You worry about "a world of utter human dependence upon technology" - but we are there already. how can 8 billion people survive living a pre-agricultural, pre-industrial way of life?
It's undoubtedly a fine line, Simon, and thank you for the comment. One hazard of weighing in on this topic is that concerns about technology's potential (or present) drawbacks can be mistaken for a general anti-technology position. It's one thing to rely on machinery for large-scale industrialization, but when we're faced with the idea of software programs displacing, or at least significantly marginalizing, human thought process, the plausibility of widespread mental degradation seems deserving of at least some consideration.
Thank you Mr. Hay for this thought provoking essay. If We Humans are stupid enough to give AI Carte Blanche over our existence then we deserve what's coming to us. One would think that movies and books such as The Terminator, Fahrenheit 451 or Brave New World would be enough of a "Hey Dummy, don't get too comfortable..." warning that leaving our Lives to someone or something else is detrimental to our Physical beings. But, then We Humans are very good at not listening. Too many examples throughout History to list here. In the end, We all return to dust so, I would say: enjoy your time here on this beautiful Blue Marble. Few of us are able and/or capable of changing the course of Humanity. Let's hope for our Species sake that smarter heads prevail...Have a great week, All!
Here are 2 books on AI that will really get your attention! Homo Deus by Yuval Harari and Scary Smart by Mo Gawdat.
You worry about "a world of utter human dependence upon technology" - but we are there already. how can 8 billion people survive living a pre-agricultural, pre-industrial way of life?
It's undoubtedly a fine line, Simon, and thank you for the comment. One hazard of weighing in on this topic is that concerns about technology's potential (or present) drawbacks can be mistaken for a general anti-technology position. It's one thing to rely on machinery for large-scale industrialization, but when we're faced with the idea of software programs displacing, or at least significantly marginalizing, human thought process, the plausibility of widespread mental degradation seems deserving of at least some consideration.
Thank you Mr. Hay for this thought provoking essay. If We Humans are stupid enough to give AI Carte Blanche over our existence then we deserve what's coming to us. One would think that movies and books such as The Terminator, Fahrenheit 451 or Brave New World would be enough of a "Hey Dummy, don't get too comfortable..." warning that leaving our Lives to someone or something else is detrimental to our Physical beings. But, then We Humans are very good at not listening. Too many examples throughout History to list here. In the end, We all return to dust so, I would say: enjoy your time here on this beautiful Blue Marble. Few of us are able and/or capable of changing the course of Humanity. Let's hope for our Species sake that smarter heads prevail...Have a great week, All!