Read this article.
For Discussion: What points strike you as particularly accurate or particularly wrong? The article is now six years old; have things changed much since it was written?
For Discussion: What points strike you as particularly accurate or particularly wrong? The article is now six years old; have things changed much since it was written?
posted by Anthony at
11:00 AM
36 Comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
By
ColtonMiller, at Tue Nov 30, 07:12:00 PM 2010
@Colton How does your comment interact with the article? I can't tell!
By
Anthony, at Tue Nov 30, 08:13:00 PM 2010
The future is something we obviously can't predict, but can make assumptions on! I think one of the topics that struck me as being particulary accurate was how Doctorow and Stross both had their thoughts about the future based more on technology and computer based advantages. They both write about the future based on biology, technology, and the knowledge of astronomy and physics. One of the things that strike me as particulary wrong is that they are willing to "upload" a human mind.
- I believe since those 6 years this article has been written a lot of technology broke out between; iPhones, iPods, laptops, and numerous touchscreen phones, computers, etc. The idea that robots will one day take over the world, I doubt it will ever happen.
By
NatalieSmirne, at Wed Dec 01, 01:31:00 AM 2010
The question can robots take over the world strike me as being wrong because robots are man made. Yes man are making robots more advance and yes we all will use robots in our home simply because they make our lifes easier, but robots dont have emotion and even if they malfuction they just break, take in a vacuum for exmple.
One idea that strikes me as being accurate is that science fiction is about to go blind. reason being is because, as our professor said, technology is being developed rapidly. Its pretty hard for one to look fifty years into the future in today's day and age because of how smart modern day inventors, they have already created the unimaginable so how is one to competeand predict the future.
By
orane churchill, at Wed Dec 01, 03:17:00 PM 2010
I disagree with the article. It raises a lot of points, and yes we are in a very technological age advancing at an exponential rate. But everything can always be improved. And someone will always find something that no one else has even thought of or maybe overlooked. Imagination has shown to inspire new ideas in the future (Such as that star trek video we watched.) and that concept will always be there, regardless of what has already been achieved.
By
Michael.Bowersox, at Wed Dec 01, 07:56:00 PM 2010
everything can always be improved
really? aren't there natural limits on things? I know, for example, if you play "guess a number" the best strategy is binary search... period.
By
Anthony, at Wed Dec 01, 10:27:00 PM 2010
The future is something that we may never be able to understand until it becomes the present. The part that i found interesting is that people flocked to places with wi-fi in the article. Now wi-fi is becoming widespread and available in numerous locations throughout cities and towns. I do not think much has changed in the idea of the future. Going to the moon was once thought to be crazy and man-kind accomplished it. Then it is plausible to believe that one day humans might have computer modified bodies. This may not be in the near future but in human life but in the extended future possibly. Henry Abarbanel, in the article, believes that we have all the pieces to upload a human brain, but just need to piece them together.
By
dudeck20, at Thu Dec 02, 09:32:00 PM 2010
- I found the concept of mind uploading, which is found in Stross and Doctorow's stories, highly interesting. I don't think it's a particularly wrong point because the technological methods of our time are consistently improving. It is possible to download your facebook and have a file with all the photos and videos you have uploaded as well as all of your messages and wall posts! If we can harvest information from a website and store it in one place why can't we, with further technological advancements, harvest all the information from our brain and store it in one place, especially with all of our life experiences stored in our subconscious?
- A lot of things have changed in the past six years. There have been major technological advancement ranging from electronic devices to medical techniques. There have been new technological advancements as recent as this October with China developing the fastest supercomputer in the world!
By
Cynthia Kiesling, at Fri Dec 03, 11:13:00 AM 2010
The idea of not being able to predict science in the future sounds very accurate. Advances and technology are developing at uncontrollably quick rates, and with so much knowledge suddenly obtained in so many different areas, the applications of this knowledge seem endless.
