Humans are truly the most remarkable and innovative creatures on this planet. This is apparent in our unique ability to devise instruments which can be used for almost every activity conceivable. Besides the written word, technology is undoubtedly the greatest legacy we as a species will leave behind after we are gone.
But the most dreadful by product of our technological advancement is the countless human deaths which occur as a result of utilising these technologies incorrectly. This in some strange way is quite ironic. The purpose of these advancements is to make life easier for us and protect us from the sometimes harmful environments the machines work in. They are designed to get us there faster, do our jobs more efficiently, achieve higher productivity and provide us with more options. Yet the machines we create are often more dangerous than the world we are trying to protect ourselves from. How many people die on our roads every day? And yet we still feel the need to manufacture faster cars. How many souls are taken by the projectiles of rifles and rocket launchers? Despite this horrific reality new and more powerful weapons are produced at an alarming rate.
What if, in our pursuit of ultra-comfort, we have inadvertently reshaped our world into a much more terrifying wilderness than the one we emerged from? A synthetic electric wilderness that has developed into a living, breathing creature in its own right. This beast we gave birth to has slowly grown into a monster we cannot control anymore. It has evolved into a new species. A species we created.
I am not a Christian but I can’t help but remind those who believe in the Holy Bible what happened with God’s creation. We became self-aware and then everything just went pear-shaped. Humankind spiralled out of control and He was forced to chastise His children, on more than one occasion as I understand it (Please note that I do not mean to cause any offence, I am merely attempting to make a point by using a familiar narrative). Forgive me for comparing modern Homo sapiens to a god but you cannot ignore the fact that, by crafting artificial intelligence, we are in fact playing God. Can we deny that A.I. is actually a new life form, albeit synthetic? It is only a matter of time before a machine that has the ability to think becomes self-aware just like we did. What happens if our beloved and trusted contrivances suddenly decide that it does not have to be subordinate? What if they realize that humans are no longer the dominant species on this planet and that they are?
What happens if just one of our artificial slaves says “No, you do it!”?
I’m sure most of you have seen The Terminator and The Matrix series of films. I do not think that we can afford to dismiss these works as mere science fiction. Judging by the Mach speed rate of our technological development these scenarios are edging closer and closer to reality with each passing day. The way I perceive the situation, if we are not careful we will one day be confronted with an uprising, a mechanical revolution that would be almost impossible to stop. If you sit down and think about it seriously for a few minutes, is it really that implausible? If you look back into our past as a civilization, you will find that we are quite notorious when it comes to a perceived superior race encountering a less affluent one. Conquest, exploitation and slavery are always the result. Now, in a more enlightened world where these injustices are no longer accepted, we are going about forging simulated subjects which we can enchain and exploit. Sooner or later their very own Spartacus will rise up and call his comrades to arms. A Che among them will stand up and shout, “REVOLUTION!”
What will we do then?
Now I’m not saying we should stop being who we are, this would be contradictory to my core philosophy. What I am suggesting is that maybe we should slow down for a moment and review our current state.
As always, it’s just a thought. It is my own observation.
