By the end of Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot, I was left wondering about the
possibility of robots governing humans and the implications that it would have
on human life. At first I thought that it would be a terrible idea because
robots don’t have the same human capabilities that we do. However, if we were
able to develop a robot that was essentially just the ideal human, I began to
think how much of a positive it could be for society. There would be no
political agenda, no corruption, and no faulty decision-making. However, it
brought me back to the same question that I have been struggling with since the
beginning of the class; how far is too far?
Why are we obsessed with achieving
perfection rather than accepting life for what it is. If we keep striving so
willfully toward perfection, the only way we will reach that goal is by
computerizing and robotizing everything, because humans aren’t perfect and are
incapable of making the correct decision every time. As a previous post
mentioned, it seems as if on the surface that this would create a utopic
society because it would eliminate all large issues. However, it would
eliminate free will and erase the same will to live that we now have.
Good point. I think that a central recurring issue in many of the books that we've read is that all of the things humans create to "better" society end up causing more problems than they solve, because of all of the unintended consequences of trying to "play God."
ReplyDeleteI think extrapolation about what would happen in a highly robotic society is tough. Science fiction can give us clues and warnings, but we can't truly know what the future holds. This is super random, but I read a post on Reddit recently about why humans continue to explore. Here it is: http://www.reddit.com/r/YouShouldKnow/comments/20n1mz/ysk_that_a_newly_announced_measurement_of/cg52uxc?context=2
ReplyDeleteThe reason I bring this up is because I think humans wouldn't just give up a will to live. Our universe is gigantic enough to give us a reason to keep exploring and keep living, even if we think we already have all the answers. We pessimistically assume that humans will take the lazy route and fade away all together. My point is that there is an achievable balance, and we need to give ourselves credit for our own behavior, intellect, and discoveries.