What sounds wrong to me is mind uploading. If the idea of cloning a human being is still being debated and has not been done, even with the technology available, what makes one think that copying the mind is so different? Perhaps things will change in the future, but if they do this issue will be extremely controversial for a very long time.
In the past six years, technology seems to be becoming faster and smaller, as well as being used by a large amount of the population.
By
Laauraluvv, at Fri Dec 03, 03:39:00 PM 2010
I believe that I found two "wrong" things that I picked out of this article is that I don't think robots could ever take over the planet, or rule mankind in a domineering way. Yes, mankind does depend on many artificially intelligent creations for some day to day tasks like calculating budgets with a calculator or finding a destination with a gps, but no matter how seemingly smart these machines may be, they are just what I said, machines. Man can make them and man can destroy them, because they cannot think on their own and they cannot feel.
Many technological advances have been discovered within the past 6 years and in my opinion, this can only mean that more advances and discoveries and creations are to come. Yes, there are some natural limits to science, but imagination is another tool entirely.
By
OliviaAndersen, at Fri Dec 03, 03:41:00 PM 2010
I also agree with Laura on the idea that mind uploading is wrong. In my opinion, it is very similar to cloning and should be treated as a procedure that is just as controversial. Perhaps in the future, it will happen though (due to new thought processes and maybe a greater devotion to science rather than cognitive morality) and that again is just another example as to why science and technology has not yet reached its limit. There is obviously still more out there test and design, if not still discover.
By
OliviaAndersen, at Fri Dec 03, 03:47:00 PM 2010
Olivia, have you ever seen the movie called, the matrix? This deals a lot with the idea of mind uploading, of being in a virtual world while our body is still here. What if, like in this movie, humans never actually used their physical body, and they merely stayed in this virtual world, while machines kept us alive? We wouldn’t even be able to fight back or do anything if we had ever woke up, because we wouldn’t understand what was actually going on in real life? So, perhaps while man did create them, we would one day not be able to destroy them…
By
Laauraluvv, at Fri Dec 03, 03:51:00 PM 2010
I haven't seen the matrix, but that does sound really interesting.. And really sad, to be honest. I would hate live in a world like that where we didn't actually keep our given bodies in a healthy condition and just lived in what is basically a video game. You have a really good point though, that if that were to ever happen we probably would have no chance of ever fighting back. I'm not sure that this could happen in the near future (like an additional 6 years from now), but possibly in the distant future!
By
OliviaAndersen, at Fri Dec 03, 04:06:00 PM 2010
And to respond to Olivia and Laura's conversation about the Matrix (did not put this in my original comment)and uploading... I do believe that morally it is wrong at this point and time, but in the future, it may become necessary for some reason for another.
By
bkohler, at Sat Dec 04, 12:23:00 PM 2010
If you've seen The Matrix (trilogy) and want to see a slightly different take on that idea, watch The Thirteenth Floor, a movie which has not gotten too much attention.
By
Anthony, at Sun Dec 05, 10:04:00 AM 2010
I agree with the previous posts that in today's society that mind uploading is considered unethical and immoral. I concur that in the future this procedure may occur due to the needing to advance at a fast pace for whatever reason. I am not sure what the purpose of life would be though if our minds were only used to enact life on a non-physical body, similar the matrix.
By
dudeck20, at Sun Dec 05, 08:15:00 PM 2010
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By
philr, at Sun Dec 05, 09:31:00 PM 2010
I do not think that robots will ever be able to one day "rule the world." Though robots are very advanced today, they are simply machines made by man. Therefore, I feel that man will limit the power of these machines if there ever comes a time where they pose as a potential threat to humans.
