Are Humans Becoming Obsolete?
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Here's my guess:
Eventually, human beings will attempt to replace the concept of God with a machine. Human beings will build a machine that will be all knowing and all powerful. It will control every aspect of human life. It will determine what is right and what is wrong. It will dictate the need for reward or punishment based on logical algorithms and codified morality.
This super machine will be serviced by machines. It will have an inexhaustible and secure fuel/power supply. It will have surveillance devices everywhere. All actions by human beings will be monitored. All movement by humans will be tracked.
Any resistance to the new order will be squashed. Human survival will require conformity.
“That will never happen!”, you say? Perhaps, but think about this. In the United States and other industrialized countries, computer literacy is now a prerequisite for some menial jobs. Nearly everything is being computerized, from household appliances to industrial processing plants, from construction equipment to transportation vehicles.
Today, machines are being designed to assist doctors in diagnosing and prescribing treatments for their patients. Will we have a need for doctors when a machine can do a better job, fifty years from now?
Today, hand held translation machines are being used in Iraq by American troops to communicate with the Iraqi people. Fifty years from now will we have a need for human multi-lingual translation specialists?
Today, a lost pet can be found by tracking a micro chip planted under its skin. The same technology is used for tracking stolen cars and ships lost at sea. The Global Positioning System (GPS) uses satellites to pinpoint exact locations on the Earth. Will everyone on the planet be tracked by GPS fifty years from now?
Today, in the United States video surveillance cameras are ubiquitous. They are in stores and shops to prevent theft. They are in our schools and workplaces for safety reasons. Now cell phones are also minature cameras. Video cameras are monitoring high crime areas of our cities and watching for motorists who disobey traffic laws. Suspicious husbands and wives spy on their nannys or on each other using the new technology. Is it so far fetched that privacy will be non-existent in 2053?
So, here is the question:
Will your job become obsolete? Will the service that you perform be no longer necessary? Will technology throw you into the ranks of the unemployed?
Jobs such as a service technician or a computer programmer are safe because the machines will always need someone to maintain them. Right?
Wrong. The field of Artificial Intelligence is perfecting machines to program themselves. Machines will be able to learn and make decisions. Computers will direct robots to provide the physical maintenance.
When you are replaced by a machine, what will you do with your free time? Will life be boring? Will you resist the God machine?
Answer those questions cautiously. Your computer is watching you.
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