Dana Payne

Dr.  Adam Johns

Seminar in Composition

August 28, 2008

Seeds of Ruin

History shows that humans inherently seek knowledge, and in their search for knowledge, their true goal is to obtain power.  When they refine this knowledge, it can be created to make the average person’s daily life infinitely simpler, but when technology makes life easier, people everywhere use it constantly.  The internet is the perfect example.  With the internet, people gain access to everything in one, simple place.  Since we have everything at our fingertips, we lose sight of how to do things for ourselves and let technology govern our lives; we develop an incurable apathy.  Such is the path which we have set for ourselves:  to further simplify daily life, humans will eventually become dependent on whatever technology develops in the future, including robots.  In “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us,” this is Bill Joy’s argument  which is most evident in his reference to our dependency on antibiotics:  “Our overuse of antibiotics has led to what may be the biggest such problem so far:  the emergence of antibiotic-resistant and much more dangerous bacteria” (Joy 2).  Humans will become so dependent upon robots that not using robots would be hazardous or even fatal to the entire race.

At the mention of robots nowadays, one’s mind may immediately venture to the image of some science fiction film or novel, making it seem nothing more than mere fantasy, but the fact that Bill Joy, an affluent and highly involved member of the scientific community, is making these claims changes everything.  Not only does he have connections to the people who have developed much of our current technology, but he has dedicated his life to the study of computers and technology as seen in his brief autobiography within the article.  Joy’s involvement in such groundbreaking developments as Unix software and Java--a practically unavoidable application on the internet--proves his credibility even further.  Also, if more people understood the rate at which technology is developing--a rate at which a couple month old computer can be deemed obsolete--the idea of robots becomes less inconceivable.  

All of this is not to say that technology is evil and brings naught but harm.  If technology which Bill Joy has described truly exists in the future of the world, then it could do unimaginable good.  Think of the advances which could be made in the field of medicine, saving many lives, which possibly would not have been the case without technological advances.  Think of how technology could turn third world countries into thriving nations of prosperity.  The benefits of technology can continue infinitely, but it is just as crucial to remember the damage that could be done.  Therefore, while the development of technology in general should never be limited, advancement--for those with the ability to think beyond the borders of what is considered normal create the truly brilliant inventions--it is important to limit human dependency on certain technologies such as robotics.  Now things such as replacing prosthetic limbs with robotic limbs is not terribly dangerous change, but giving those limbs power beyond that of a normal human is dangerous.  Limiting the merging of of humans and robots is crucial.  If humans merge with robotics to the point at which they become immortal, they lose what made them human in the first place:  their vulnerability and their uniqueness.  An immortal is not human and totally unnatural, not to mention unethical.  It is unethical because as immortal demigods ourselves, who is to say that there is a God over us immortal, invincible beings.  Also, if these robots decide that they do not feel the inferior human existence is necessary, who is to say that they could not simply decide that they could function without humans, whilst human could not function without them.  Bill Joy’s example of this is found in his article in which he describes the North American placental species of animals come to completely eliminate the inferior Southern marsupial mammals because they are the inferior race (Joy 3).  Limits are the only way to keep events like this from happening, but between the superior robot race and the inferior human race.

The most influential limits are found in government, which is a point made by Bill Joy.  He believes that the government could keep the advancements in robot technology from going too far thanks to governmental blocks.  I agree with him that government involvement would be necessary.  For example, the government could fund a board of scientists and engineers, who are unaffiliated with the corporations that market the robotics.  It is necessary for unaffiliated specialists to constitute the board so that corruption is avoided.  A representative from the major corporations would sit in on meeting to keep the board updated on the progress of robotics and to report to their respective companies.  The government would also keep one thing from happening that it always has prohibited:  monopolies.  If a single robotics company were to obtain a monopoly on the robotics industry, total power would fall into the hands of the few elite who own the monopoly.  Centralization of power is also a very dangerous thought, because if the few elite created the robots upon which human lives are dependent, they essentially own human life.  Another important function of this board would be to set the guidelines for robotic manufacturing.  They would be responsible for ensuring that robotics cannot merge with humans so much that humanity is practically erased.  As aforemetioned, limitations are the only way to possibly avoid the extinction of the human race.  Government is supposed to be a ruling body for the people and constituted of the people, therefore, it falls to them to ensure that we, as humans, do not destroy ourselves.

I could end this paper with a lengthy recap of all of the points made concerning the dependency of humans and how it creates weakness and apathy or how limitations in robotics manufacturing could save the human race, but I shall end off with a single quote from Alan Moore’s provocative graphic novel, V for Vendetta:

“...we cannot have too much of science...with science, ideas can germinate within a bed of theory, form, and practice that assists their growth...but we, as gardeners, must beware, for some seeds are the seeds of ruin and the most iridescent blooms are often the most dangerous” (Moore 220).