Technology has been improved rapidly in the past 6 years since the article has been written and I feel that it is somewhat out-dated. Though there has been so many advancements in science and technology in the past decade or two, I think that it might not continue to increase in the future as fast as the rate it has in years past. Perhaps we are at the peak of this technological "boom" in the past decade or two, but it may begin to slow down if science and technology reaches a limit and people begin to run out of ideas. How much better can computers, smartphones, video game consoles, etc., continue to get? Maybe I just lack the creativity to envision the type of improvements that can be made to today's technology, so only time will tell. I do agree that science fiction is becoming out dated, simply because in today's day and age it seems that ideas turn to new inventions quicker than writers can predict them through novels. But, perhaps science fiction will be able to make a come back if or when this rapid rate of technological advancements begin to slow down.
By
philr, at Sun Dec 05, 09:36:00 PM 2010
ne possible reason pure science fiction may be in decline is that we don't romanticize about the future of science like we once did. In the 1960's we had the space race, which led to movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, tv shows like Star Trek: The Original Series, and books like Stand on Zanzibar. Modern science hasn't brought us the same inspiration.
It is interesting that, even though much has changed with science in the last six years, this article still holds true. I assume this is because the science that's been done hasn't done much to open up topics to write about.
By
RyanHabib, at Sun Dec 05, 11:43:00 PM 2010
The only way robots will over take humans is if we get that lazy and stupid. There should be no reason that we make robots so that they think on their own. Robots are for us to input what we want for them to do. There is no way robots will take over because I don't see how you could even make a robot that can think on its own. I believe that would be classified as something other than a robot. All in all, I don't think we need to worry about robots taking over.
By
tyler.young, at Mon Dec 06, 11:11:00 AM 2010
I disagree with the article when it says that robots will one day take over the world. Robots are made by man and are created to make our lives easier. There is no way that robots will suddenly create their own intelligence or that one person would take science to that level. If it was heard of that somebody was trying to achieve that, I'm sure somebody would put an end to it.
Technology has definitely changed in the past six years, and I believe that there is still more to be discovered.
By
Unknown, at Mon Dec 06, 04:42:00 PM 2010
From what has been said, everyone seems to believe that robots will not never take over the world. I don't think so either, but I do however think anything can happen in the future, technology is on a fast ride to just about anything, but we definitely need humans to control whatever is created, otherwise what's the point? Over the past six years, many new inventions and the updating of items came about, but I think this world is so oblivious that we don't realize how drastically this world has changed in time, so yea maybe one day robots will take over some things and we wouldn't even notice a difference.
And ps. that robot picture freaks me out!
And ps. that robot picture freaks me out!
By
Jaclyn Dicarlo, at Mon Dec 06, 06:10:00 PM 2010
i agree with natalie because as i said before in my comment it would be pretty hard for one to predict the future, expecially in modern time but one can definately make assumption based on technology to kind of guess what might happen.
By
orane churchill, at Mon Dec 06, 10:25:00 PM 2010
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By
orane churchill, at Mon Dec 06, 10:25:00 PM 2010
I agree with Tyler but disagree with article. The laziness of are human race is the only thing that would lead to the robots taking over. There is a lot of risk that are involved with allowing such a problem to happen. I cant see humans allowing all control to be lost
By
Alex George, at Tue Dec 07, 02:22:00 PM 2010
I disagree with the article when it says robots will take over the world. Yes we have had a lot of advancements in technology, but I don't think/and I would hope that man would never let it get that far.
I remember reading somewhere that Japan had created robot nurses, I think this is where technology becomes a problem. Creations such as that are taking away peoples jobs.
By
samanthatellip, at Tue Dec 07, 07:36:00 PM 2010
i dont think robots or computers even can be smarter than humans. i know what the article and graph said but in my mind, i think, didn't humans make the computers? humans wrote all the articles we find online, the computer didn't magically create google or wikipedia one day! technology has definitely been changing in the past couple of years, and this, i think, is due to the latest craze in society. Our mind is, for lack of a better word, like a hypochondriac (if that makes sense). I'm sure when people watched the movie Deep Impact, they prepared for the comet that would destroy the world, same thing with Day After Tomorrow and 2012. And after watching Super Size Me, they probably started changing their diets. I think theres a very slim line separating scientific and outrageous, but we tend to believe what people tell us. I think the whole article seems wrong except for the part of space travel to really far places. Theres no way you can have a space ship the size of a soda can, and no way to NOT take your body somewhere, you're dead without it. And i also don't think science is anywhere near making an actual human robot. Atleast not in any of our lifetimes. Maybe in a couple centuries.
