The Fascinating Future: How Safe Is It?
Science is amazing … technology is awesome… and innovation is like a fast-moving train.
Our biosphere is influenced at great speed by Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) — where innovation has been the prime process augmenting the works of science and technology.
With the advent of STI, the world has been striving for a utopian existence with interesting landmarks and accomplishments being recorded on a daily basis. We can see the trappings of STI wherever we find ourselves. STI has drastically changed our way of life and how we now do things — take an example of the transportation and communications sectors, both have been completely revolutionized, taken through drastic reformations and refinements such that the contrast between now and then is so glaring even without being examined.
Today, we are becoming smarter with the way we accomplish tasks both at home and at work as a result of STI. The amazing innovations cut across numerous professions from finance to health, education, sports, manufacturing, entertainment; and that’s just mentioning a few.
However, as we strive to achieve a better and more comfortable world by taking advantage of STI, it appears we might be seeding some new threats with very severe detriments to our planet and its habitations.
Mind-blowing STIs in this present time…
1. Genetics
2. Nanotechnology
3. Robotics
The 21st century STIs — genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics (GNR) — can be extremely incredible and powerful with their ability to spawn a whole new class of accidents and abuses. Most dangerously, for the first time, these accidents and abuses are widely within the reach of individuals or small groups. They don’t require large facilities or rare raw materials. Knowledge alone will enable the use of them.
Thus, we have the possibility not just of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but of knowledge-enabled mass destruction (KMD), this destructiveness hugely amplified by the power of self-replication.
I think it won’t be a hyperbole to say we might be on the brink of the further perfection of extreme evil, an evil whose possibility spreads well beyond that which weapons of mass destructions bequeathed onto and empowering certain extreme individuals.
Our attitude toward embracing new things with unquestioning acceptance is also a concern. We have yet to come to terms with the fact that the most compelling STIs (robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology) pose a different threat than the technologies that have come before. Specifically, robots, engineered organisms, and nanobots share a dangerous amplifying factor …They can self-replicate.
For instance, a bomb is blown up only once, but one bot can become many and quickly get out of control. Think about a nanobot injected into someone in order to fight antibodies in the person’s system and suddenly something goes wrong with the nanobots while it still domiciles in the person’s body.
Genetic engineering which promises to revolutionize agriculture by increasing harvest and reducing the use of pesticide can be revolutionised to creating tens of thousands of novel species of plants, animals, viruses, and bacteria… further to replacing reproduction, or supplement it with cloning… then to creating cures for many diseases and increasing our life span and our quality of life… and so on.
As for robotics, I will like to think of Sophia who was able to relate with the pranked emotion from Will Smith who made an attempt to kiss her. The Sophia experiment is a phenomenal success which can be innovated in unimaginable dimensions, including robots for warfare and terrorism.
To bring home the cons of STI, we’ve seen the disruption caused in our banking industries where certain banks’ e-Branches flooded with divers self-serviced ATM that can carry out basic teller functions. Some of these banks have threatened to retrench staff due to perceived redundancies.
Indeed, the singularity is near, thus ushering us into the age of intelligent machines. For some, this is something positive and worth dying for, but for me, I see an imminent dystopia instead of utopia.
Conclusively, innovation in STIs should be complemented with moderation and standardization in order for it to be enjoyed without detriments and fear.
Does this edify your thoughts about the future of STI? Do you have other fears for an STI revolutionised future besides the ones I mentioned?.
Drop your comments, critics, and contributions. Or you can reach me on coliver@seamfix.com
Gracias.
