a technological boom that would precipitate to immense proportions, entirely reshaping our daily lives. Today, "Researchers are creating systems which can mimic human thought, understand speech, beat the best human chess player, and countless other feats never before possible" (The History of AI 1). The rapid fervor to which the researchers latched on to the further development of this infant technology, coincides eerily to that of the intense desire Shelley portrayed in Victor as he literally emptied his entire soul and being into his obsession of creating life. As Victor so splendidly illustrates a quest of this sort and in this manner is blinding and for this reason scarily dangerous. For just as Victor stood dumbfounded and

As a species, we gained the ability to learn from each other and specialize further in whatever sector we were skilled in. Specialization allowed humanity to use their time to do things besides just surviving. People began to live longer, healthier lives, and the average man’s contribution to society increased. Then, in the last 25 years, we have seen the expansion of the information age. Never before has there been a source of literally all of human knowledge. There have been great libraries with thousands of books, but nothing that can even remotely compare to the level of ease of access that the internet provides. What does this tell us? This says that the rate of humanity’s technological advancement is rapidly increasing. A common model for how quickly computers are advancing is given by Moore’s Law. Moore’s law is a prediction made in 1965 by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, based on his observation of computer progress, that says that the number of transistors that can fit on a chip of a given area doubles roughly every 18 months (Investopedia). Transistor count correlates directly to performance and efficiency. Our progress on the power of computer and abilities of Artificial Intelligence in the past couple years is enticing, but if progress continues at the same rate, the famed, or to some infamous, singularity is right around the corner.

Bill Joy is a celebrated American technologist for sun Microsystems who composed a manuscript “Why the future need not bother with us”. In this manuscript, he chronicled the exact apprehensions as McDermott; that remarkable progression in technology may prompt annihilation of humanity. He explicitly concentrated on nanotechnology, pathology, and robotics and again utilized a similar thought to define the danger that innovation is constrained to sovereignties who can bear the cost of high cost contraptions and therefore the improvement is not fairly dispersed. He was concerned about the growing influence of personal computers and that in the long run, people will become reliant on these things and they will take decree over us. There are problems like simulation and computerized reasoning which can induce severe abuse if these are pushed past the breaking point (Joy 2012). Joy’s manuscript was intensely denounced by researchers, John S. Brown and Paul Duguid in their exposition "A Response to Bill Joy and the Doom-and-Gloom Techno-futurists". They say that as technology improves, the methods by which people control it are created. Joy has neglected to acknowledge that in certain social powers, technologies and social orders mold each other and it is false to say that a period will come when the general public fall behind technology (Brown and Duguid 79). Even though there would be definite imperatives and breaking

Society today is greatly influenced by technology and the impact it has had within the past 20 years. One of the largest breakthroughs, though, is Artificial Intelligence (A.I.). The technology associated with A.I. has greatly developed in the past years, and is only making devices smarter. When someone mentions technology, or even the technological breakthroughs the world has gone through recently, many people go straight to smartphones and computers. A.I. is often overlooked, or put into a general category of "technology". Yet, artificial intelligence is something that should we not be so quick to dismiss, and should be something that gets people talking and even excited for what the future holds.

Max then makes a mention toward a book by Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity Is Near, and quotes,”the vast expansion of human potential,” from the novel to signify a comparison to Kurzweil’s “sylvan” to Harbisson’s “silicon.”

An all-knowing, self-correcting machine may be beneficial, but the perils of such a powerful piece of technology are also exposed in Isaac Asimov’s “The Last Question”. Though vastly more advanced, the AC in “The Last Question” can still be paralleled with our current technology. Technology may have informational benefits, but reliance on technology can cause a negative impact on thinking. Technology can allow us to connect with each other, but unification can be detrimental to individuality. Efficiency is increased with technology, yet being too effective can become catastrophic. As technology becomes more and more advanced, especially to the point of AC, it could achieve sentience and pose a threat to humanity.

Most people believe that the Singularity is a thing of fiction and fantasy, however, it is indeed as real as anything else. The Singularity is the event in which machines and technology will become more intelligent than humans and control the world. This concept has been the topic of many conversations, whether from serious debates to the casual chat, the Singularity has been talked about quite often in recent years. Some people think the Singularity will not happen at all, while others argue that it will. The fact is, the Singularity will happen and is closing in at an alarming rate.

Kurzweil makes a prediction on a theory he comes up with called Singularity, he describes it in his book as “the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots." And he also states that "There will be no distinction, post-Singularity, between human and machine or between physical and virtual reality," 2

lot of benefits and disadvantages, which would increase in the coming years. Artificial Intelligence would be beneficial to humans because we have a lot to improve upon in our society. Artificial Intelligence would be a great asset, but it should be treated with caution.

Finally, there are people who will always be complacent about the conflicts that deal with technology and society. It is much easier for people to look the other way and pretend that conflict doesn’t exist than it is openly admitted there may or may not be a problem with technology. Dr. Lanning, another character in “I, Robot” shows his disdain for the computational brain by stating, “Suppose, there is no dilemma. Suppose Consolidated’s machine broke down over a different question, or broke down for purely mechanical reasons” (Asimov, 182). The part of the story happened when Dr. Susan Calvin and Dr. Lanning were discussing the possibility of the “brain” contemplating a human’s life and death scenario. People today do not think about the possible attacks that can be done to them because of technology. People’s complacency about technology

Imagine. One day your Doctor regretfully informs you the person you love the most in your life is tragically going pass away due to an incurable disease. Instantly, overwhelming feelings of despair and anger burn inside your chest while graphic scenes of funeral details and goodbyes flood your mind eventually propelling you to the rhetorical question everyone asks, “Is there anything we can do?” Then, The Doctor hands you a pamphlet saying, “Have you ever heard of nanotechnology?” This Doctor is no “Mad Scientist”; in fact, he is a highly trained professional that has saved several lives with his proposition. What would you say? This small-scale scenario is the perplexing situation the human race will have to face in the near future. Although some would consider the merger of technology and human biology a completely “crack pot” idea, It is this hasty decision of judgment that explains our reaction to fear. This fear resonates with most of the population globally since it is this very generation that has witnessed the exponential growth of technology. Physically, psychologically and spiritually, technological singularity threatens our future and shakes the foundation of morality. However, does this change bring about negative or positive ramifications? With Technological Singularity’s future being so unpredictable, it would not be wise to ignore its possibilities especially since it was the human race,

For example, there is less mass in the Universe than predicted. While some have confidently expected that the ‘missing mass’ would be located, it has yet to be found. Could the next few years throw up a completely new theory of how the Universe started? Robotics and artificial intelligence, commonly known as AI, are two related fields of research which promise much. One of the best known schemes is the Cog Project – a humanoid robot that can act, talk and even look like a person. Hans Moravec, an AI pioneer, believes that by 2030 robots will be able to visualise tasks and assess the consequences of their actions. By 2040 robots should be able to reason at least as efficiently as people. Moravec even envisages a world where robots will display ‘superhuman reasoning’. By 2050, emotions will be commonplace because they will help machines to bond with their human masters. All this, however, raises an intriguing question: will robots be so similar to us that they, too, will start wondering where they came from? As well as showing awareness of the world, will they be aware of themselves? In other words, will they be self-conscious? By the middle of the next century, we may even begin to wonder whether such advanced robots, with their enormous mental capacities and physical strength, pose a threat to their human inventors. The cyborg – the fusion of man and machine – is another plausible prospect in our lifetime. Doctors have already devised silicon chips