By
Unknown, at Wed Dec 08, 01:40:00 PM 2010
While reading some of the comics I feel that there are certain things that might work well as food for thought. I was originally going to post that the real difference between computer and people no matter how sophisticated they get, is there processing power. When it comes down to it a computer is only as limited as we can program and project. So really the “intelligence” of a robot is limited to our own. However, things like near future quantum computing can place robots well ahead of humanity in processing speed. One single atom has the theoretic capability to replace the computing power of every single supercomputer in the United States. Technology has plenty more room to grow; we just haven’t made the leap yet. I do agree with many though, that no matter how hard we try, human like artificial intelligence is either impossible, or well into the future.
By
Vader, at Wed Dec 08, 05:48:00 PM 2010
I think that the future is not for me to predict. However, I think that technology is advancing so quickly and keeps increasing. I think that with the lack of what we know now compared to what we will know in a decade is crazy, so I will not put any possibility out of the question. Also, i believe that the only way that there could be a technological take over to the point that robots take over, will only start once we begin to upload the human mind into a machine. Since the article was written, we have learned very much about technology and the world. I do not put the idea of robots taking over the world out of question, but it will only be done by the work of a human.
By
Unknown, at Thu Dec 09, 03:08:00 PM 2010
I agree with Jaclyn in that I believe that one day robots may take over. In order to stop this from happening we have to make sure that we carefully monitor how smart we are making these robots and make sure not to make them too smart for their own good. (anyone ever see I Robot?) As unrealistic as it may seem, if we're not careful enough, it could happen.
By
Unknown, at Thu Dec 09, 03:12:00 PM 2010
I also believe that robots will one day takeover. We are starting to depend more and more on computers that one day we may completely depend on robots. We use computers to think for use; we depend on spell check, calculators, and wikipedia to give us information within seconds.
By
Amy.Davies, at Thu Dec 09, 11:05:00 PM 2010
There is no way that robots will ever take over the world. All robots have one thing in common, they were programmed by humans. As long as the human race is not trying to be taken over by robots, it will never happen
By
BrianZ, at Sun Dec 12, 07:22:00 PM 2010
I do not think that there will ever be a time in which science fiction is phased out by technology because there will always be an author with an idea of some kind of brand new project or improvement of something already invented. I think that with the continued creation of new technological items there will be a spur of new ideas inspired by those to continue to be invented. Someone always has an imagination, whether they are an author or an inventor.
By
Amber Nicole Konopka, at Mon Dec 13, 08:27:00 AM 2010
When they started talking about robots taking over the world, this point stuck me as wrong. First, all of our technology is man-made. Not only is each piece constructed and put together by humans the main product is programmed by humans. Yes most of our everyday technology like computers, cell phones,and ipods etc. go on the fritz sometimes, but they don't really have the "power" to take over the world.
By
Emily Christian, at Mon Dec 13, 04:49:00 PM 2010
@ amy,
Yes it is true that we use computers to think for us. But humans have prgrammed these pieces of techonology to do so. If it was not for humans, techonology would not exist. In order for robots to take over the world, they would have to be able to program themselves. Which to me seems impossible.
By
Emily Christian, at Mon Dec 13, 05:01:00 PM 2010
When I said that robots may take over, I didn't mean literally as in rule human beings. What I meant was that robots will do all of the work for humans and live our lives for us because we tell the robot what to do and it does the task we need to be done. Maybe eventually the robots will do everything for us and we will just sit and command the next thing that the robot will do.
By
Amy.Davies, at Tue Dec 14, 05:44:00 AM 2010
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