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Technology In Ray Bradbury's 'The Veldt'

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The rate of technological growth is exponential, and soon stories such as “The Veldt” may become a reality. Humans are constantly learning and creating new things to benefit them. Ideas that were mere science fiction are now becoming reality, like the self-driving car. New technology is everywhere; something as simple as a smartphone would have been a miracle 20 years ago. The purpose of technology is to help complete a task easier or more efficiently; it is dangerous however to rely too heavily on anything, as it can leave one ill-prepared to deal with real difficulties. With innovations like the autonomous car on the horizon, Ray Bradbury’s “The Veldt” offers an insight on what may be the cost of convenience for a technologically dependent …show more content…

The fictional machines can do anything from simulate a beach, to tie a pair of shoes. The Happylife Home even prepares meals for the those living in it (Bradbury). And when mundane tasks are no longer a person's responsibility, they can pursue whatever they wish, or nothing at all; free time is one of the world's greatest treasures. However, as shown in the short story itself, overuse of technology can have somewhat negative effects. The technology in Bradbury’s “The Veldt” pampers it’s owner and can make them extremely lazy. It had gone to such a level where the children don’t even bathe themselves or brush their own teeth, leaving them incapable of such basic things (Bradbury). Furthermore, being cared for by the Happylife Home seemed to have a mental impact on the children. They started to form an emotional bond with a non sentient machine and even went as far as to kill their own parents to protect it (Bradbury). It begs the question, at what level does one stop controlling a machine and end up being controlled …show more content…

The benefits of having a vehicle that can operate itself are obvious. With a system of cars working together on the road, traffic would be smoother and more efficient; in addition, drivers would also be able to multi-task whilst driving if the car could navigate itself. The safety benefits of a perfected self-driving car are also to be considered. As much as 90% of car accidents are caused by human error, and theoretically all 90% could effectively be eliminated with the proper implication of self-driving cars (Greenemeier). The other side of the coin would be the crashes caused by self-driving cars, and the moral dilemmas that those accidents would create. In comparing self-driving cars to Bradbury’s “The Veldt” the same issues arise: laziness and incompetence. Self-driving cars would leave any inexperienced driver at the mercy of the road during a state of malfunction, and with new drivers not having to actually drive they lose a basic skill that so many people have. Morally, self-driving cars don’t at first appear to be a problem but there is always a risk of giving a machine so much power. This exert from Greenenmeier encompases what may very well be one of those risks. “A self-driving car carrying a family of four on a rural two-lane highway spots a bouncing

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